PresidentDonald Trumpnearly said his father was born in Germany, a gaffe he has made in the past.
Trump met withGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merzon March 3 in the Oval Office. They were speaking about theUnited Kingdom'sresponse to thewar in Iran, which Trump criticized before talking about his heritage.
"I love that country. I love it. My mother was born there," he said, referencing Scotland, which is part of the UK. "My father was born..." Trump said, gesturing to Merz, before trailing off with saying, "he knows all about my father. My father was born there."
Trump has referred tohis father as Germanin the past, though Fred Trump was born in New York.
"My father was born in Germany," Trump said at a July 2025 bilateral meeting withUK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He went on to clarify, "Or is...his parents were just out."
Here is what to know about Trump's European heritage:
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Trump's second term saw aggressive immigration and trade moves, federal downsizing, and assertive foreign interventions in Venezuelaand Iran. President Donald Trump has doubled down on an aggressiveimmigrationagenda, emphasizing record-low levels of illegal border crossings and a sweeping expansion of enforcement. In his February 2026 State of the Union address, Trump highlighted a nine‑month period in which, he claimed, "zero illegal aliens" were admitted into the U.S.—a statement that fact-checkers noted conflated admission with release on parole, though data does show no parole releases during that period.
Where was Fred Trump born?
President Trump's father Fred Trump was born in New York in 1905. Hedeveloped late-onset Alzheimer's diseaseand died in 1999 at the age of 93.
Fred Trump's father (the president's grandfather) emigrated from Germany in 1885, owned a couple of businesses, and returned to Germany to court his neighbor, according to hisNew York Times obituary. The two were married in 1902 and returned to New York, where they had Fred and two other children.
In a White House visit last year, Merz presented Trump with a framed copy of his grandfather's German birth certificate from 1869.
Trump alsosaid in 2019that his father was "born in a very wonderful place in Germany."
Where wasDonald Trump's mother born?
President Trump's motherMary Anne MacLeodwas born in Scotland and immigrated to New York in the 1930s.
Trump has often spoken warmly ofScotland, and the Trump Organization has a few golf courses there. Trump went to Trump Turnberry andTrump International Scotland near Aberdeenlast summer, ending his Scotland trip with a ribbon-cutting at a new course.
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her onX (Twitter),BlueskyandTikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Did Trump say his father was born in Germany? Yes, many times
