Donald Trump has certainly been in the news in recent months and years. After being president of the United States for his first term and then securing a second term after Joe Biden, he is back in the news again.
It was during his first term as US president in 2019, however, that Donald Trump made a rather unusual order. He ordered his lawyer to threaten representatives of Trump’s past education, including high school, college, and college board with being put in prison if they released his academic records.
That may seem like an unusual statement but it’s amazing that his grades and achievements have all remained completely hidden from public view. This may be due to a fear of legal action, as he did make threats during that time.
This also makes some people wonder how Trump was able to make such a threat and how it lasted for many years. It may make you wonder what he is hiding from his earlier educational pursuits.
Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen revealed six years ago that he was forced to warn all past educational facilities where Trump attended about the risks associated with exposing his achievements at school. It was a confession that was part of his testimony to Congress, with now 58-year-old Cohen providing attendees with an example letter he sent during that time.
In the note, the lawyer had threatened the president of Fordham University. Trump had gone to that university for two years and then was transferred to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he got his bachelor’s degree.
At Trump’s old high school, representatives have also confirmed in Congress that they received an identical letter. Both the college board and the University of Pennsylvania did not comment at the time.
Something interesting to note is that the letters threatening legal action were not really necessary at the time. If somebody were to disclose the academic record of any student without their permission, it would be an illegal act and that has been the case since the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
Even though it is illegal, it does happen on occasion so Trump may have just sent the letters in order to ensure that they follow the law. In addition, there may be something in his past that gives him the reason to be paranoid, but that has yet to be seen.
Not all that long ago, Trump was making fun of Barack Obama’s lack of education. Trump may be in a similar situation, however, because he and Obama both attended less competitive schools for two years and then transferred to Ivy League facilities.
Neither politician graduated with honors, but Obama did graduate magna cum laude from Harvard Law. Trump did not.
Since that time, Trump has often questioned how Obama could have gotten into an Ivy League school.
Trump has often boasted about how he was ‘first in his class’ when attending the Wharton School in Pennsylvania. In actuality, he didn’t graduate with honors.
Only students who have a 3.40-grade point average or above can obtain that achievement. This means that Trump scored lower than 3.40 and was not at the top of his class.
It’s interesting to speculate but with the law and the threatening letters, it’s not likely that we are going to see anything soon.