Central Illinois man claims Obama, Trump are related

Barack Obama
President Barack Obama is a 26th cousin of Donald Trump. (Photo courtesy flickr/Ash Carter)

By Eric Stock

ARCOLA – President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump could hardly be more different when it comes to their backgrounds and political philosophies, but they actually share a distant family history according to a Central Illinois genealogist.

Ken Reveal of Arcola told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin it took six months of research to show Trump and Obama are 26th cousins, four times removed.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Reveal on WJBC.

“With all the negative rhetoric going around the campaigns between each of them, I said I want to see if Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama are related to each other,” Reveal said.

That rhetoric actually goes back five years ago when Trump said Obama – wasn’t born in the U.S. and therefore wasn’t eligible to be president.

Reveal said Trump is actually related to every U.S. President with the family roots tracing back 700 years. Trump is also 26th cousins with Abraham Lincoln.

He said the most distant connection Reveals says is between Trump and Franklin Roosevelt.

“(Trump) was the fourth cousin once removed of the husband of the half first cousin seven times removed of the wife of his second great grand nephew of the husband of his half first cousin 14 times removed,” Reveal noted.

Reveal added while it took six months to research it’s not that hard to imagine family connections that far back.

“We go back thousands of different combinations or people on your spouse’s side, thousands of different grandfathers, grandmothers on your opposite side,” Reveal said. “There are thousands of points back there of couples who got together and made each of us.”

Reveal noted he and his wife are also related to all 43 Presidents. Their ancestors came over the Mayflower in 1620.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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