It might seem like ancient history, but during the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump claimed he would make in vitro fertilization free to Americans during his second term. In fact, with just weeks remaining before Election Day, the Republican declared that he considered himself “the father of IVF,” which was every bit as ridiculous as it seemed.

After returning to the White House, the clumsy rhetoric continued. Last spring, at an event to commemorate Women’s History Month, the president said, “I’ll be known as the fertilization president, and that’s OK, that’s not bad.” This week, he once again pitched himself at a White House event as the “father of fertility.”

At a gathering focused on maternal healthcare, Trump said, “I must say, I shouldn’t admit this, but the first time I really heard about the fertility was through Katie. She said, ‘Sir, we have to do something.’ And I’m a quick study, so I learned everything there is to learn in about three, four minutes. And I became the father of fertility.”

For context, the comment about “Katie” was in reference to Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, who is part of a story he’s been telling for a while. According to Trump, after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling blocked IVF in the state in 2024, Britt called him, took two minutes to explain what IVF was and he announced plans to make the procedure free shortly after.

In his own telling, Trump wasn’t especially familiar with this common medical treatment until nearly eight years after the start of his presidency.

Nevertheless, despite his boasts, the president abandoned his campaign promise — he signed an executive order to expand access to IVF, but it’s still far from free — and late last year, Trump’s congressional allies scrapped plans to help active-duty service members and their families get IVF treatments.

As for the administration’s efforts to implement Trump’s executive order, officials issued guidance last fall that failed to direct insurers to cover IVF. Instead, as Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts put it, the White House’s idea was to “politely ask companies to add IVF coverage out of the goodness of their own hearts — with zero federal investment and no requirement for them to follow through.”

If Trump is “the father of fertility,” he’s an absentee father.

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