(((▪︎A profile of John Trump, Donald’s oft-mentioned scientist uncle▪︎)))

~The president’s uncle was an MIT physicist and engineer who made his mark in the development of high-voltage generators, World War II radar, and cancer therapies~

President Trump doesn’t talk much about science. But when he does, there is an excellent chance he will bring up his late uncle John.

Asked about climate change in a 16 October 2018 interview, Trump said the climate is warming but is apt to cool down again in the future. Confronted with the contrary opinion of scientists, Trump replied that scientists disagree about the issue. Pointing out that his uncle John was “a great professor at MIT for many years,” he assured his interviewer, “I have a natural instinct for science.”

During his run for the presidency, Trump invoked his uncle as evidence of his genetic predisposition for intelligence. He has also said that conversations with his uncle made him appreciate the complex politics of nuclear weapons.

Princeton University physicist William Happer, a senior staff member with the National Security Council, told E&E News that when he was being considered to direct the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Trump spoke to him about his uncle’s work on Van de Graaff generators. “That really floored me,” recalled Happer, who knew Trump’s uncle.

Who was this uncle to whom the world of science is so inextricably tied in the president’s mind?

John George Trump was born in New York City in 1907. He was the younger brother of Donald’s father, Fred, who went into real estate before he finished high school. With financial assistance from his older brother, John enrolled in the Polytechnic Institution of Brooklyn, intending to become an architect and go into business with Fred. However, he switched to electrical engineering and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1929. He went on to Columbia University and received a master’s degree in physics in 1931.

John Trump then left New York for MIT and earned his doctorate in electrical engineering in 1933, working under physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff (see Physics Today, February 1967, page 49). Trump continued on at MIT as a research associate before receiving an appointment there as….cont.

https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.4.20181019a/full/

>>6024753

(((▪︎Who is Donald Trump's 'brilliant genius' nuclear Uncle John?▪︎)))

While wrapping up his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un in Singapore, US President Donald Trump answered a question on denuclearisation by citing a deceased relative.

Mr Trump said denuclearisation would take a "long time", adding that he used to discuss the "complex subject" with his uncle, who was a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

It is not the first time the president has cited his late uncle to back up his arguments.

The uncle in question, Prof John Trump, passed away in 1985 - but who was he?

What did Trump say?

Mr Trump fielded reporters' questions on Tuesday afternoon in Singapore after his meeting with Mr Kim.

When asked how long it would take to denuclearise the Korean peninsula, the president referred to Prof John Trump.

"Well, I don't know, when you say a long time," the president said. "I think we will do it as fast as it can be done scientifically, as fast as it can be done mechanically.

"It's a 15-year process. Assuming you wanted to do it quickly, I don't believe that.

"I had an uncle who was a great professor for, I believe, 40 years at MIT. And I used to discuss nuclear with him all the time.

"He was a great expert. He was a great, brilliant genius. Dr John Trump at MIT.

"I think he was there 40 years, I was told. In fact, the head of MIT sent me a book on my uncle. But we used to talk about nuclear.

"You're talking about a very complex subject. It's not just like, 'Oh, gee. Let's get rid of the nukes.'"….cont.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-44457471