Growing Up In The White House: Presidents’ Kids Then And Now

Presidents’ kids have long faced massive amounts of attention and the scrutiny that comes with living in the public eye. While unfair, it’s part of what comes with being the kid of the leader of the free world. Read on to see what life was like for these kids, and what they’re up to now.

Obama Girls

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are the parents of two young daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama. The girls were among the youngest presidents’ kids to live in the White House in many years. When their father first took office they were 11 and eight years old. When they moved to Washington D.C. they began attending the prestigious Sidwell Friends School where other presidential children have gone like Chelsea Clinton and Joe Biden’s grandchildren.

Both girls have spent their formative years growing up in the White House. The girls’ predecessors, the Bush twins, were the ones to give the girls their first White House tour. When President Obama was almost finished completing his second term the Bush girls wrote a beautiful open letter to the Obama girls which said they would always be rooting for them.

Future Obama Plans

Malia, the eldest, graduated from high school in 2016 and decided to take a gap year before beginning school in the Fall of 2017 at Harvard University. Malia apparently wishes to pursue a career in film and worked at an internship with the powerhouse producer Harvey Weinstein before his scandal exploded into the public eye.

Malia also previously interned on the hit HBO show Girls. Sasha is still in high school, so unlike many presidential families of the past, the Obamas have decided to remain in the Washington D.C. area until she graduates. While Sasha is still a sophomore, there have been rumors that one day she hopes to pursue a career in medicine.

Chelsea Clinton’s Smarts

Chelsea Clinton is the only child of President Bill Clinton and his wife, two-time Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Chelsea was 12 when her father won the presidency and subsequently had to face her awkward teenage years while her dad was in office. The media took aim at Chelsea even criticizing her looks, which is unfortunate because it is hard enough being a teenager much less one that is growing up in the public eye.

Chelsea excelled academically and attended Stanford University for her undergraduate degree, she then received a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from the University of Oxford and also completed a Master’s of Public Health at Columbia University. She began her Ph.D. coursework at NYU but subsequently transferred back to Oxford to finish it.

Chelsea’s Career

Chelsea went on to work for the Clinton Foundation and now sits on the board. She also briefly worked as a special correspondent for NBC. In 2010, Chelsea married investment banker Marc Mezvinsky and the couple has two children, Charlotte and Aidan.

Chelsea was instrumental during both her mother’s 2008 and 2016 run for president. There have been rumors that Chelsea is currently in the process of beginning her own political career and may soon run for a New York Senate seat. Based on what she chose to get her education in it would be no surprise to see her follow in her parents’ footsteps.

The First First Bush Family

George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara had six children: George Walker Bush, Pauline Robinson “Robin” Bush, John Ellis “Jeb” Bush, Neil Mallon Pierce Bush, Marvin Pierce Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch. Sadly, Pauline died at only four years old from leukemia. When Bush was in office all of his children were already adults thereby escaping the scrutiny that other Presidents’ kids have faced.

Several of the Bush children notably went on to have their own political careers. Of course, George W. Bush went on to be a President himself, and he has two daughters of his own with wife Laura. Jeb Bush is also a politician and ran for the Republican ticket for the presidential race of 2016. Jeb has three adult children, and the oldest is pursuing his own political career.

Coming up, you won’t believe the sibling rivalry between Reagan’s kids!

The Less Frequently Discussed Bush Kids

While the other Bush siblings maintain an interest in politics, none of them have embarked on their own political careers like their brothers George and Jeb. Neil Bush is a businessman in Texas and has been married twice; he has three children from his first marriage.

Neil came under public scrutiny after his first divorce deposition revealed that he admitted to having sexual encounters in Hong Kong and Thailand while married. Marvin Bush is the director of a publicly traded insurance company. He publicly supported Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson for the 2016 presidential election which goes along with the rumor that the Bush family was very anti-Trump. Youngest Bush sibling and only living daughter Dorothy Bush Koch is co-chair of a non-profit named for her mother Barbara which aims at increasing children’s literacy. She has been married twice and has two children.

