Fact check: What are the controversies surrounding Trump's college transcripts and grades?

1. Summary of the results

The primary controversy surrounding Trump's college transcripts and grades centers on threats made to prevent their disclosure. According to testimony from Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney, Trump directed Cohen to threaten his colleges and high school not to release his grades or test scores ^{[1] [2]}. Specifically, Fordham University confirmed that Cohen warned the institution not to disclose Trump's academic records ^[2].

The controversy stems from Trump's apparent concern about his academic performance becoming public knowledge. Trump threatened to sue his colleges if they released his academic records, suggesting significant anxiety about public scrutiny of his grades and test scores ^[1]. These records have never been made public and remain protected under federal law ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal important context about Trump's broader relationship with academic records and transparency. While the original question focuses on Trump's own transcripts, one source notes that Trump has a history of demanding other politicians' college records, including making claims about Obama's college records and offering to donate $5 million to charity in exchange for Obama's college and passport records ^[3].

This creates a notable contrast: Trump demanded transparency from others regarding academic records while simultaneously taking legal action to prevent disclosure of his own. The sources suggest this pattern fits within Trump's lengthy history of promoting conspiracy theories and rumors ^[3], though the specific details of what Trump was trying to hide remain unknown since the records were never released.

Missing viewpoints include:

• Trump's own explanation for why he sought to keep his records private
• Whether the threats were standard legal practice or unusual behavior
• The actual content or quality of Trump's academic performance
• Legal experts' opinions on the appropriateness of such threats

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself does not contain misinformation, as it appropriately asks about "controversies" rather than making specific claims. However, the question's framing could benefit from additional context about the ironic nature of Trump's position - demanding academic transparency from political opponents while aggressively preventing disclosure of his own records ^[3].

The sources consistently support the existence of genuine controversy around this issue, with multiple independent confirmations of the threats made through Cohen ^{[1] [2]}. The controversy appears to be factually grounded rather than speculative, as Fordham University directly confirmed receiving warnings from Cohen ^[2].