Donald Trump's grandfather came to America from Sweden
| Donald Trump's grandfather came to America from Sweden | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "The Trump family is of Swedish origin, and Donald Trump's grandfather came to America from Sweden as a child." | |
| Domain | History |
| Tactic | Fabrication False Context |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 1987 |
| Origin | A claim in Donald Trump's 1987 book The Art of the Deal, drawn from a story told by his father Fred Trump |
| Last reviewed | 2026-11-03 |
| Further reading: books on History | |
The claim that Donald Trump's grandfather came from Sweden is a family story that was never true. Friedrich Trump was born in Kallstadt, Germany.
What the evidence shows
- The record. Friedrich Trump was born in Kallstadt, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in 1885 at age 16. Both of Fred Trump's parents were born in Germany.
- The book. The Art of the Deal said the grandfather came from Sweden. PolitiFact rated the claim inaccurate.
- Why Fred said it. A cousin, John Walter, said Fred Trump claimed Swedish ancestry because he feared anti-German feeling after World War II. Reporting by Vanity Fair and the Forward said he also wanted to avoid alienating Jewish tenants.
- Later retreat. The Swedish claim was gone from Trump's later books. In 2016 he told the Boston Globe his father talked about being Swedish because 'our country was at war with Germany.' Trump later said he was proud of his German heritage and was grand marshal of New York's 1999 Steuben Parade.
Why it persists
A family story repeated in print becomes a fact for readers. Corrections spread slowly, and few people check ancestry claims.
Lessons for readers
- Family stories deserve the same sourcing as anything else.
- Motives for an origin story, such as avoiding prejudice, can be sympathetic and still produce false history.
- Check immigration and birth records.
See also
Sources
- Donald Trump with Tony Schwartz, The Art of the Deal, 1987.
- PolitiFact, 'German, Scottish, Swedish: What has Donald Trump said,' August 7, 2024.
- The Forward, 'Donald Trump's Family Hid German Roots,' 2016.
- History.com, 'Donald Trump's father and mother ancestry.'