The Carter Kids

President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn are the parents of four children, three sons and one daughter: Amy, Jack, Donnel, and James. The Carter kids were the first children to live in the White House since the days of Kennedy. Eldest son Jack Carter has his own political aspirations and ran for a senator seat in 2006. Jack’s son Jason went on to a political career as well and served as a senator in Georgia.

Amy Carter is married with a son but has remained out of the public spotlight. Donnel Carter has also largely remained out of the spotlight but his son Jeremy sadly passed away at the young age of 28, reportedly of a heart attack. James Carter has not followed a career in politics but at one point did work for the Democratic National Convention.

The Ford Kids

Gerald Ford and wife Betty Ford had four children, three sons and one daughter: Susan, John, Steven, and Michael. Gerald’s kids were young adults when he began his presidency. John has remained involved in politics through the Republican conventions. Michael Ford is a minister and oversees the Department of Student Development at Wake Forest University. Steven Ford went on to have an acting career and appeared in films like Heat, Contact, and Transformers.

Steven also struggled with alcoholism like his mother Betty and has gone on to devote much of his time to help other young alcoholics. Susan Ford married one of her father’s Secret Service agents and the two had two daughters together but later divorced. She later remarried an attorney and remains married to him today. She is the chairman of the board for the Betty Ford Center.

Nixon’s Daughters

Richard Nixon and wife Pat Nixon had two daughters Tricia and Julie Nixon. Both girls were young adults during their father’s presidency. Julie Nixon was a writer during her father’s presidency and helped her father tremendously while campaigning and subsequently in office.

Interestingly, Julie married the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 2008, Julie notably crossed party lines in voting for candidate Barack Obama. Tricia Eisenhower married Edward Cox who is also a politician and is currently the chairman of the New York Republican State Committee. She lived a private life as a stay-at-home mom to her son Christopher.

LBJ’s Daughters

Lyndon B. Johnson and wife Lady Bird had two children, daughters Luci and Lynda. Luci got married to National Guardsman Patrick Nugent, while her father was president and the wedding was televised. They had four children together. The two later divorced and she remarried Ian Turpin.

Lynda originally attended the University of Texas at Austin but transferred to George Washington University after her father became the President. Lynda dated actor George Hamilton while her father was in office. Later she married Charles S. Robb who later became the governor of Virginia and then served as Senator. Unfortunately, Lynda faced some scandals after her husband was accused of an affair with a beauty queen named Tai Collins and that he frequented parties where cocaine was used. Although Robb claimed that he had never even seen cocaine. The two remain married to this day.

The Reagan Kids

President and revered Republican Ronald Reagan had four children. When Ronald was an actor he married actress Jane Wyman and the couple had three children together including Maureen, Christine, and they adopted a third child named Michael. Sadly, Christine lived only one day after she was born.

Ultimately Ronald and Jane divorced, reportedly due to his political plans. Ron went on to marry Nancy Reagan and the two had two children together, Ronald Reagan Jr. and Patti Reagan. All of Reagan’s children were adults when their father was President. Maureen died in 2001 from melanoma, and both her parents outlived her.

Next: a sibling rivalry in the White House.

Reagan Sibling Rivalry

Michael Reagan has had a variety of controversial views over the years but most notably attacked younger brother Ron Reagan for suggesting their father had the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease while President, which is more than likely true. Patti Reagan was a college activist when her father took office particularly for the anti-nuclear movement which caused some controversy at the time.

She went on to become an actress and writer and currently works with an Alzheimer’s foundation based at UCLA. Ron Reagan is the most controversial of the siblings, and unlike is father is extremely liberal. Michael and Ron have at least one thing they agree on, they both voiced their concern about a Trump presidency saying he was nothing like their father.

