Overview

• President Trump claimed on July 15 at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh that his uncle, Dr. John G. Trump, taught the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, at MIT.
• Multiple fact-checking outlets refuted the assertion within hours by consulting university records and employment dates.
• Ted Kaczynski earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harvard in 1962 and completed his master’s and PhD at the University of Michigan by 1967.
• Dr. John G. Trump served on MIT’s faculty from 1936 to 1973 and pioneered high-voltage research, early X-ray generators, cancer radiotherapy and World War II radar development.
• Trump used the anecdote about his uncle’s prestige to bolster his call for U.S. energy leadership and attract investment at the summit.