Trump 1968 iq score
Executive summary
There is no credible evidence that Donald Trump has an IQ score recorded in 1968 or that he scored 73 on any test taken while at New York Military Academy, a viral claim that fact-checkers have repeatedly debunked [1] [2]. Public reporting shows no archival IQ result from his youth; what exists instead are estimates, anecdotes and later public claims about testing that are not equivalent to a verified 1968 IQ score [3] [4].
1. The viral “73” story is a debunked meme, not a historical document
A circulated screenshot purporting to show a 1960s newspaper story that Trump scored 73 on an IQ test administered at the New York Military Academy was determined to be fabricated: the alleged story does not appear in archives, the academy’s alumni association said no such test occurred, and multiple fact‑checks conclude there is no evidence Trump has an IQ of 73 [1] [2] [3].
2. No public record of a 1968 IQ score — reporting limits the claim
Investigations that searched newspapers and archival materials have found no credible reports of any IQ score for Trump from his school days or from 1968 specifically, and outlets updating prior debunks reaffirm that no official IQ result has been published for him [3] [2]. That absence of documentary evidence means assertions about a 1968 IQ score are unsubstantiated by the public record [2].
3. What is real: education and later public exchanges about IQ
Trump did graduate from the Wharton School with a bachelor’s degree in 1968, and that date is sometimes invoked in attempts to infer cognitive ability from academic credentials rather than standardized testing [4]. Separately, Trump has publicly challenged opponents to IQ tests and boasted about test results at various times, but those interpersonal boasts and later references to cognitive screenings are not the same as a verified historical IQ score [4] [5].
4. Estimates, historiometric studies and why they differ from test scores
Researchers sometimes estimate individuals’ intelligence using historiometric methods—inferring likely IQ from biographical and achievement data—which produces speculative rankings (the 2006 Simonton study is one example cited in public conversation), but these are not substitutes for a documented standardized IQ test result and can vary widely depending on method and assumptions [4]. Professional groups like Mensa use contemporary standardized tests and set thresholds (roughly IQ 130 for the top 2%), illustrating that informal estimates and group cutoffs differ from archival test documentation [6].
5. How IQ claims circulate and why caution matters
IQ numbers are easily weaponized online: fabricated clippings and viral claims (like the 73 meme) spread rapidly despite being false, while differing estimates and non‑equivalent tests (for example, cognitive screenings sometimes mischaracterized as “IQ tests”) add to confusion; fact‑checkers and organizations such as Full Fact and PolitiFact have repeatedly flagged the lack of evidence and the misrepresentation of tests and documents [1] [2] [5]. Additionally, psychologists caution that IQ tests vary between instruments and over time, and single scores—especially absent provenance—should not be treated as definitive measures of a person’s abilities [7].
6. Bottom line: answer to the question “Trump 1968 IQ score”
There is no verified IQ score for Donald Trump from 1968 in the public record; claims that he scored 73 on a test at New York Military Academy are false according to multiple fact‑checks, and broader estimates or later statements by Trump about testing do not create a documented 1968 IQ result [1] [2] [3]. Reporting limits prevent asserting what his IQ actually was at that time; only that the specific 1968‑dated 73 claim is unsupported by evidence [3] [2].