Donald Trump has falsely claiming his father was born in Germany, again.
The US president appeared to confuse his father with his grandfather during a meeting the Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White house.
Mr Trump said he had “great respect” for Angela Merkel and Germany, as he suggested that the European nation should increase its military spending during a televised event.
“My father is German, right, was German,” he added. “And born in a very wonderful place in Germany, and so I have a great feeling for Germany, but they’re not paying what they should be paying.”
However, the president’s father, Fred Trump, was in fact, born in New York City. Friedrich Trump, his grandfather, was born in Germany before emigrating to the US in 1885 aged 16-years-old.
1/19 Donald Trump’s Cabinet
Donald Trump’s Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians.
AFP/Getty
2/19 Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement.
AFP/Getty
3/19 Robert Lighthizer
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump’s ongoing trade spat with China.
AFP/Getty
4/19 Mike Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals.
AFP/Getty
5/19 William Barr
Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation.
EPA
6/19 Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump’s previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un.
Getty
7/19 Rick Perry
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump’s presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements.
Getty
8/19 Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes.
Getty
9/19 Alex Acosta
Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta still remains in his post despite calls to resign over his involvement in a controversial case surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
Getty
10/19 Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses.
AP
11/19 Robert Wilkie
Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump’s White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions.
AFP/Getty
12/19 Elaine Chao
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband’s, Mitch McConnell.
AFP/Getty
13/19 Kirstjen Nielsen
Secretary of Homeland Kirstjen Nielsen has stirred major backlash throughout her tenure for allegedly lying about details of the zero tolerance policy that caused the systematic separation of migrant families at the US-Mexico border.
Reuters
14/19 Ben Carson
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office.
Reuters
15/19 Gina Haspel
CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay.
Getty
16/19 Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump’s administration over his refuting the president’s claims surrounding ISIS.
Reuters
17/19 Sonny Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership.
Reuters
18/19 Alex Azar
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive.
Getty
19/19 Mick Mulvaney
Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House.
EPA
1/19 Donald Trump’s Cabinet
Donald Trump’s Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians.
AFP/Getty
2/19 Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement.
AFP/Getty
3/19 Robert Lighthizer
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump’s ongoing trade spat with China.
AFP/Getty
4/19 Mike Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals.
AFP/Getty
5/19 William Barr
Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation.
EPA
6/19 Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump’s previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un.
Getty
7/19 Rick Perry
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump’s presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements.
Getty
8/19 Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes.
Getty
9/19 Alex Acosta
Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta still remains in his post despite calls to resign over his involvement in a controversial case surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
Getty
10/19 Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses.
AP
11/19 Robert Wilkie
Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump’s White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions.
AFP/Getty
12/19 Elaine Chao
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband’s, Mitch McConnell.
AFP/Getty
13/19 Kirstjen Nielsen
Secretary of Homeland Kirstjen Nielsen has stirred major backlash throughout her tenure for allegedly lying about details of the zero tolerance policy that caused the systematic separation of migrant families at the US-Mexico border.
Reuters
14/19 Ben Carson
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office.
Reuters
15/19 Gina Haspel
CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay.
Getty
16/19 Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump’s administration over his refuting the president’s claims surrounding ISIS.
Reuters
17/19 Sonny Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership.
Reuters
18/19 Alex Azar
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive.
Getty
19/19 Mick Mulvaney
Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House.
EPA
It is not the first time Mr Trump has falsely claimed that his father was born in, or lived in Germany.
At last year’s Nato summit in the Belgian capital of Brussels, he said: “I have great respect for Germany. My father is from Germany… Both of my parents are from the EU — despite the fact they don’t treat us well on trade.”
Last July during a trip to Scotland, he also told CBS News: “Don’t forget both of my parents were born in EU sectors — my mother was Scotland, my father was Germany.”
In another interview with Fox News Sunday last year, he said: “My parents were born in the European Union.”
He added, “I love these countries; Germany, Scotland, they are still in there, right?”
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
