First Lady Melania Trump’s office shut down rumors that Barron wasn’t accepted into Harvard amid Trump’s battles with the Ivy League university.
First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday rejected speculation that Barron Trump was denied admission into Harvard University, saying he didn’t even apply to the Ivy League school.
“Barron did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false,” Nicholas Clemens, the first lady’s spokesman, said in an emailed statement to NTD, sister media of The Epoch Times.
Harvard University also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Universities generally do not publicly release information about applicants who have been denied admission due to privacy reasons.
The president’s son recently wrapped up his freshman year at New York University after graduating last year from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. President Donald Trump in May 2024 referred to his son as a “great student.”
During a July 2024 campaign rally in Doral, Florida, the president touted that Barron “got into every college he wanted to” and hinted that he made his choice but did not disclose details at the time.
Some critics of Trump’s policy targeting Harvard speculated on social media that the president’s son might have been rejected for admission by the school.
“Can’t help but wonder how many Trumps got rejected by Harvard,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote on X in April in response to a news article about Harvard.
The Ivy League university has grappled with student-led protests over the war in Gaza, which was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel. The Trump administration has accused Harvard of being a hotbed of progressivism and anti-Semitism.
The administration has demanded that Harvard make changes to its leadership, revise its admissions policies, and audit its faculty and student body to ensure that the university is home to diverse viewpoints.
Harvard has pushed back against the Trump administration’s demands and in April sued the federal government.
The government has since threatened the school’s tax-exempt status and moved to cut off its enrollment of international students.
