Donald and Melania Trump attended their son Barron Trump’s high school graduation ceremony together in Florida on Friday as the former president’s criminal hush money trial entered its final throes.
The former president and first lady stood in the stands at Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida alongside Ms Trump’s father, Viktor Knavs, and other parents to witness the ceremony at the private school.
Shortly before the ceremony began, Mr Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, to announce his attendance.
“Great student, wonderful boy! Very exciting!!!” Mr Trump wrote.
The former president’s presence was not guaranteed after the hush money trial judge did not immediately grant Mr Trump permission to attend the ceremony, spurring rants from the former president on Truth Social last month. Mr Trump is required to attend proceedings in his trial under New York criminal law.
The ceremony was the first time that Mr Trump has been seen in public with his wife since the trial heard excruciating details from adult film star Stormy Daniels about her alleged affair with the former president, which allegedly took place after Mr and Ms Trump were married. He has denied that the affair ever took place.
The former first lady has not attended her husband’s criminal trial in New York, though her name was brought up this week by Mr Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen when he took the stand.
Cohen alleged that it was Ms Trump who suggested Mr Trump excuse his sexist language in a leaked Access Hollywood tape as “locker room talk”.
The Manhattan trial is set to resume on Monday.
Soon after the graduation on Friday, Mr Trump took further advantage of his day off by heading to Minnesota for the GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinner.
Barron was one of 116 seniors graduating from the private school on Friday.
Oxbridge Academy said the graduation ceremony was “private, by invitation only” due to the “heightened interest in this year’s event” according to USA Today.
“We respectfully ask all media to refrain from coming to the school to allow for the safety of our graduates, family members, and other guests in attendance,” the school said in a statement obtained by The Palm Beach Post.
The youngest Trump son is set to attend college in the fall but it is unclear where he will be going. Mr Trump told guests at Mar-a-Lago recently that his son is considering several colleges.
The former president has not revealed what his son will be majoring in or if he has any career aspirations thus far.
Politics may be an option for Barron as he was recently chosen, by Florida’s Republican Party, to be one of the state’s 41 at-large delegates tasked with nominating his father as the Republican presidential candidate at the annual GOP convention.
While Barron was “honored” to be chosen, the former first lady said in a statement that her son, regretfully, cannot attend the convention in July due to “prior commitments”.