The Kennedy Kids

John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie had four children, two sons and two daughters: Caroline, JFK Jr., Patrick, and Arabella. Their first child was Arabella who was sadly stillborn. She had another child a son named Patrick who died two days after his birth due to a lung infection. They later went on to have children Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr. Caroline and JFK Jr. were among the youngest children to ever reside in the White House.

JFK and Jackie were notably very young to be a president and first lady. As though the family was not already burdened with enough sadness JFK was assassinated in 1963. Caroline was only six years old when her father was assassinated and John was two years old.

Caroline and JFK Jr.

Caroline went on to have a career as a lawyer, author, and diplomat. She married exhibit designer Edward Schlossberg and the two had three children together. Caroline most recently served as an ambassador to Japan. Her daughter Rose has been described as a look-alike for her grandmother Jackie. JFK Jr. was a lawyer, journalist, and founder of George Magazine. He was often touted as one of the most handsome men in the United States. JFK Jr. was known to date a variety of models and actresses including Cindy Crawford and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Ultimately, he married Carolyn Bessette, a publicist for Calvin Klein. JFK Jr. also had a hobby of piloting aircraft. Sadly, JFK Jr. and Carolyn along with his sister in law Lauren were killed in a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean. JFK Jr. was piloting at the time. When the plane was first reported missing it made international headlines and ultimately the remains were found on the ocean floor. JFK Jr. was only 38 years old.

Trump Children

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump is our current president, and Donald has five children with three different women. With his first wife Ivana Trump, Donald had Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. During his marriage to their mother, Donald had a very well-publicized affair which was said to be devastating to the children as one could only imagine.

All of the kids from his first marriage are now adults and are themselves married. Donald Jr. has five children of his own, Ivanka has three, and Eric and his wife have yet to have any kids. Donald has said that his kids will be running his businesses for him while he’s President.

Ivanka Trump

Ivanka also has her own clothing and jewelry line which just made headlines for being dropped by both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. Some think it was in response to a protest called #grabyourwallet urging women not to shop at retailers where the Trump family has products. However, Nordstrom cited that they dropped her line because of declining sales.

There have also rumors that the President has encouraged all female staffers to “dress like women” and that the idea of them all wearing Ivanka’s clothing line was tossed around. Donald Trump was highly criticized after he had his older children at important meetings including with the leader of Japan. Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, was also appointed to a role in the President’s cabinet as a senior adviser to the President.

Donald’s Youngest Kids

Donald Trump’s second marriage was to Marla Maples, and it was also played out publicly in the tabloids. Marla and Donald had one child named Tiffany before they ultimately divorced a few years later. Tiffany recently made headlines after Trump said he was proud of her to “a lesser extent.” Donald Trump’s third marriage was to his current wife Melania.

Donald and Melania are the parents to a son named Barron Trump. Barron is only ten years old and has recently gotten some online hate akin to presidents’ children of the past but many including Chelsea Clinton have come to his defense saying that he deserves to be able to just be a kid.

More on Malia

Malia has recently been spotted out on the town with her dad in New York City. The two went and had a meal at an Italian eatery and then caught a Broadway play: Arthur Miller’s The Choice. Earlier in the day Barack had been spotted coming out of a meeting and was met by hundreds of New Yorkers who lined the streets and greeted him with cheers.

Malia is in town for her internship with the Harvey Weinstein company. Soon she will begin attending Harvard University and although it is unknown what she will be studying, it is said that she has a major interest in film hence her various internships.

Malia Gossip

Of course, as with many presidents’ daughters of the past Malia’s every move is watched. The New York Post recently reported that Malia was spotted out at a bar until 2 AM. Of course, the Post is a tabloid so take that news with a grain of salt.

This would only be notable because Malia is not yet 21 years old. Although, that did not stop the Bush twins from having fun during their college years. Whatever the case may be, Malia will surely end up fine just like her earlier counterparts. After all, everyone deserves to have some fun during their college years!

