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Quick Take
While his criminal fraud trial is not in session on May 17, former President Donald Trump plans to attend the high school graduation of his son Barron in Florida as well as a campaign event in Minnesota. A post on Threads misleadingly claims he will “miss his son’s graduation for fundraiser.” The graduation is in the morning and the fundraising dinner in the evening.
Full Story
As former President Donald Trump’s criminal fraud trial opened in Manhattan on April 15, Trump asked that he be allowed to attend the high school graduation of his son Barron on May 17. As we’ve written, New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan did not immediately rule on the request, leading Trump and conservative commentators to falsely claim the judge would not allow Trump to go to the graduation.
In fact, the judge announced on April 30 — two weeks into the trial — that Trump could attend Barron’s graduation in Palm Beach, Florida. Merchan said the court would not be in session on May 17.
In addition to his son’s graduation, Trump has other plans for that day.
The Republican Party of Minnesota announced on May 6 that the former president will speak at the party’s fundraising Lincoln Reagan dinner in St. Paul on the evening of May 17. President Joe Biden won Minnesota in 2020, but the Trump campaign believes it can flip the state in the November election.
In light of the Minnesota Republicans’ announcement, a May 7 post on Threads said that Trump’s attendance at the campaign event means he will not be going to Barron’s graduation, citing a Los Angeles Magazine article. “Trump Will Reportedly Miss His Son’s Graduation for Fundraiser: Judge Merchan canceled court proceedings on May 17 so Donald Trump could attend his son Barron’s graduation, but Trump is attending a GOP fundraiser that day,” the headline on the story and the text of the post said.
We asked Trump’s team for a response to the Threads post, and we received a one-line email from campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung saying the author of the social media post, a Democratic strategist, “is a fake news bitch.”
The liberal New Republic also ran a headline on May 7 claiming, “Trump Appears to Be Ditching Barron’s Graduation for a Fundraiser. Of course Donald Trump is bailing on his own son’s graduation.”
But the article later says, “Trump could use his private jet to attend both Barron’s graduation and the Minnesota dinner, assuming his son’s graduation isn’t later in the day.”
Similarly, the Los Angeles Magazine said “it’s unclear” whether Trump can attend Barron’s graduation.
It appears the former president can make it to both events. Barron’s graduation ceremony at the private Oxbridge Academy will begin at 10 a.m., People magazine reported. We reached out to the academy for confirmation of the time of the graduation but didn’t hear back.
The Republican Party fundraising dinner in St. Paul is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The new graduate will participate in his father’s likely ascension to Republican presidential nominee. The 18-year-old Barron was chosen as one of Florida’s delegates to the Republican National Convention, which will be held in July in Milwaukee.
Update, May 13: Two days after the Florida Republican Party announced that Barron Trump had been chosen to be one of Florida’s delegates to the Republican National Convention, former First Lady Melania Trump announced her son “regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments,” the New York Times reported on May 10.
Updated, May 17: Trump attended his son’s graduation on May 17.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Allen, Jonathan, et al. “At a private donor retreat, Trump team says Minnesota and Virginia are in play.” NBC News. 4 May 2024.
Alvord, Kyler. “Donald Trump Is Headlining a GOP Event in Minnesota on the Same Day as Barron’s Florida Graduation: Reports.” People. 7 May 2024.
Cheung, Steven. Spokesperson, Donald Trump for President Campaign. Email to FactCheck.org. 8 May 2024.
Fins, Antonio. “Trump schedules doubleheader for court day off — son’s graduation and Minnesota GOP dinner.” Palm Beach Post. 7 May 2024.
Forum News Service. “Donald Trump to visit St. Paul for Republican fundraising dinner.” Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Updated 7 May 2024.
Gold, Michael. “Barron Trump Is Picked to Be Delegate at the Republican Convention.” New York Times. 9 May 2024.
Haag, Matthew. “Judge Says Trump Can Attend Son’s High School Graduation in Florida.” New York Times. 30 Apr 2024.
Kiely, Eugene. “Judge Hasn’t Ruled on Trump’s Graduation Request.” FactCheck.org. Updated 7 May 2024.
Lewerenz, Jennifer. “Former President Donald Trump Set to Headline Minnesota GOP’s 2024 Lincoln Reagan Dinner on May 17th.” KNSI. 6 May 2024.
Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. “2020 General Election Results. Votes for U.S. President and Vice President.” Accessed 8 May 20204.
Rashid, Hafiz. “Trump Appears to Be Ditching Barron’s Graduation for a Fundraiser.” The New Republic. 7 May 2024.
Republican Party of Minnesota. @mngop. “Chairman Hann, the MN GOP, & @tmemmer are excited to announce that President @realDonaldTrump will be headlining our 2024 Lincoln Regan dinner! We hope to see you there!” X. 6 May 2024.
Sammarco, Ally. “Trump Will Reportedly Miss His Son’s Graduation for Fundraiser.” Los Angeles Magazine. 8 May 2024.