President Donald Trump has obviously been known to go off on random tangents, and he has also bragged about his uncle before. Still, people can’t figure out why he randomly asked a physicist about his uncle when signing two executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday, June 22.
Trump signed executive orders related to quantum computing. He was surrounded by officials, tech company executives, and scientists, including renowned physicist and professor John Martinis. And the conversation took an interesting turn because of Trump.
During discussions about quantum computing, Trump started talking about Iran.
Trump: Did you know of my uncle at all?
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 22, 2026
“No”
Trump: Oh. pic.twitter.com/krH1KN31w4
In response to what was being said about the executive orders, Trump said, “Just, if I might, so with respect to the Strait (of Hormuz), a lot of oil pouring out, hm?” Then, out of nowhere, Trump suddenly turned toward Martinis and said, “Did you know of my uncle at all?”
Martinis understandably appeared confused and unsure of who the president was actually speaking to. Can you blame him? When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed him that Trump was asking him this random question about his uncle, he simply answered, “No, no.”
Trump seemed shocked by this (and maybe a bit offended). “You didn’t?” Trump asked. Martinis then confirmed that he did not know Trump’s uncle, and explained that he and Trump’s uncle had worked on opposite sides of the country (Martinis works as a professor in California, and Trump’s late uncle worked in Massachusetts).
On social media, people also pointed out that Trump’s uncle died in 1985.
It's giving dinner with grandpa at the old folks' home. https://t.co/IlNvMtmAyD
— Kelsie Taggart (@kelsientaggart) June 22, 2026
And Martinis, who was born in 1958, is younger than the president is. So, people had questions about how exactly Martinis would know Trump’s uncle. “Trump’s uncle died in 1985,” someone on X pointed out. “He would be 119, if still alive.” And another critic questioned, “What percentage of people know an 80 year-old man’s uncle?”
Other critics noted that “grandpa” definitely appeared “frazzled,” especially because he seemed to totally veer off topic. “Is there ever an actual agenda to these meetings?” another person wondered.
Someone else summarized the whole thing with: “It’s giving dinner with grandpa at the old folks’ home.”
Trump appears to take pride in his uncle’s achievements.
Earlier this year, Trump tried to say that he has “better blood” because his uncle was so intelligent and accomplished. He bragged about how his uncle previously worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He seemed to suggest that his uncle’s intelligence means that he is intelligent as well. At the time, Trump was complaining about Thomas Massie and said, “You know, he’s got one thing going. He went to a good college.”
Then, he started bragging about his uncle. “My uncle was the longest-serving professor at MIT,” he said. “That means I have much better blood. But I went to the hardest college of all to get into, the Wharton School of Finance, that means I’m real smart.”
Trump’s uncle really did work at MIT, but he’s not the school’s “longest-serving professor.” The university did, however, confirm that Trump’s uncle is still one of “the longest-serving professors in our history,” per People.
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