George and Jenna

President George W. Bush has recently been making the rounds promoting his new book featuring his paintings called Portraits of Courage. He appeared on The Today Show alongside his daughter Jenna and host Kathie Lee Gifford. Kathie asked George a series of questions regarding the presidency, his daughter, and time in the White House.

Of course, George reminisced about all the trouble got into back in her early twenties as a college student at the University of Texas – much to the ethmbarrassment of Jenna! He also said that he does not always watch his daughter on the show but he does tune in sometimes! George had also previously made an appearance on the earlier part of The Today Show where he made some controversial comments regarding Trump.

George and Barbara

George W. Bush told Matt Lauer that he prefers an immigration policy that is welcoming and that he is also not happy about all of the increase of racism, for instance, toward the Jewish community center bomb threats as of late. He also reiterated the need for a free press and said he specifically spoke many times to Vladimir Putin about the need for a free press.

Bush’s other daughter Barbara might fall on the other end of the political spectrum as she had previously been spotted at a Paris fundraiser for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election campaign. She was also recently named the keynote speaker at a fundraiser in Texas for Planned Parenthood. Perhaps, we will see more from Barbara Bush in the political world in years to come.

Chelsea’s Twitter Prowess

Chelsea Clinton has been making a lot of waves in the online community with her more outspoken Twitter personality. She has consistently been making comments against Trump’s policies and against the POTUS himself.

She has also aligned herself with various groups by, for instance, attending a protest in support of the Muslim community, tweeting against anti-transgender sentiments, as well as mocking Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway’s assertion of a non-existent “Bowling Greene Massacre”. Many have taken Chelsea’s more outspoken persona as a sign that she may one day soon be running for office herself.

President Chelsea?

Other notable signs of Chelsea Clinton’s possible political career include her husband recently closing his hedge fund as well as her immense education in public policy and international affairs. Chelsea even holds a Ph.D. in International Relations – that’s Dr. Clinton to you!

Chelsea also recently tweeted about her experience with “fake news”. Back when her father was the President, Chelsea tweeted “I almost forgot about my alien siblings from the ’90s” and “Oh, the good ol days when the fake news was about aliens”. She included a link of a tabloid of her mother Hillary with the headline “Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby”.

Facepalming Fake News

While the Hillary Clinton alien tabloid cover is pretty hilarious, as pointed out by Chelsea, nowadays much more dangerous rumors get spread. Remember Pizzagate? Pizzagate was a false conspiracy theory that spread that Hillary Clinton and John Podesta were involved in some kind of pedophilia ring that used a pizza restaurant as a front.

People really believed this. It culminated in one such believer visiting the restaurant and opening fire with his gun after falsely believing there were children stuck in the back. Even disgraced National Security Advisor Michael Flynn tweeted about the alleged incident which was clearly false. How embarrassing for the United States!

Bush Twins

When George W. Bush took office, his daughters, twins Barbara and Jenna Bush, had graduated from high school the previous year and had enrolled in their first year of college. This led to the girls spending less time in the White House than other presidents’ children.

Barbara Bush attended Yale University and her sister Jenna attended the University of Texas at Austin. The girls were highly criticized during their dad’s time in the presidency, especially for their precocious attitudes and a few run-ins with the law. It was usually noted that Jenna was the more outgoing twin while Barbara was the quieter one.

Bush Vs The Law

In Austin in 2001, Jenna and Barbara made national news after they were both arrested for alcohol-related incidents in a short period of time. Jenna was charged with a MIP (Minor in Possession of Alcohol) and later she attempted to use a fake ID to buy booze. In this case, the ID she used had the name of her grandmother, Barbara Pierce.

She ended up pleading no contest to both of the charges. The girls got a lot of flack for what was considered to be bad behavior, although many also defended them by saying it was behavior similar to many other college students across the country.

Bush Twins Now

When her dad was back on the campaign trail for his second term. Jenna made headlines again in 2004 for sticking out her tongue at photographers, which seems pretty innocent in this day and age. Both girls graduated from college, Jenna with a degree in English from UT and Barbara with a humanities degree from Yale.

