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What grades did Donald J. Trump receive at Fordham University?
Executive summary
Donald J. Trump’s actual grades from Fordham University are not publicly known, and widely shared images purporting to be his transcript have been identified as fabrications by Fordham officials and multiple fact-checkers; federal student-privacy law also prevents disclosure without his consent. The circulating doctored document that lists a 1.28 GPA with several Cs, a D+ and an F has been repeatedly debunked, leaving only anecdotal recollections from classmates and official denials as the public record [1] [2] [3].
1. What people claim — a sensational transcript that won’t hold up under scrutiny
The most visible claim circulating on social media and in some reporting is that Trump’s Fordham transcript shows very poor academic performance, specifically a 1.28 GPA and grades including three C-minuses, a D-plus in English literature and an F in statistics. That claim is based on a specific image that has been in circulation since 2019 and resurfaced in 2024; fact-checking organizations and news outlets documented the details of that image and traced its circulation [3]. Proponents of the claim have used the image to argue that Trump underperformed academically during his first two college years before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, while detractors have flagged clear signs of alteration. The existence of the image fueled discussion, but the provenance and authenticity of the document are central to whether the claim can be accepted as fact.
2. Fordham’s response and the barrier of federal privacy rules
Fordham University has consistently labeled the particular transcript image a forgery and said it is not authentic, citing internal review and identifying factual errors in the document such as an incorrect address; the school reiterated that student records are protected by federal law and cannot be released without proper authorization [1] [2]. Reporters who sought confirmation were told the same: the university would not and could not publish private academic records, and a spokesperson repeated that the circulated image was not credible [3] [2]. Those institutional denials are decisive for public verification: without a record released by Fordham or Trump, the university’s statement and federal privacy protections mean the claims in the doctored transcript remain unsupported by verifiable primary evidence.
3. The forged document’s details, the timeline and prior debunkings
The forged transcript that many posts quote lists specific semester courses and grades and calculates a 1.28 cumulative GPA, a figure that was featured prominently in several debunking articles in October 2024 and earlier replications stretching back to 2019 [2] [1]. Fact-checkers and Reuters documented factual inconsistencies in the image that pointed to manipulation; those inconsistencies include formatting, address errors and discrepancies that conflict with Fordham’s official records procedures [1]. Multiple outlets and independent fact-checking entities published analyses of the document’s anomalies, concluding the image had been altered and therefore could not be accepted as an authentic academic record, and those debunks predate the most recent recirculations of the image.
4. Classmate recollections and the limits of anecdotal evidence
Independent recollections from former classmates offer contrasting but anecdotal insights: some former Fordham students have said Trump’s grades were roughly in the C-range, while others recall better performance, with at least one contemporary claiming B-range marks [4]. These personal memories were reported in feature articles and provide color about his social standing and academic impressions but are not substitutes for official transcripts and are subject to faulty recall and selection bias. The right to privacy and legal letters from Trump’s lawyers to Fordham further curtailed any official release; reporting shows his legal team threatened action if the school disclosed records, reinforcing why contemporaneous classmates’ memories and later secondhand accounts are all that remain in the public domain [5].
5. What’s settled, what remains contested and why it matters
What is settled: the specific public image purporting to be Trump’s Fordham transcript has been judged a forgery by Fordham and fact-checkers, and federal privacy rules prevent independent confirmation without the individual’s consent [1] [2]. What remains contested: the true numerical details of Trump’s Fordham grades and GPA, since Trump has not released transcripts and Fordham will not disclose them absent authorization. The dispute matters politically and historically because opponents and supporters alike use grades as shorthand for competence or credibility; the absence of verifiable records means debate will continue to rely on disputed documents, anecdote and institutional denials rather than primary source evidence, leaving the question unresolved in public fact.