Trump has revered MIT. The school isn't loving him back.

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump loves talking about a special connection he has to one of the country's most esteemed universities.

For years, the president has touted his uncle, famed scientist John George Trump, who served for decades as a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the world's top research institutions.

On the campaign trail and throughout his first term, the president repeatedly used the familial tie to demonstrate his own intellectual chops. "I had an uncle who went to MIT who is a top professor, Dr. John Trump, a genius," he said in a 2015 CNN interview. "It's in my blood. I'm smart."

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