Jenna now regularly appears on TV as a personality for The Today Show and Barbara has remained quieter working behind the scenes. Barbara has publicly spoken out about supporting gay marriage and also was photographed at an even supporting Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency in a social media post that was subsequently deleted.

George H.W. Bush Grandchildren

The Bush grandchildren certainly seem to be headed for political aspirations. As previously mentioned, George W. Bush’s daughter Barbara seems to be much more politically inclined than her younger sister Jenna, although it appears that she has Democrat leanings which will make for a very interesting future. However, she is not the only Bush grandchild with a political standing.

Jeb Bush’s son George P. Bush is also currently politically active and is the Texas Land Commissioner. However George P. Bush, who has a Mexican mother, parted with the rest of his family and certainly his cousin Barbara when he publicly supported Trump for the presidency.

Reagan’s Baby Daughter

Ronald Reagan and his first wife, movie actress Jane Wyman had a baby daughter named Christine. Sadly, Christine died shortly after she was born. The tragic loss was said to take an immense toll both on Ronald and Jane, and ultimately was a major cause for their ultimate divorce.

While others have claimed that Reagan’s political aspirations were to blame for the failure of their marriage it seems far more likely that the tragic loss of a child was behind the demise of the relationship. It is said to be statistically very common for marriages to fail after such a difficult loss.

Ron Reagan Jr.

Out of all of Ronald Reagan’s children, Ron Reagan Jr., his son with second wife Nancy Reagan, probably gained the most fame. Ron has taken a marked difference from his extremely conservative father and is known to be extremely liberal. Of course, Ron was extremely outspoken against Trump during the 2016 presidential election.

Back in the ’80s, there was much speculation that Ron was gay. Apparently, people thought this because he was a ballet dancer. This was, of course, disproven after Ron married a fellow dancer who was a woman. Ron and his wife remained married until her death from cancer in 2014.

Jimmy Carter’s Grandson

Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jeremy died at the young age of 28. Jimmy Carter announced his grandson’s death while he was teaching a Sunday school class. It was later revealed that Jeremy suffered a heart attack while in front of his mother and who performed CPR attempting to save him.

Apparently, Jeremy knew that he was in ill health, according to his brother who said he had recently undergone a battery of tests. Jeremy had previously been having issues with eating and leg pain. Obviously, his symptoms were pointing to an underlying cause, but sadly, doctors did not find it in time. Of course, his grandfather Jimmy was facing the news with his regular positivism and Christian faith.

Steven Ford

Gerald Ford first took the office of the presidency in a different way than ever before. President Nixon resigned from office after the Watergate scandal because he was certainly about to be impeached. Gerald had become the Vice President after Nixon’s original Vice President, Spiro Agnew, resigned due to criminal charges.

Meanwhile, Gerald Ford’s kids were all older once he took office. His son Steven discussed his father in 2016 and a new documentary coming out about his father. This is particularly fitting for Steven as film happens to be his career path. Although when asked about a creative film being made about his father, he said that he thinks is dad would be preferred to be remembered as a “humble public servant”.

Nixon Bush Date?

Back in 2014, it was reported that then-future president George W. Bush had a disastrous date with Nixon’s daughter Tricia. It was when Nixon was still in office and Bush Sr. was working in the administration. W was then a pilot in training and visiting his dad at the White House when he took Tricia out on a date. He said it went horribly wrong.

First, he spilled red wine and then he disgusted Tricia with his smoking of cigarettes. He said that she asked to be taken back to the White House “immediately”. For some reason, it’s not so hard to imagine W in a situation like this. Luckily for him, he met his wife not too long after and the rest is history.

LBJ Girls And Secret Service Blues

During a 2014 interview with Katie Couric, Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter Luci discussed never having any free time away from the Secret Service. In fact, she said she was the divorced mother of four children at the age of 30 before she ever got to go on a date by herself! When her father took office, Luci was 16 years old, so she spent her entire formative years under the watchful eye of the secret service.

