While Donald Trump was in a meeting on Tuesday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he mistakenly said his father, Fred Trump was also born in Germany. Trump’s niece, Mary Trump quickly reacted to his incorrect statement and made a post on X (formerly Twitter) to correct his error.
“This is not the kind of insider knowledge most people have access to, but my grandfather, Fred Trump, Sr., was not born in Germany; he was born in the Bronx, NY, and grew up in Woodhaven, Queens–something you’d think his favorite son would know,” she wrote.
The gaffe came as the president was speaking to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was sitting next to him as the president said how much he loves the UK. First, he said that both his parents were born in Great Britain, saying, “I love the UK, my mother was born there,” as he spoke of the UK’s struggle with energy and immigration.
The president then gestured to the German Chancellor, saying, “My father was… he knows all about my father. My father was born there.”
Mary, Donald’s niece is the one family member who doesn’t shy away from criticizing him. She pointed out that his father wasn’t born in Germany, but was born in the Bronx, NY, and grew up in Woodhaven, Queens, noting that this fact is “something you’d think his favorite son would know.”
This is not the kind of insider knowledge most people have access to, but my grandfather, Fred Trump, Sr., was not born in Germany; he was born in the Bronx, NY, and grew up in Woodhaven, Queens–something you’d think his favorite son would know.
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) March 4, 2026
The situation with the US president continues to make people believe he is suffering from dementia and poor health as he continues to push his narrative. After Mary’s X post, the comments section came alive with many X users leaving their opinions.
In response, one X user agreed with Mary, writing, “Exactly, Mary. The “very stable genius” with the “best genes” and “perfect recall” can’t even get his own father’s birthplace right. But sure, let’s trust this guy with classified briefings again. Family lore, Trump edition: facts are for losers.”
One social media user wrote, “He lives in parallel reality. The sanity is gone completely.” Another responded briefly, commenting, “Once a liar, always a liar.”
On the subject of lying, another X user pointed out, “As a career criminal grifter, Trump lies pathologically. It has served him well. Kept him out of jail. Kept in favor with Putin and his oligarchs. Exalted him in the minds of aggrieved white Christian nationalists. Got him elected president twice. With little or no downside.”
Another social media person asked Musk’s AI tool, Grok, to outline the family tree, which wrote, “Donald Trump’s paternal grandfather, Friedrich Trump, was born in Kallstadt, Germany (then Kingdom of Bavaria) on March 14 1869. He immigrated to the US in 1885 at age 16. His son Fred Trump Sr. (Donald’s father) was born in the Bronx, NY, in 1905.”
It is sad that an AI tool knows details of the family tree that Donald appears to have forgotten.
