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The recurring remark about Trump's uncle at MIT

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You're probably here because of the Oct 2026 rerun. This is the 11th time since 2016 (archive start) this story has run. The previous rerun was Oct 2026.

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Donald Trump has repeatedly brought up his late uncle, John G. Trump, who taught electrical engineering at MIT. He has used him as evidence of his own intelligence and of his grasp of technical subjects such as nuclear issues. Examples include a January 2024 rally in Nevada, where he said the uncle was the longest-serving professor in MIT's history, and a July 2025 event in Pittsburgh, where he said "Kaczynski was one of his students." Newsweek cited an MIT spokesperson who said John Trump became an assistant professor in 1936, was a full professor until 1973 and was a senior lecturer/professor emeritus until his death in 1985. Newsweek rated the "longest serving professor" claim False because at least 10 people have been MIT professors for at least 53 years. ABC News reported that an MIT spokesperson said the school has "no enrollment record or information that Ted Kaczynski ever attended MIT," and noted that Kaczynski earned degrees at Harvard and the University of Michigan.

Sources: 1, 2

20162026

Oct 2026 Trump says his uncle invented radar

On Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, Trump spoke with reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, shortly after casting his early ballot and before traveling to a rally in Georgia. Inshorts reported that he said his uncle John Trump invented radar, adding, "Can you believe it? I mean he will probably be angry at me that I knocked out Iran's radar." The remark fits the thread's pattern of citing John G. Trump's career, this time while talking about strikes on Iran's radar. Raw Story and Atlanta Black Star covered it as part of a gaggle where several topics came up, citing Aaron Rupar's summary that Trump "claimed his uncle invented radar." Inshorts noted that John Trump, who died in 1985, was an MIT professor who researched radar for the Allies during World War II. The MIT professorship and the wartime radar work match his documented record. None of the coverage reviewed describes him as the inventor of radar.

  • inshorts.com article
    US President Donald Trump claimed his uncle John Trump invented radar, saying, "Can you believe it? I mean he will probably be angry at me that I knocked out Iran's radar."
  • rawstory.com article
    Trump spoke with reporters Saturday moments after casting his early ballot in Palm Beach, Florida
  • atlantablackstar.com article
    According to Rupar, Trump claimed his uncle invented radar.

Sources: rawstory.com needs a second source · atlantablackstar.com needs a second source · inshorts.com needs a second source · x.com needs a second source

Oct 2026 Kansas rally, "the smartest scientist in the history of MIT"

At his Oct 19 rally in Park City, Kansas, Trump described an arithmetic question he said was on a cognitive test. He said "I got it," then said his uncle "was the smartest scientist in the history of MIT," as transcribed in an @Acyn clip that IBTimes UK embedded. IBTimes UK names the uncle as John G. Trump, an MIT electrical engineering professor, and places the remark within Trump's defense of his cognitive-test scores. SoapCentral wrote that Trump "linked his math skills to his family" through the uncle. Bringing up the uncle at MIT right after describing his own test answer matches the thread's pattern of citing the uncle alongside claims about his own ability. The sources do not say what Trump meant by the remark. IBTimes UK called the "smartest scientist" line "a personal assessment, not an established ranking."

  • x.com social post
    One of the questions is like 49 triple it. Divide by 3. Double that. Subtract 400. Add 293. And divide by 7. What's your number now? I got it. My uncle was the smartest scientist in the history of MIT.
  • International Business Times article
    Trump's claim that he was MIT's smartest scientist was a personal assessment, not an established ranking.
  • aol.com article
    Now how many people will get that? I got it.

Sources: International Business Times needs a second source · aol.com needs a second source · soapcentral.com needs a second source

Oct 2026 TIME interview, "I have the highest of IQs"

In a TIME interview published Oct. 1, 2026, Trump brought up his late uncle John G. Trump's MIT career while talking about his own intelligence. IBTimes UK reported that he was answering a question about AI and whether he trusted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. As quoted by The Daily Beast and HuffPost (via Yahoo), he said, "my uncle was at MIT for 41 years, and you know, I'm a—I believe in genetics, frankly, and I understand." That matches the thread's "good genes" pattern: citing the uncle to vouch for his own intellect. IBTimes UK tied the remark to Trump's earlier, disputed claim, made at a July event, that his uncle taught Theodore Kaczynski at MIT. HuffPost writer Lee Moran said Trump "revived his familiar brag," and The Daily Beast called it a "frequent brag." Both outlets reported on Oct. 6 that Seth Meyers read the answer aloud on "Late Night."

