PoliticsMelania Trump Shuts Down Viral Conspiracy Theory That Son Barron Was Rejected by Harvard University
Melania Trump shut down viral rumors that son Barron was rejected from Harvard University.
Melania Trump is setting the record straight.
After the buzz started online that Donald Trump may have gone after Harvard as revenge for allegedly rejecting their son Barron, the first lady shut down those rumors fast.
"Barron did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false," a spokesperson for Melania, 55, told a news outlet.
Barron, 19, is currently attending New York University, but his college choices suddenly became the center of gossip after the Trump administration moved to pull the plug on federal support for Harvard on Tuesday, May 27.
Melania Trump said Barron Trump didn’t apply to Harvard.
So far, the administration has already canceled nearly $3 billion in federal research grants and launched a push to stop the school from enrolling international students, which would affect about 6,800 people — or 27 percent of Harvard’s student body, per Reuters.
The aggressive move followed Harvard’s refusal to comply with a list of demands Donald issued in April. The list targeted the school’s DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs and international admissions policies.
Barron Trump attends NYU.
The president has also been vocal about the number of international students Harvard admits.
On May 25, he even ordered the university to hand over the “names and countries” of every foreign student enrolled — though the government already has that information through a federal system.
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On top of that, Donald and his administration have repeatedly accused the school and its Jewish president, Alan Garber, of allowing antisemitism to grow on campus following protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
Donald Trump has gone after Harvard since being in the White House.
Back on campus, students and professors rallied in protest during a Tuesday commencement ceremony, standing up for Harvard’s international community.
One student protester Jacob Miller took to the stage to criticize the administration’s ban on international students.
“We will not allow our identities to be invoked to destroy Harvard,” he said. “If there is anything to learn from the Jewish history, it's that when we push people out of our schools because of their identity, it's a symptom of a morally bankrupt politics.”
Harvard government professor Ryan D. Enos didn’t hold back his thoughts, saying, “The international students that I have taught and worked with are the finest people I know.”
In his 15 years at the university, Ryan added, “There is no Harvard without them.”
Donald Trump cut billions in funding from Harvard.
Even though school’s out for summer, Harvard’s legal fight is still heating up.
Another court hearing is set for May 29, when a judge will decide whether to extend the block on Donald’s foreign student ban.
Meanwhile, Harvard’s separate lawsuit challenging the loss of funding and threats to its tax-exempt status will play out through June. The judge in both cases? A Barack Obama appointee.
