Melania Trump Shuts Down Conspiracy Theory Suggesting Barron Rejected by Harvard In Rare Statement
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First Lady Melania Trump issued a rare public rebuttal Tuesday to swat down a conspiracy theory that her son, Barron Trump, was rejected by Harvard – a claim that, some suggested, motivated President Donald Trump’s escalating campaign against the Ivy League university.
A spokesperson for the first lady told The Palm Beach Post: “Barron did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false.”
The statement follows a surge in speculation that Trump’s recent efforts to defund Harvard stem from a personal slight. The president, however, has made clear that his feud with the school centres on its handling of foreign student records, campus protests, and what he has called “very antisemitic” behavior.
Trump has ordered federal agencies to identify ways to terminate all government contracts with Harvard, a move that prompted the university to sue in federal court to restore $2.2 billion in grant funding.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a letter declaring that Harvard had lost the “privilege” of enrolling international students. The letter accused the university of failing to comply with information requests, fostering an “unsafe campus environment” with pro-Palestine protests and promoting “racist ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ policies.”
A federal judge has since issued a temporary restraining order preventing the government from stripping Harvard’s ability to host international students under the F-1 and J-1 visa programs.
Trump took to Truth Social to defend his position: “We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard… how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country,” he posted. He claimed Harvard had “shopped around and found the absolute best Judge (for them!),” but added, “have no fear, the Government will, in the end, WIN!”
He also floated redirecting federal education funding to trade schools instead. “What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!”
