Chelsea Clinton knows a thing or two about growing up in the White House. The daughter of Bill and Hillary was just 12-year-old when her father took office in 1993. She experienced firsthand just how mean adults can be when it comes to taking shots at the children of elected officials.
That’s why she decided to stand up for Barron Trump, the 10-year-old son of President Trump and his wife, Melania.
Even though Clinton obviously disagrees with President Trump on most issues, she said in a tweet—which quickly went viral—that “Barron Trump deserves the chance every child does-to be a kid.”
However, she also noted that, “Standing up for every kid also means opposing @POTUS policies that hurt kids.”
Clinton’s tweet came in response to a flood of social media memes and jokes that have been made at young Barron’s expense. On election night and again during the inauguration, Barron appeared uncomfortable at times, which is completely understandable for a 10-year-old who has never been in the public spotlight.
The bullying peaked shortly after the election when Rosie O’Donnell, one of President Trump’s favorite celebrity enemies, published a tweet in which she speculated whether Barron was autistic. O’Donnell claimed she was simply trying to raise awareness about autism, but was slammed by people from across the political spectrum for making the comment without any evidence or basis in fact.
However, the attacks continued during Trump’s swearing in when Saturday Night Live writer Katie Rich posted a since-deleted tweet in which she referred to the 10-year-old as being “this country’s first homeschool shooter.”
While the bullying attacks have affected presidential children going back generations, it seems that some feel it’s ok to go after Barron because of their feelings about his father and because he is a child of economic privilege. But as Clinton pointed out, he’s just a kid who deserves at least eight more years of being treated like a human being before he decides if he even wants to enter the public space like some of his older siblings.