Her sister Lynda shared her sentiments and said the Secret Service was even there on her honeymoon. Yikes! The sisters also both expressed that empathy for the Obama girls as not many understand what it’s like to be in their shoes.

Taylor Swift Kennedy Love

At one point Taylor Swift seemed determined to elbow her way into the Kennedy family. She began dating Conor Kennedy, grandson of Bobby Kennedy and great nephew of JFK. Conor was still in high school when the two began dating, and Taylor even ended up buying a house across the street from the Kennedy compound. Ugh.

The love connection was not meant to be, however, and the couple ended up breaking up after a couple of months. Conor recently made headlines again after he was arrested for a bar fight. The fight was for a noble cause, however, and Conor was reportedly defending his friend from someone making homophobic slurs.

Robert Kennedy Jr. Family Drama

Bobby Kennedy’s son Robert Jr. has also had his share of family drama that always seems to follow the Kennedy family. Robert married his second wife Mary Richardson and the two had four children together. In 2010, he filed for divorce from Mary and she was subsequently arrested for a DUI only days later.

Two years later, Mary sadly committed suicide by hanging, apparently never able to get over the demise of the marriage. She left behind her four children. In 2014, Robert remarried the actress Cheryl Hines. Cheryl is probably best known for playing the wife of Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

RFK Jr.

The family drama was not the first for Robert Kennedy Jr.; back in the 1980s, he was arrested at the airport after his carry-on bag was found to contain quite a bit of heroin. He was 29 years old and sentenced to probation which included attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings, community service, and periodic drug tests.

Recently, RFK Jr. has made headlines again after Trump allegedly has been asked to lead a commission on vaccine safety. Robert is known to be a proponent of the discredited theory that vaccine’s cause autism. Recently RFK, along with actor Robert DeNiro, offered anyone $100,000 who can prove that vaccines are safe.

Barron Autism Rumor

Speaking of autism, rumors began to abound about Barron Trump on the internet that he had been diagnosed with autism. Various people made claims based on Barron’s supposed behavior. One YouTube video in particular quickly gained popularity on the Internet.

Melania Trump allegedly even threatened to sue the man who made the video. Apparently, the man actually has autism. He quickly issued another video with an apology to Barron. Even Chelsea Clinton, who was relentlessly attacked by the media as a child when her father was president, came to Barron’s aid saying that he deserves to be able to just be a kid.

More on Ivanka

Ivanka has clearly taken a firm place within her father’s administration; although she has not been placed in any official role, she is always present at various meetings. Ivanka has come under fire for being tone-deaf to the rest of the world. Particularly after she posted a photo of herself and her husband in designer clothing directly after her father’s announcement of the travel ban he instituted.

One thing is for certain, if she wants to be involved politically she will certainly have to get used to such attacks. Ivanka is said to be a huge influence on her father, and some are giving her credit for his more calm demeanor when addressing Congress for the first time.

A Mother’s Plea

Because so many are aware that Ivanka has such a tremendous impact on her father, some have taken to addressing Ivanka directly in hopes that they will be heard by Trump himself. For instance, one mother who is the parent of a young transgender girl wrote to Ivanka after the administration rolled back protections of transgender kids in schools. The mother, Isabel Rose, wrote of her daughter, Sadie’s, struggle saying, By four, Samuel broke out in hives when we tried to cut his hair, and at five he told us, through tears, that he wanted to burn his face off because it wasn’t a girl’s face.

She went on imploring Ivanka to think of her own children being in such a situation. Isabel said “What about your children, Ivanka? What do they want to be when they grow up? … Who are they beneath the trappings of their anatomy? Are they, like my child, a pure vessel of wonder and potential and love?” Ivanka has not publicly responded to the letter, but anyone who reads it would surely be moved by the emotion behind it.