Donald Trump’s guests at State of the Union include Joshua Trump, schoolboy who is bullied because of his last name
- Guests the White House invites to the State of the Union typically serve to help put a face on policies the president will promote in the nationally televised address
A woman freed from federal prison after US President Donald Trump cut short her life sentence for drug offences and a Delaware boy allegedly bullied because his last name is Trump headline a varied group of 13 guests who will sit with first lady Melania Trump for the State of the Union address.
Alice Marie Johnson, 63, served more than two decades of a life sentence without parole before Trump commuted her sentence last year. Johnson’s case had been championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, who personally lobbied Trump in the Oval Office.
Delaware’s Brandywine School District said last year that steps had been taken to support Joshua Trump, an 11-year-old middle-school student who reportedly had been bullied for years because he shares the president’s last name.
“When the teacher is like, ‘Joshua Trump, are you here?’ I’ll go, ‘Yes’ and almost everybody will laugh, besides my friends,” Joshua told Inside Edition in an interview, before his invitation was announced.
“[Joshua] appreciates science, art, and history,” a statement from the White House said.
“He also loves animals and hopes to pursue a related career in the future,” it continued, adding young Trump’s hero and best friend is his Uncle Cody, a member of the United States Air Force.