Did Donald Trump really never attend his children’s graduations? Exploring the claims
US President Donald Trump has recently pleaded to Manhattan judge Juan Merchan to delay the hush-money trial so he could attend his son Barron Trump’s upcoming high school graduation ceremony.
Former President Donald Trump, center right, stands with his wife Melania, second left, their son Barron, center left, as the coffin carrying the remains of Amalija Knavs, the former first lady’s mother. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)(AP)
But a swirl of allegations claimed that the former President never even attended any of his children’s graduation ceremonies.
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Over the weeks, Trump erroneously stated that the judge had informed him he couldn’t attend Barron’s graduation, and it sparked a “copypasta” frenzy alleging his absence from previous ceremonies.
However, an exhaustive investigation by Snopes unearthed documented evidence contradicting these claims.
Reports from the time of graduations, recollections from attendees, and memoirs of Trump family members all attest to his presence at most, if not all, of his children’s graduations.
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Trump attended almost every one of his children’s graduation ceremonies
The lone possible exception is Donald Trump Jr.’s 1996 high school graduation, where Trump’s attendance remains unconfirmed, though he did visit the school during his son’s final semester for a Career Day talk.
“Mr. Donald Trump, father of Don ’96,” delivered the keynote address at The Hill School’s Career Day ’96, a quarterly newspaper called Hill Ties noted.
Ivanka Trump attended The Choate School and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in May 2004. Reports confirm Donald Trump’s presence at both ceremonies, with a classmate noting at Choate, “The only time I saw Donald Trump on campus was at graduation with his security guard.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted, “The Donald and ex-wife Ivana attended a Wharton ceremony Sunday at which their daughter got her degree.”
Eric Trump graduated from The Hill School in 2002 and Georgetown University in 2006. His father’s attendance is documented, with a City & State New York report recalling, “Donald Trump asked Eric’s 13-year-old roommate, ‘Are you going to take care of my boy?’” A wire report noted the family’s presence at his Georgetown graduation.
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Tiffany Trump graduated from Viewpoint School in 2012 and the University of Pennsylvania in May 2016. A Los Angeles Times piece recounts, “You sat in the third row of my high school graduation wearing a loud salmon pink tie.”
Yahoo News covered her university graduation, stating, “Donald Trump’s youngest daughter is officially a college graduate.”
So, it is evident that the former President has attended the graduation ceremonies of almost all of his children, except one. So the alleged claim that Trump never attended his children’s graduation ceremonies is just a product of rumour mills, nothing else.
