Photo Of Barron Trump Sitting On Melania's Lap, Taking Her Pic Sparks AI Speculations
A "creepy" photo of Barron Trump and his mom, Melania Trump, that recently resurfaced on social media has some users questioning whether it's real or not.
The photo, which shows a younger Barron sitting on Melania's lap while taking her picture, resurfaced on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday when it was shared by user @SundaeDivine.
The snap raised questions among X users over its authenticity, with some suggesting it may be fake and generated using artificial intelligence.
"Omg is that AI or real?" one user asked.
However, Snopes confirmed that the image was real and could be found on Getty Images' website.
According to the caption, the photo was taken by Regine Mahaux during a photoshoot at Trump Tower in New York City on Jan. 6, 2016, when the youngest child of Donald Trump was 9 years old.
The photo sparked a number of negative comments on X, with some calling it "creepy," "disturbing," and "awkward."
"I can't explain why, but that picture creeps me out," one user wrote.
"Are we not going to talk about how creepy this pose is? The way he's sitting on her thighs, her hands resting on his thighs," another commented.
But some users argued that the photo looked "fine" and "normal."
"I honestly liked it. It just shows two people who dwell in their own space -- away from all the dysfunction," another person pointed out.
Some also defended Barron against those allegedly taking jabs at him.
"Leave the boy out of this. Take all the shots you want at the rest of them. They are all guilty. But the boy has done nothing," one user wrote.
Others paid more attention to the gold and marble decor of the Trumps' home, describing it as "garish" and "tacky."
"Nice to have an apartment decorated by Louis the XIV. Tacky, tacky, tacky," one user commented.
Barron, who lives in Mar-a-Lago in Florida with his parents, celebrated his 18th birthday Wednesday.
He is set to graduate with the class of 2024 at the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida.
An unnamed insider recently told People that Melania has been helping her only child look at colleges recently as he prepares for graduation.
"Melania's main job is taking care of Barron, and I think it's possible that she will follow him wherever he goes to school," the source said. "Barron is shy and reserved, and she has been a good mother to him all of these years."
The insider added: "Melania is all about Barron and her family. She has always been family-oriented."
Barron was last seen publicly at his maternal grandmother's funeral at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea church in Palm Beach in January.
At the time, photos of Barron towering over his reported 6-foot-3-tall father and 5-foot-11-tall mother caught the attention of netizens.
Donald revealed during a campaign event in Iowa in the same month that Barron now stands at 6 feet and 7 inches.
The former president and current GOP presidential candidate credited the cooking of Melania's late mother, Amalija Knavs, as the reason for Barron's growth spurt.
"That's how he got so tall, he only ate her food," Donald told supporters at the time, according to the Daily Mail.
He also shared that though he tried to convince his youngest son to play basketball, Barron prefers soccer.
"I said, 'You're gonna be a basketball player.' He said, 'Well, I like soccer dad, actually.' I thought... at your height I like basketball better, but you can't talk them into everything," Donald said, calling Barron a "special boy."