  • The Daily Beast article
    my uncle was at MIT for 41 years, and you know, I’m a—I believe in genetics, frankly, and I understand.
  • International Business Times article
    Trump claimed his uncle had spent 41 years at MIT and his belief in genetics.
  • Yahoo News article
    Meyers noted how Trump revived his familiar brag about his uncle, John Trump, during an interview with Time magazine last week.

Sources: Time reliable · International Business Times needs a second source · Yahoo News reliable · The Daily Beast needs a second source

Jun 2026 Oval Office quantum executive orders: "Did you know of my uncle at all?"

At a June 22, 2026 Oval Office signing of two quantum-technology executive orders, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, "President Trump's uncle, John Trump, was a pioneer in applying light radiation and the reflections of it to develop radar at the MIT Radiation Lab—critical in D-day, critical in the end in winning World War II." Later in the event, Trump asked Nobel physicist John Martinis, "Did you know of my uncle at all?" Martinis replied, "No. No, I didn't." Trump said, "Too bad. You missed a good man." After Martinis said, "I'm at Berkeley. Berkeley and MIT——", Trump began a reply about MIT that the official transcript marks as partly inaudible. The Daily Beast and AOL covered the exchange. AOL noted that John Trump "did teach at MIT, but his field was electrical engineering, not physics." Trump made no factual claim himself about his uncle's record. Wright's radar description broadly matches the National Academy of Engineering memorial tribute, which says John Trump worked "on microwave radar in the MIT Radiation Lab." The tribute says he was later posted to the lab's British branch and was named its director in 1944.

  • govinfo.gov statement
    Did you know of my uncle at all? / Mr. Martinis. No. No, I didn't.
  • The Daily Beast article
    randomly asked an internationally renowned physicist if he happened to know his uncle
  • aol.com article
    John did teach at MIT, but his field was electrical engineering, not physics.
  • c-span.org video Watch
    Did you know of my uncle at all?" Martinis: "No. No, I didn't." Trump: "Too bad. You missed a good man.

Sources: govinfo.gov reliable · presidency.ucsb.edu reliable · The Daily Beast needs a second source · aol.com needs a second source · nae.edu needs a second source

Mar 2026 Hebron, Kentucky: "much better blood"

On March 11, 2026, at the Verst Logistics facility in Hebron, Kentucky, Trump said his uncle had been "the longest serving professor in the history of" MIT for "41 years," and that this meant "I have much better blood" (Rev transcript). He said it right after saying Rep. Thomas Massie "went to a good college" (Rev). A clip posted by Acyn and embedded by LGBTQ Nation has him adding that he went to "the Wharton school of finance, that means I'm real smart." He has used the uncle this way before. At a January 27, 2024 Nevada rally he called his uncle "the longest serving professor, Doctor John Trump, in the history of MIT," and Newsweek's fact check rated that claim False. For that fact check, an MIT spokesperson told Newsweek that at least 10 people have been MIT professors for at least 53 years, and called John Trump "among the longest-serving faculty." Newsweek reported, citing MIT, that he became an assistant professor of electrical engineering in 1936 and was a full professor until 1973. The "41 years" figure does not match the tenure numbers Newsweek gives (Newsweek).

  • x.com social post
    My uncle was the longest serving professor at MIT. That means I have much better blood.
  • lgbtqnation.com article
    Donald Trump recently told a crowd that he has 'much better blood' because his uncle taught at MIT.

