President Trump raised eyebrows Tuesday with an easily disproved false claim—about his father.
“My father is German—was German,” Trump said. “Born in a very wonderful place in Germany, so I have a great feeling for Germany.”
This is at least the third time in recent years Trump has said his father was born in Germany, but Fred Trump was born in New York City in October 1905, the Hill reports.
Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich Trump, was born in Germany and emigrated to the U.S. in 1885. He returned to his homeland years later but was expelled in early 1905 for having left the country to avoid military service. His wife, Elisabeth Trump, was pregnant at the time, meaning Trump’s father was probably conceived in Germany but not born there, reports the Washington Post.
Trump has made the claim about his father before while discussing relations with the European Union.
“Don’t forget both of my parents were born in EU sectors, OK?” he said last July. “My mother was Scotland. My father was Germany.”
He made the claim Tuesday during a White House event with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, USA Today reports. “I mean, Germany, honestly, is not paying their fair share,” he said. “I have great respect for Angela and I have great respect for their country.”
The Week notes that after World War II, Fred Trump spent many years claiming that his ancestry was Swedish, a claim his son repeated in The Art of the Deal. (Read more President Trump stories.)
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