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Fact Check: "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I …
Executive summary
Multiple contemporary reports document efforts by Donald Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen to keep Trump’s academic records private, including letters threatening legal action to his schools and accounts that New York Military Academy staff moved or hid his records after Trump publicly demanded Barack Obama release his transcripts [1] [2] [3]. An oft‑repeated anecdote that a Penn professor called Trump “the dumbest goddamn student I ever had” appears in compilations and commentary but is sourced to secondary recollections rather than a contemporaneous, independently verified statement in the materials provided here [4].
1. A public challenge to Obama, followed by secrecy around Trump’s own records
Reporting in multiple outlets documents that Trump publicly challenged Barack Obama to “show his records” and called him a “terrible student,” and that within a short time frame Trump’s side took steps to prevent release of Trump’s own records — including Cohen sending letters to Fordham and other institutions warning against disclosure [1] [5]. The Washington Post and other outlets recount a broader pattern: Trump’s 2011 public taunt about Obama preceded school officials’ efforts to secure Trump’s files [2] [3].
2. Michael Cohen’s testimony and letters: an explicit legal threat
Michael Cohen told Congress and provided letters showing he was directed to threaten Trump’s alma maters and the College Board with legal action if they released grades or SAT scores; at least one such letter is publicly reported and Fordham confirmed receiving contact from Trump’s team [1] [5]. Cohen described the assignment as directed by Trump, and contemporaneous news organizations published the substance of those threats [1].
3. The New York Military Academy episode: staff say records were moved or hidden
Former NYMA officials told reporters they were ordered in 2011 to find and secure Trump’s records after his public criticisms of Obama; headmaster Evan Jones described digging through archives and moving records to prevent release, and other local press accounts corroborate this chain of events [2] [3] [6]. These accounts describe pressure from wealthy alumni and school leaders, not a formal judicial determination about record validity [3].
4. On the “dumbest goddamn student” quote: origin and sourcing
The specific line attributed to a Penn professor — “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had!” — appears in online compilations and commentary about Trump’s academic record but, in the material assembled here, it’s presented as a recollection reported on DoctorZebra and similar aggregations rather than as a fully sourced contemporaneous quote verified by major outlets in these search results [4]. Available sources do not mention direct documentation in mainstream reporting that confirms the original utterance and context beyond secondary retellings [4].
5. Forensic caution: fakes, forgeries, and privacy law context
Media outlets and fact‑checkers have flagged forged or fake transcripts circulating online (for example, a bogus Fordham report card) and Fordham itself told Snopes the image was a forgery; institutions also cited federal privacy law (FERPA) that prevents release of student records without consent, which helps explain why schools declined to disclose or were legally constrained [7] [8]. Reporters note the irony of Trump demanding others’ records while his team sought to block release of his own records [1] [2].
6. Competing interpretations and motives in reporting
Reporting and commentary diverge on intent: some journalists and commentators portray the concealment as evidence Trump feared unfavorable grades; others emphasize legal privacy protections and a desire to control a public narrative. Forbes frames the issue as less about numerical grades and more about the political and reputational risks Trump perceived [8]. Michael Cohen’s statements are central to claims of directed concealment, but Trump and allies have challenged Cohen’s credibility in other contexts — a point raised across outlets though not fully resolved in these sources [1] [3].
7. What is and isn’t established by these sources
Established by the reporting: Cohen testified and submitted letters showing threats to schools; Fordham and other institutions confirm contact or received warnings; NYMA staff recount moving records after pressure [1] [5] [3]. Not established in the provided reporting: an independently verified, contemporaneous quotation by a Penn professor using the precise “dumbest goddamn student” phrasing with original sourcing beyond secondary compilations (available sources do not mention primary verification of that exact quote) [4].
In summary, mainstream reporting documents active efforts to shield Trump’s academic records and several firsthand recollections about how schools handled those records; the colorful professor‑quote circulates in commentary but, in the set of sources here, rests on secondary reporting rather than a directly attributable contemporaneous primary source [1] [2] [3] [4].