Sources: rev.com needs a second source · lgbtqnation.com needs a second source · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source

Jul 2025 Pittsburgh energy summit: "Kaczynski was one of his students"

At the Pennsylvania Energy & Innovation Summit on July 15, 2025, Trump brought up his uncle while talking about AI. He said: "my uncle was at MIT, one of the great professors, 51 years, whatever. Longest-serving professor in the history of MIT," and "Kaczynski was one of his students" (HuffPost). This repeats the thread's Kaczynski claim and its tenure claim. On the record: an MIT spokesperson told ABC the school has "no enrollment record or information that Ted Kaczynski ever attended MIT." ABC reported that Kaczynski earned degrees at Harvard and the University of Michigan, that John Trump taught electrical engineering at MIT for 37 years, and that John Trump died in 1985, "long before Kaczynski was identified as the Unabomber." Citing Newsweek, HuffPost reported that an MIT spokesperson said "at least 10 people" had taught there longer than John Trump.

  • HuffPost article
    Kaczynski was one of his students — do you know who Kaczynski was? There's very little difference between a madman and a genius," he added.
  • ABC News article
    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Trump's claims during a news briefing Thursday, but she did not answer. Instead, she touted John Trump's tenure at MIT and took another question.
  • The Daily Beast article
    Leavitt scolded *The Independent*'s Andrew Feinberg on Thursday when the D.C. correspondent brought up Trump's "impossible story" about his uncle

Sources: ABC News reliable · HuffPost needs a second source · The Daily Beast needs a second source

Jan 2024 Las Vegas rally: "longest serving professor… we're like racehorses"

At a January 27, 2024 campaign rally in Las Vegas, Trump said his uncle, John Trump, was the longest-serving professor in MIT's history. He used that to back up his own intelligence ("same genes"). Newsweek reported the remark came while Trump was defending his mental competency, amid claims he was not fit to run, and rated the "longest serving professor" claim False. Snopes said it is "unclear" whether John Trump was ever considered MIT's longest-serving faculty member. Snopes rated "True" the claim that Trump's uncle was an MIT professor. Snopes also noted Trump had used the talking point before, at a June 17, 2015 rally in New Hampshire and in a July 19, 2016 speech in South Carolina. According to an MIT spokesperson quoted by Newsweek, John Trump became a research associate after his 1933 doctorate, an assistant professor of electrical engineering in 1936 and a full professor until 1973. After that he was a senior lecturer/professor emeritus until his death in 1985. Newsweek added that the National Academy of Engineering obituary dates his promotion to full professor to 1952. The spokesperson said that, based on records kept since 1990, at least 10 people have been MIT professors for at least 53 years. So John Trump would not be the longest-serving, though he was "among the longest-serving faculty."

  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    "He's the longest serving professor, Doctor John Trump, in the history of MIT"
  • Snopes article
    "I had an uncle — he's the longest-serving professor, Dr. John Trump — in the history of MIT. Same genes. … We're smart people. … We're like racehorses, too."

Sources: Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · Snopes reliable · Yahoo News reliable

Mar 2020 CDC visit, Atlanta: "super genius… Maybe I have a natural ability"

At the CDC in Atlanta on March 6, 2020, during the coronavirus outbreak, President Trump said of his uncle: "He was at MIT. He taught at MIT for, I think, like a record number of years. He was a great super genius. Dr. John Trump." In the same exchange he said of the coronavirus: "Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for President." The transcript puts the uncle passage alongside his remarks about his own understanding of the virus. The Washington Post covered the remark, and late-night hosts, as reported by The Week and HuffPost, read it as linking his uncle to his own ability. How the details compare with the record: Matches: He did teach at MIT. The National Academy of Engineering memorial tribute says he earned an MIT doctorate in 1933 and became a research associate there that year, an assistant professor in 1936 and a professor in 1952. It also says he worked on microwave radar at the MIT Radiation Lab during World War II, formally retired in 1973, continued research as professor emeritus until 1980, and died February 21, 1985. Not borne out: "Record number of years." In a January 2024 fact-check of a similar claim (that he was MIT's "longest serving professor"), Newsweek reported that an MIT spokesperson said he was not the longest-serving faculty member, because at least 10 people have been MIT professors for at least 53 years. The spokesperson also called him "among the longest-serving faculty." Newsweek rated that 2024 claim False.

  • trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement
    You know, my uncle was a great person. He was at MIT. He taught at MIT for, I think, like a record number of years. He was a great super genius. Dr. John Trump.
  • The Washington Post article
    Every one of these doctors said, 'How do you know so much about this?' Maybe I have a natural ability.
  • theweek.com article
    Epidemiology is not genetic!" Colbert said.

Sources: trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable · The Washington Post reliable · theweek.com needs a second source · HuffPost needs a second source · nae.edu needs a second source · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source

Oct 2018 Trump cites uncle John Trump, an MIT professor, and his "natural instinct for science" on climate change

Asked by AP reporters whether climate change was nearing an irreversible point, Trump brought up his uncle, "Dr. John Trump," as "a great professor at MIT for many years." He then said he had "a natural instinct for science" (Axios, CBS, Washington Post). That fits the thread: he used his uncle to vouch for his own grasp of a scientific subject. "Many years" matches the record. Physics Today says John Trump became an MIT assistant professor of electrical engineering in 1936 and directed MIT's High-Voltage Research Laboratory until he retired in 1980. Trump also said he "didn't talk to him about this particular subject." The Post noted the uncle was an electrical engineer, not a climate scientist, and died in 1985.

  • Axios article
    My uncle was a great professor at MIT for many years. Dr. John Trump. And I didn't talk to him about this particular subject, but I have a natural instinct for science, and I will say that you have scientists on both sides of the picture.
  • cbsnews.com article
    Mr. Trump suggested he understands climate science because he possesses a "natural instinct for science."
  • The Washington Post article
    John Trump was an electrical engineer, not a climate scientist, so it's not clear what insights he would have had on climate change, particularly since he died in 1985.
  • youtube.com video

Sources: Axios reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · The Washington Post reliable · pubs.aip.org needs a second source

Jun 2018 Singapore summit press conference: "I used to discuss nuclear with him all the time"

At his press conference after meeting Kim Jong Un on June 12, 2018, Trump was asked how long denuclearization would take. In a follow-up answer on the timing, he cited his late uncle, Dr. John Trump of MIT, saying "I used to discuss nuclear with him all the time." He called him "a great, brilliant genius" and said "I think he was there 40 years." This is the thread's usual pattern: he points to the uncle's MIT career to back his own understanding of nuclear issues. Newsweek, writing that day, said the professor "never directly dealt with nuclear weapons." It also said he earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from MIT in 1933 and died of cancer in 1985 at age 78.

  • presidency.ucsb.edu statement
    I had an uncle who was a great professor for, I believe, 40 years at MIT. And I used to discuss nuclear with him all the time. He was a great expert. He was a great, brilliant genius, Dr. John Trump at MIT. I think he was there 40 years, I was told. In fact, the head of MIT sent me a book on my uncle.
  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    Trump the professor never directly dealt with nuclear weapons but, as his nephew has repeated in several interviews, he obviously held a negative opinion of them.
  • c-span.org video Watch

Sources: presidency.ucsb.edu reliable · trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source

Aug 2016 August 2016 – the July 2015 "Look, having nuclear — my uncle…" clip recirculates

In a July 21, 2015 speech in Sun City, S.C., Trump named "Dr. John Trump at MIT" as "a great professor and scientist and engineer." He followed this with "good genes, very good genes" and his own credentials. Later in the same passage he said his uncle had explained the power of nuclear "many, many years ago." That is the thread's pattern: Trump uses the uncle to vouch for his own intelligence and cites him on nuclear power. In August 2016 the passage went around social media again. Snopes said it "amused and stunned social media users," although Snopes dates the speech to July 2016 rather than July 2015. That recirculation is the wave.

  • dailykos.com article
    I saw this pop up in my Twitter feed and decided to share with the class.
  • Snopes article
    A rambling, jumbled portion of a Donald Trump speech from July 2016 amused and stunned social media users.
  • academeblog.org article
    Look, having nuclear—my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT

Sources: slate.com needs a second source · Snopes reliable · dailykos.com needs a second source · Snopes reliable

Data: JSON · CSV · about the data

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