Eric Trump and his wife, Lara, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland in April.
WASHINGTON — In between sharing updates about Hurricane Irma and admonishing journalists, President Trump tweeted a rare bit of personal news on Tuesday: The first grandchild born during his presidency, a boy, was delivered that morning.
The child, a 7-pound, 6-ounce boy named Eric Luke Trump, was born to Eric Trump and his wife, Lara, in New York City, the younger Mr. Trump, 33, wrote in an email. The baby, who will be called Luke, is the couple’s first and Mr. Trump’s ninth grandchild.
Eric Trump oversees the daily operations of the Trump Organization with his brother, Donald Jr. Lara, 34, is a former television producer who debuted a “Real News” program on the president’s Facebook page in August. Her most recent broadcast was Sept. 8.
“Mom is doing amazing,” Eric Trump wrote of his wife, whom he married at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s Florida estate, in 2014. His son, he wrote, “has a full head of blonde hair.”
Since President Trump took office, the White House has become a child-friendly environment, with grandchildren dropping in on Oval Office meetings and scampering across the South Lawn holding the president’s hand. Mr. Trump’s grandchildren also occasionally make international news: Arabella Kushner, the daughter of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, notably sang for President Xi Jinping of China in April.
Once he is travel-ready, Luke will likely join his cousins in visiting the president and exploring the White House. In recent months, Ivanka Trump has shared photos and video on social media of her children accompanying their grandfather to Marine One, admiring the White House china and posing in the White House briefing room. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, has also brought his children to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
The Trump family has so many young members that Luke will not even have the distinction of being the first grandchild to learn to crawl at the White House: Shortly after Mr. Trump took office in January, Ivanka Trump shared a video of her son, Theodore, crawling on the White House carpet.
“Welcome to the world, baby boy!” Ivanka wrote to her newest nephew on Instagram. “I can’t wait to meet you.”
This is the first time in decades that a president has entered the White House with so many grandchildren. Two other presidents came into office with more, according to an tally done in 2014 by FiveThirtyEight. President William Henry Harrison entered office with 25 grandchildren. And President George H.W. Bush had 10 by the time he was sworn in.
Grandchildren have also inspired changes in White House scenery: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, had swing sets, sandboxes and slides installed on the South Lawn to accommodate their grandchildren.
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