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This Was The First Time In Two Months The First Family Was Pictured Together

by Tara Merrigan
Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Important events and holidays often bring families together, so it's no surprise that President Donald Trump's family — himself, Melania, and Barron — gathered for the historic solar eclipse on Monday. What may be more surprising, though, is that this is the first time in nearly two months that the Trump family has been in public together (at least, according to photographs).

This most recent occasion excluded, Getty's image archive shows that last time the first family was photographed together was in late June, while on their way to what members of the Trump administration reportedly call "White House North" or the "Summer White House," a Trump golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The June 30 picture was taken just a few weeks after Melania and Barron had moved to the White House — the mother and son had spent the winter and spring in New York City so that Barron could finish the school year. (Barron will attend sixth grade this fall at St Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland.)

Although it seems that he is rarely seen with his wife and 11-year-old son, Trump certainly does spend time with a few of his family members. His daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner are both White House advisors, which has led some to say that the president is running the executive branch like a family business. And the president has tweeted support and praise for his daughter Ivanka several times since assuming the country's highest office. "I am so proud of my daughter Ivanka. To be abused and treated so badly by the media, and to still hold her head so high, is truly wonderful!" he tweeted in February.

Trump also came to the defense of his son Donald Jr. when the Trump scion faced mounting criticism over his decision to take a meeting with Russians who were claimed to have had incriminating evidence on the Hillary Clinton campaign. According to a transcript from a June session with reporters, Trump said of his son's 2016 meeting: "Don is — as many of you know Don — he's a good boy. He's a good kid. And he had a meeting, nothing happened with the meeting. It was a short meeting as he told me."

Excluding his divorced wives, other members of the Trump clan include Tiffany, who is starting law school, and Eric, who is an executive vice president of the Trump Organization. And it's clear that the president values all the members of his family, especially when they appear in public on his behalf.

"Thank you for the incredible support- Melania, Barron, Ivanka, Jared, Tiffany, Don, Vanessa, Eric, and Lara!" Trump tweeted during the 2016 campaign, after his family appeared in a CNN town hall with him.