Trump biographer explains why Melania denied Barron rumor
Melania Trump moved quickly to clear up a rumor that her son Barron had been rejected from Harvard after the fictional story became an ongoing joke within the White House. Trump biographer Michael Wolff has shed new light on the gossip among MAGA allies that President Trump had set his sights on destroying the prestigious university because his 19-year-old son was rejected from the school.
'That exists because I reported that was the joke within the White House,' he said about Melania's statement. Three weeks ago, Wolff took to Instagram to share the 'joke going around the White House this week.' 'What do all the universities Trump is targeting have in common?' he asked. 'Barron didn't get into them.'
Melania took the rare step of issuing a public denial to the 'completely false' rumor, insisting through her communications director Nicholas Clemens that 'any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false.' Barron is a freshman at NYU's lauded Stern Business School, and Trump has repeatedly said his son was accepted to several colleges but had his heart set on NYU.
Wolff admitted that he wasn't sure if the rumor had any validity, but that hasn't stopped it from spreading like wildfire within the White House. 'I don't know if there is any truth to this, there very well might be, but within the White House, that is the joke,' he said. 'Because they're like, "What is he doing?" This is, you know, this is crazy stuff,' Wolff said about Trump's rage at the Ivy league school. '"Why would this be happening?" And then they tell the Barron joke.'
Harvard has a notoriously high rejection rate with about 96% of applicants being told no. The revelation comes as Trump continues his tirade against Harvard by banning the attendance of foreign students. He also canceled the federal government's remaining contracts, which are worth about $100 million. When President Trump launched his first broadside against Harvard in April, canceling a massive round of federal funding after the university wouldn't bow to his demands, the internet was rife with speculation he was angry because his son wasn't admitted. 'Did Trump target Harvard because the university rejected Barron?,' read several posts on social media.
Even a Democratic senator stoked the fires of speculation with a tweet on the matter. 'Can't help but wonder how many Trumps got rejected by Harvard,' Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island wrote on X when he reposted an article about the president's attacks. The youngest Trump child broke from family's tradition when he decided to attend Stern Business School at New York University. The president attended the University of Pennsylvania as did many of his children. Other Trump kids went to Georgetown University.
In an interview with Daily Mail last fall, Donald Trump said Barron had been accepted to 'a lot' of colleges. 'He's a very smart guy, and he'll be going to Stern, the business school, which is a great school at NYU,' he said. He also said Barron had considered following in his footsteps at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, but ultimately chose NYU. 'It's a very high quality place. He liked it. He liked the school,' said Trump.
Barron graduated from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, last May. He lives in Trump Tower in New York while attending NYU. Melania Trump has spent much of her time as first lady in New York with her son. The two are close and she is known to be protective of him. In September, she told Fox News that Barron was always looking at studying in New York. He 'wants to be in New York and study in New York and live in his home,' she said at the time.
President Trump, meanwhile, has waged war on elite universities, accusing them of antisemitism and blasting their 'woke' ideology. He claims the top schools in the country are controlled by 'Marxist maniacs and lunatics.' Trump has demanded Harvard eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion program; cut the power of its professors; refuse foreign students; and ban masks at campus protests. Harvard is fighting back just as hard, filing lawsuits in federal court to counter the administration.
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