An 11-year-old boy from Delaware had to leave school, get homeschooled for a year and then change his “Trump” last name in order to stop relentless bullying, parents have revealed.

Joshua Trump, local news outlet WPVI reported, was subjected to ceaseless bullying at school because of his last name. The bullying was so bad that Joshua’s parents decided to pull him out of school.

Megan Trump said that other children cursed at her son, called him an “idiot” and called him “stupid” because of his name. Joshua’s father Bobby Berto said that the bullying began when Donald Trump, not a relative of theirs, started his run for president. Berto said he had to pull his son out of school as a result.

“He was getting ridiculed and bullied for the fact that his last name was Trump,” Berto said, adding that he homeschooled his son for a year. This school year, Joshua, now a middle schooler, attempted to go back, but not much had changed.

The parents said they warned teachers and school officials about the past bullying. They’ve decided to speak out because Joshua has said that “he hates himself, and he hates his last name, and he feels sad all the time, and he doesn’t want to live feeling like that anymore.”

“[A]s a parent that’s scary,” Megan Trump said.

Talley Middle School Principal Mark Mayer said that teachers have been doing “their very best to try not to say [Joshua’s] last name.” Mayer also said that five students were recently disciplined for bullying Joshua. One other way the school has addressed the issue is by changing Joshua’s last name in the school system to Berto, his father’s last name.

[Image via WPVI screengrab]

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