Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump’s claim Tiffany graduated top of her class at Georgetown raises eyebrows

Former president boasted that his daughter was ‘number one’ in her Georgetown Law class in 2020, but the university says it ‘doesn’t rank students’

James Liddell
Thursday 24 October 2024 16:05 BST
Comments
Related: Trump, 78, says Obama, 63, is ‘exhausted’ and ‘looks old’

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump‘s claim that his youngest daughter Tiffany Trump graduated at the very top of her law school class is raising eyebrows — given the school doesn’t rank its students.

The former president has been boasting about his children’s academic prowess on the campaign trail, recently hailing teen son Barron, 18, as a “good student” after he began college life at New York University last month.

While attempting to court evangelical Christians at a campaign event in Concord, North Carolina, on Monday evening, Trump pivoted to praising Tiffany, 31, as a “great student.”

“She was a great student, and she went to a fantastic law school, graduated number one in her class,” the former president said.

But there’s a small problem: Georgetown Law “does not rank its students,” according to its website.

After attending the University of Pennsylvania, her father’s alma mater, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Tiffany graduated from Georgetown Law with a Juris Doctor in 2020.

Trump reacts after speaking at a faith event at the Concord Convention Center, Monday, where he boasted about Tiffany’s academic prowess
Trump reacts after speaking at a faith event at the Concord Convention Center, Monday, where he boasted about Tiffany’s academic prowess (AP)

While a lack of ranking means it isn’t possible to know which student graduated “number one,” Tiffany wasn’t listed as Summa Cum Laude — the student with the highest grade average — in the law school’s 2020 JD honors list.

In fact, she wasn’t on the honor’s list at all, which requires a 3.5 cumulative grade point average, according to Georgetown Law’s website.

The Independent has contacted Georgetown Law and the Trump campaign for more details.

Trump’s comments about his youngest daughter come less than two weeks after he announced her pregnancy during an economics speech to the Detroit Economic Club.

Tiffany Trump watches as father Donald speaks at a campaign rally at Mignes Coliseum, Greenville, on Monday
Tiffany Trump watches as father Donald speaks at a campaign rally at Mignes Coliseum, Greenville, on Monday (AP)

During the October 10 event, Trump noted that the father of Tiffany’s husband Michael Boulos, Dr Massad Boulos, was in the audience — before telling the crowd he was expecting his 11th grandchild.

“He happens to be the father of Tiffany’s husband, Michael, who’s a very exceptional young guy,” Trump told the audience.

“And she’s an exceptional young woman. And she’s going to have a baby. So that’s nice.”

Tiffany has typically steered clear of the limelight, having been only spotted a handful of times with her father this year — including at his hush money criminal trial in May and the Republican National Convention in July, just days after the attempt on Trump’s life. Just hours before her father’s academic praise on Monday, the political scion made a rare appearance at his campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in