Did Donald Trump skip daughter Ivanka's graduation?
Investigation finds out whether Donald Trump attended Ivanka's graduation in 2004
April 23, 2024
Former US president Donald Trump received serious criticism on the internet after he grieved that the hush money trial in New York City may keep him from attending his youngest son Barron Trump's high school graduation on May 17.
Critics online asserted that the Republican presumptive nominee skipped his eldest daughter Ivanka Trump's university commencement.
However, AFP Fact Check noted that this is a false media report as photos have shown that the 77-year-old father of five was present in the 2004 ceremony.
The agency cited a post on X, former Twitter, from April 18, 2024, that read: "If Donald Trump didn’t go to Ivanka’s graduation, he ain’t going to Barron’s."
The post included a photo of Ivanka Trump holding flowers and wearing a cap and gown beside her brothers Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and their late mother Ivana.
Similar posts ricocheted across X and other platforms, including Facebook and Threads. Several asked: "Where's daddy?"
However, AFP Fact Check uncovered two similar photos Ivanka posted in 2011 to a Facebook album titled "Wharton Graduation," recalling the events several years earlier.
"In honor of graduation season, here are a few photos from my own graduation from Wharton," she wrote. "I remember that day so clearly, it was such an incredible feeling!"
One picture captures her father — a fellow Wharton alum — and his sons with Ivanka, who is adorned in the same ceremonial garb.
The agency also cited the Philadelphia Daily News report from May 19, 2004: "The Donald and ex-wife Ivana attended a Wharton ceremony Sunday at which their daughter got her degree. The proud parents also took in Penn's commencement Monday at Franklin Field".
The Wharton undergraduate ceremony took place May 16, 2004, according to the school newspaper, with the university-wide commencement the following day, AFP reported.
