Attendees engaged in discussions about the implications of misinformation at a university summit.
At a recent event in Pittsburgh, President Trump inaccurately claimed that his uncle, Dr. John G. Trump, taught Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, at MIT. This assertion is false, as Kaczynski attended Harvard University and not MIT. Trump’s remarks have drawn criticism and raised questions about his historical assertions. The MIT institution has previously contested other statements made by Trump regarding his uncle’s teaching tenure, emphasizing the need for factual accuracy in public discourse.
During an event held at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, President Donald Trump made a statement claiming that his uncle, Dr. John G. Trump, taught Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The assertion is factually incorrect.
President Trump made this claim at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, an event emphasizing U.S. energy policies and economic strategies. During his remarks, he described his uncle as a distinguished MIT professor and referred to Kaczynski as a talented student who, according to Trump’s account, studied under Trump’s uncle, leading to the conclusion that this connection somehow related to Kaczynski’s later criminal activities.
Contrary to Trump’s statements, Ted Kaczynski did not attend MIT. Instead, he studied at Harvard University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 1962. He then completed a Master of Arts in Mathematics at the University of Michigan in 1964 and obtained his PhD in 1967. Kaczynski’s infamous bombing campaign, which resulted in three deaths and numerous injuries, took place between 1978 and 1995. His criminal activities came to light only in the mid-1990s.
Dr. John G. Trump was a prominent physicist who worked at MIT from 1936 until his retirement in 1973. He was known for pioneering high voltage research, developing one of the first million-volt X-ray generators, and advancing radar technology during World War II. Dr. Trump’s career was well-respected in scientific circles, but he passed away in 1985, over a decade before Kaczynski’s criminal notoriety emerged.
Trump also mentioned a conversation with his uncle describing Kaczynski as a “seriously good” student who, nonetheless, “didn’t work out too well” for him. However, these anecdotes appear unfounded, as there is no documented evidence that Dr. John Trump had any personal interactions or opinions regarding Kaczynski’s schooling or character.
In past remarks, Trump has claimed that his uncle was “the longest-serving professor in the history of MIT,” a statement that has been publicly contested and debunked by the institution. MIT has clarified that Dr. Trump held a distinguished yet shorter tenure as a professor.
The Democratic National Committee issued a critical response to Trump’s remarks, highlighting his interest in controversial figures like Kaczynski and contrasting it with his lack of commentary on other controversial personalities, such as Jeffrey Epstein. The White House has not issued any clarification or correction regarding Trump’s statements about his uncle or Kaczynski.
At the summit, Trump was accompanied by Republican Senator David McCormick, where they promoted the idea of U.S. “energy dominance” in global markets. The focus of the event was on energy policies and economic strategies, not historical or personal anecdotes.
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