First Lady Melania Trump denied a viral rumor that her son, Barron Trump, was rejected from Harvard University.
“Barron did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false,” Nicholas Clemens, Melania’s communications director, told the New York Post.
Conspiracy theorists on social media have speculated that President Donald Trump’s ongoing war on Harvard could be revenge for his youngest child being turned away from the prestigious university.
Trump’s administration has accused Harvard of not doing enough to prevent antisemitism on its campus. In an escalating series of attacks, Trump has frozen the school’s funding and revoked its ability to enroll international students lest it acquiesce to a long list of demands from the White House.
Speculation about Trump’s real motivation for targeting the school ran so rampant that even a senator hinted at the theory.
“Can’t help but wonder how many Trumps got rejected by Harvard,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wrote in an X post alongside an article about Trump’s moves against the university.
Barron, 19, just wrapped up his freshman year at NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Trump said in September—after his son was spotted on the New York City school’s campus—that Barron had been accepted to “a lot of schools,” but didn’t specify which ones.
The president admitted that his son, whom he called a “smart guy,” opted not to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School.
Harvard, founded in 1636, predates the existence of the United States. It is the richest university in the country with an endowment of $50 billion and one of the most selective, admitting just 4 percent of applicants.
While none of Trump’s own children have attended Harvard, his son-in-law Jared Kushner attended the Ivy League school—although it may have helped that his father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, made a $2.5 million donation that year.
Harvard has been a top choice for other presidential kids—including Barack Obama’s daughter Malia, who graduated in 2021 with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies.
The White House did not immediately return The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
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