Barron Trump feared for dad Donald’s life after Charlie Kirk assassination

In a new book, Barron Trump is described as the first person to tell Donald Trump about Charlie Kirk’s death—and as he immediately called his father, warning that a leader like Donald who goes public could draw more violence to him and the people closest to hi

Barron Trump’s phone call to Donald came fast—so fast it wasn’t about politics or optics, but fear.

In the explosive new book *Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump*. Barron is described as the first person to tell the president about Charlie Kirk’s death. moments after the shocking assassination. At the center of the account is Barron’s panic that his father could be the next target.

Barron, who was 19 at the time, reportedly phoned Donald worried that he could be the next one to be hit. “This is what happens when you go out there,” Barron reportedly said. “This is what happened.”

Donald, according to the book, tried to steady him from the other end of the line. He reportedly urged Barron: “Calm down, honey, calm down.” But the president was “clearly unnerved himself,” the account says.

The book also describes warnings already reaching White House officials about how would-be assassins might think. If they couldn’t get to Donald directly, their “next best option” could be the “soft targets” around him—his children and close allies. Kirk is described as a “very soft target.”

Barron’s alarm wasn’t the only sign of worry within the family. Eric Trump, too, has reportedly been speaking with anger about the pattern of attacks—especially while accompanying his father to China last month.

During a conversation on the plane with Sean Hannity, Eric referenced multiple attempts on Donald’s life. He called it “absolutely infuriating,” zeroing in on the July 2024 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. That attack involved 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. who came inches away from killing Donald—only for Crooks to strike him in the upper right ear instead. Eric said it was a “130-yard shot” and described it as an “unmissable shot” for someone “even remotely competent with a rifle.”.

Eric added that if the assassination had succeeded, the country would have faced something far worse. “God knows what would’ve happened to this country if they had killed him. which was obviously their intent. ” he told Hannity. He then pointed to what came next: “And then they tried to kill him again at the golf course. And obviously, you saw what happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. And there were plenty of others.”.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner incident Eric referenced has its own details in the book’s reporting. Cole Tomas Allen was arrested after charging through a security checkpoint armed with a rifle. Investigators described how Allen traveled from California to Washington. D.C. in the days leading up to the incident. checked into a hotel. and prepared before carrying out what prosecutors described as a premeditated plan.

According to investigators, Allen was armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, handgun, and knives, and was headed on a path to the president. Chaos followed as agents moved in to stop him, as Allen reached the ballroom where Donald and other high-ranking officials were gathered.

The fear around these attacks also sits alongside Donald Trump’s own warnings about what would happen if he were ever killed. The president has previously threatened retaliation, saying that if something were to happen to him, he already has a “payback plan in place.”

In February 2025. he claimed that if Iran were successful in assassinating him. he had “left instructions” on a counterattack in response. He said: “That would be a terrible thing for them to do, not because of me. If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end, ” and added: “There won’t be anything left.”.

He also expressed a similar stance during a sit-down with NewsNation host Katie Pavlich. “I have very firm instructions,” he said. “Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”

Taken together. the account of Barron’s immediate call after Charlie Kirk’s death and the family’s escalating anger and fear paint a single. stark picture: in the wake of assassination attempts and plots. the concern isn’t only about the president standing in public—it’s about who’s close enough to be next.

Barron Trump Donald Trump Charlie Kirk Regime Change assassination attempt White House Correspondents’ Dinner Eric Trump Sean Hannity Thomas Matthew Crooks Cole Tomas Allen Iran assassination threat Katie Pavlich NewsNation