Topics: Donald Trump, Melania Trump, News, Parenting, Politics, US News, Barron Trump
Whatever your opinion on First Lady Melania Trump, one trait that simply cannot be denied is her fierce protectiveness as a mother.
With that in mind, one statement made by the American-Slovenian figure in defence of her teenage son, Barron, is once again going viral online.
Former fashion model Melania, 55, shares her one son with Republican leader Trump, 79, whom she first met back in 1998 and married seven years later.
Upon marrying into the affluent Trump family, she also became stepmother to four of her husband's other children, whom he previously welcomed with ex-wives Ivana Trump and Marla Maples.
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Despite the entire brood having been photographed together incessantly since Trump announced his plans to run again in 2021, some events also placed a particular focus on the politician's youngest son, Barron.
The student was only 10 years old when his father was elected as president the first time around, but being that he is now 19, Barron has featured at several high-profile events.
Sadly for the teenager, however, not all attention aimed at him has been kind and back in 2016, Barron became the brunt of a joke made by comedian Rosie O'Donnell, in which she alleged he had autism.
O'Donnell - who has endured a feud with the Trump family for decades - teased on Twitter ahead of his 2016 win: "Barron Trump autistic? - if so, what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic".
The tweet came in response to a video of Barron clapping without actually slapping his hands together following a speech made by his father at the Republican National Convention.
Though TV personality O'Donnell later apologised for her remark, an excerpt from Melania's titular memoir detailed the mother-of-one's thoughts on the matter, in which she claimed the incident left her 'furious'.
"I knew the tweet and video would go viral, and I knew how much it would hurt him," she wrote.
"I was appalled by such cruelty. It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism.
"I felt that she was attacking my son because she didn’t like my husband."
Despite adding that Barron does not suffer from the learning disorder, Melania went on to insist there would be 'nothing shameful' if he did.
She continued: "Someone had painstakingly compiled the footage and added captions like, 'His hands are moving erratically and aren’t touching each other.
"'Then he was spotted making strange movements in his seat, typical of children with autism.'"
The video was eventually taken down after Melania threatened legal action.
