A rumor that circulated online in October 2025 claimed Barron Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, had a boyfriend named Carlos. According to the story, Barron Trump, 19, was dating a man some users identified as an Argentine ballroom dancer named Carlos Strasser. One user said Donald Trump himself closed multiple floors of Trump Tower for a date between the pair.
On social media, a popular political commentator known as "Hawk" — or @mdg650hawk of Hawk's Podcasts — posted a YouTube reaction video (archived) promoting the rumor. That Oct. 25 video showed Hawk's reaction to TikTok user @tigre_zigre saying of Barron Trump, "He caused chaos at Trump Tower when he closed a whole full floor so that he could have a private meeting with his new boyfriend, Carlos." That user went on to say:
Carlos, the Argentinian ballroom dancer, who's now dating Barron. Well, I don't think the father knew anything about this. So, Donald closed not just the floor Barron was on but three floors above and three floors below. This was breaking news.
Users shared this rumor on Bluesky (archived), Facebook, Instagram, Threads (archived), TikTok (archived) and X (archived). Some posts included pictures of a man named Carlos Strasser we traced with a reverse-image search as performing with the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany. Snopes readers also searched our website for information about the rumor.
In short, the rumor that Barron Trump had an Argentine ballroom dancer boyfriend named Carlos was false.
The timeline of social media posts and videos promoting the rumor suggested users conflated the matter with a similar Barron Trump rumor from September, then added unsubstantiated information regarding Strasser — a real German-born (not Argentine) ballet dancer. Users' mentions of Argentina likely stemmed from further conflation of the dancer with an Argentine political scientist by the same name, who died in 2024.
Stuttgart Ballet spokesperson Jennifer Schurr told Snopes by email that the rumor about one of their performers named Carlos Strasser was not true:
After talking with Carlos, I can confirm that he has no connection whatsoever to Barron Trump — he has never met him. He is also not 32 years old, has no training as a ballroom dancer, and has no Argentine roots. We cannot explain the origin of this rumor and would be very grateful for a correction.
Strasser himself also told us via an Instagram message, "This rumor is false and people [are using] my photos without permission, claiming I am from Argentina and 32 years old."
The website for the Stuttgart Ballet listed (archived) the German-born Strasser as one of its apprentice-level dancers. The page did not mention anything about ballroom dancing. Users who shared the "ballroom dancer" claim in the Barron Trump rumor possibly conflated the matter with Donald Trump's ongoing effort to build a large ballroom on the White House's grounds.
Upon reaching out to Hawk's Podcasts by email, a user named Falcon told Snopes they asked the commentator Hawk, their brother, to remove their YouTube video. Falcon said, "Last thing we want to be doing is spreading that kind of stuff and making things difficult for someone like Carlos. I have let my brother know to be more mindful of this and also I am going to do the same as I am the one who screens things and I missed this one somehow." We also contacted TikTok user @tigre_zigre to ask for credible evidence to support the information in their videos, as well as the White House to request comment. We will update this article if we receive further details or statements.
Digging into the rumor
On Sept. 29, the celebrity gossip publication Page Six published an article with the headline, "Barron Trump shut down a whole floor of Trump Tower for a date." That story's author, citing an anonymous source, said Barron Trump "recently had a date at Trump Tower" in New York City, allegedly held at the building "strictly for security reasons." The article purported that Barron Trump and his stature — 6 feet, 7 inches to 6 feet, 9 inches tall — caught the attention of girls on the Washington campus of New York University, where he attends school. The story made no mention of Barron Trump dating a man.
Weeks after the Page Six story, on or just before Oct. 19, TikTok user @tigre_zigre posted his video telling a similar story about Barron Trump going on a date in a partially closed-down Trump Tower. The user made no mention of college-age women and instead alleged, without evidence, that Barron Trump had a date with a boyfriend named Carlos.
Other videos later appeared on various social media platforms telling a similar story. In addition to the aforementioned post examples, one TikTok user's video (archived) from Oct. 23 received nearly 4 million views. In the clip, the user said, "Barron Trump's boyfriend — let it sink in — his boyfriend is from Argentina. He's also an Argentinian ballroom dancer. Do with that information what you will."
On an unknown date after Oct. 19, @tigre_zigre's video disappeared, suggesting either he or TikTok deleted it, or he changed its privacy settings. As of Oct. 28, the original link led users to a message reading, "Video currently unavailable." A TikTok page hosted a list of users' videos who featured reactions or other shares of the audio from @tigre_zigre's clip.
As users continued to spread the evidence-free rumor online, some created videos making light of the matter with sketches and satirical takes. One video (archived), receiving nearly 4 million views, depicted a user speaking into the camera while pretending to be dating Barron Trump. One commenter under the video posted the picture of the German-born Strasser found on the Stuttgart Ballet website.
A different TikTok user also posted a popular video (archived) poking fun at the claim with satire, including with the hashtag "#politicalsatire." Their video featured Strasser's Stuttgart Ballet photo.
For further reading, we previously fact-checked a rumor about whether an image truly showed Barron Trump standing next to his family members.