Camilla Jessen
As speculation swirls over Donald Trump’s feud with Harvard, Melania Trump breaks her silence.
U.S. First Lady Melania Trump is pushing back against online rumors linking her son, Barron Trump, to the escalating feud between Donald Trump and Harvard University.
A spokesperson for Melania Trump confirmed on Monday that Barron never applied to Harvard, calling recent claims to the contrary “completely false.”
The clarification comes as Donald Trump intensifies his public attacks on Harvard, accusing the Ivy League institution of antisemitism and mismanagement.
The former president has urged federal agencies to cut ties with Harvard and floated the idea of redirecting its federal funding — amounting to billions — to vocational and trade schools instead.
“I am seriously looking at taking away all federal funding from Harvard and giving it to trade schools all across our land,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!”
Speculation Surges Online
As Trump’s rhetoric against Harvard reached new heights, a theory began circulating on social media suggesting his anger stemmed from Barron being rejected by the school.
The speculation gained traction after U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse posted on X in April, “Can’t help but wonder how many Trumps got rejected by Harvard,” in response to Trump’s pressure campaign against elite universities.
However, the claim has no factual backing. Melania Trump’s spokesperson, Nicholas Clemens, dismissed the rumor outright.
“Barron did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false,” Clemens told the Palm Beach Post.
Barron Chooses NYU Over Ivies
In a 2024 interview with the Daily Mail, Donald Trump said Barron had been accepted to “a lot” of colleges and had considered attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Trump’s own alma mater. Ultimately, Barron chose to enroll at NYU’s Stern School of Business.
“He’s a very smart guy, and he’ll be going to Stern, the business school, which is a great school at NYU,” Trump said at the time. “It’s a very high-quality place. He liked it. He liked the school.”
At the heart of Trump’s standoff with Harvard is a lawsuit filed by the university to recover approximately $3.2 billion in federal grant money that the Biden administration had frozen.
The Trump administration had demanded sweeping changes to Harvard’s admissions and hiring practices, which the school refused.