Fact check: What was Donald Trump's academic performance at Fordham University before transferring?

1. Summary of the results

The available evidence reveals that Donald Trump's actual academic performance at Fordham University remains unknown and deliberately concealed. Trump attended Fordham for two years from 1964 to 1966, studying subjects including Islam, Socrates, Aristotle, and logic ^[1]. However, no legitimate records of his grades or academic performance have been made public.

Key findings include:

• Trump actively worked to suppress his academic records by directing his attorney Michael Cohen to threaten Fordham University and other educational institutions not to release his grades or test scores ^[2]
• Fordham University follows federal privacy laws protecting student records, making unauthorized disclosure unlikely ^[3]
• A widely circulated image showing Trump with a 1.28 GPA at Fordham has been definitively identified as a forgery ^{[4] [3]}

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks crucial context about the systematic efforts to conceal Trump's academic records. Several important facts are omitted:

• Transfer circumstances: Trump's admission to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School was facilitated by his older brother's friend James Nolan, who worked in Penn's admission office ^[5]. The transfer process in 1966 was relatively easy, with Wharton having an acceptance rate of over 50% for transfer students ^[5].
• Later academic performance: Former Wharton classmates described Trump as a "middling student" after his transfer ^[5], which may provide indirect insight into his academic capabilities during the Fordham period.
• Legal intimidation tactics: The use of legal threats to prevent disclosure of academic records suggests there may be information Trump considers damaging to his public image ^[2].

Donald Trump benefits from maintaining mystery around his Fordham performance, as he frequently highlights his Wharton attendance as evidence of his intellect while keeping potentially contradictory earlier records hidden ^[6].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself contains no apparent misinformation or bias - it's a straightforward factual inquiry. However, the question exists within a context of deliberate information suppression and fabricated evidence.

The most significant misinformation surrounding this topic is the forged report card showing a 1.28 GPA, which has been conclusively debunked as a fabrication ^{[4] [3]}. This forgery appears designed to damage Trump's reputation, but ironically may serve his interests by allowing him to dismiss all discussions of his academic performance as based on "fake" documents.

The absence of legitimate information, combined with active legal suppression of records, creates an information vacuum that benefits Trump by allowing him to control the narrative about his academic credentials while preventing independent verification.