'HATS OFF'

Barron’s Crucial New Role in Dad’s Campaign

Millions of people have watched Donald Trump’s appearances on podcasts with comedians and entrepreneurs.

Donald Trump’s youngest son Barron, 18, has been a driving force in choosing the former president’s podcast appearances in the run-up to the November election, a top adviser told Politico’s Playbook.

The Trump campaign has been trying to reach young male voters—and soften the former president’s image as a Hitler-loving fascist—with appearances on friendly podcasts that generally avoid much policy discussion.

It’s a strategy that seems to be paying off, as millions of viewers and listeners have been tuning in, Trump’s long-time adviser Jason Miller told Playbook’s Rachael Blade.

Asked who comes up with the shows Trump will appear on, Miller said it’s a “group effort.” Some come from his advisers, some are people with whom Trump has a relationship, and some of the best ideas come from Trump’s Gen Z son Barron.

“Barron has been very involved in recommending a number of the podcasts we should do,” Miller said. “I got to tell you, hats off to the young man. Every single recommendation he’s made turned out to be ratings gold.”

More than 14 million people have watched Trump’s appearance on This Past Weekend With Theo Von. Trump began the conversation by telling host Von that his son Barron was a big fan who told him, “Dad, he’s big. He’s a big one.”

Avoiding traditional media interviews in favor of sitting down with podcast personalities “turned out to be something that has worked to our advantage,” Miller said. Pollsters and campaign strategists will be watching closely to see if the views translate to electoral gains on Nov. 5.

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Janna Brancolini

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