White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Clashes With Reporter Over Trump's Disputed Unabomber Claim

During a July 15 event in Pittsburgh, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that his uncle, John Trump, a former MIT professor, taught Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber. This story is factually incorrect since Kaczynski never attended MIT, and John Trump died in 1985, well before Kaczynski’s identity was known in 1996. When White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg questioned Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the president's inaccurate remarks at a July 17 press briefing, she responded by belittling the reporter and deflected from addressing the factual errors. Leavitt defended John Trump’s intelligence and tenure at MIT but failed to acknowledge the timeline and student affiliation inaccuracies. The university also debunked Trump's claim regarding John Trump being the longest-serving professor, noting several professors have served longer. This exchange underscores ongoing controversies over the accuracy of President Trump’s statements and the White House’s handling of media scrutiny.