A former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer says President Trump was no “super genius” when he applied to the Wharton School back in 1966.
James Nolan told the Washington Post that that year he had received a phone call from Trump’s brother Fred, one of his “closest friends,” asking if he would give Donald an interview. The now-president wanted to transfer from Fordham to Wharton.
Nolan said Trump’s father Fred Sr. “sought to ‘ingratiate’ himself”; nevertheless, Donald must have been “decent enough” in the face-to-face as Nolan ended up supporting his admission.
So what’s the issue?
“For decades, Trump has cited his attendance at what was then called the Wharton School of Finance as evidence of his intellect. He has said he went to ‘the hardest school to get into, the best school in the world,’ calling it ‘super genius stuff.’”
Furthermore, Nolan said he was “sure” Trump’s family hoped its influence would help get Donald into the school.
While Nolan cannot say whether his role was decisive, it was one of a string of circumstances in which Trump had a fortuitous connection, including the inheritance from his father that enabled him to build his real estate
business and a diagnosis of bone spurs that provided a medical exemption from the military, by a doctor who, according to the New York Times, rented his office from Fred Trump Sr.At the time, Nolan said, more than half of applicants to Penn were accepted, and transfer students such as Donald Trump had an even higher acceptance rate based on their college experience. A Penn official said the acceptance rate for 1966 was not available but noted that the school says on its website that the 1980 rate was “slightly greater than 40%.” Today, by comparison, the admissions rate for the incoming Penn class is 7.4 percent, the school recently announced.
“It was not very difficult,” Nolan said of the time Trump applied in 1966, adding: “I certainly was not struck by any sense that I’m sitting before a genius. Certainly not a super genius.”
How many of us are? For what it’s worth, Trump’s father had a different take, calling his son “the smartest person I know” in a 1973 New York Times article.
Trump, like just about every other GOP president before him, has been labeled a dunce by political opponents and the media alike. It’s ludicrous, of course, and a new book contradicts the current narrative.
Tim Alberta, author of “American Carnage,” told Glenn Beck on Tuesday that then-Indiana Governor Mike Pence said after his very first meeting with Trump that the current chief exec was “very inquisitive,” “constantly asking questions about everything,” and is “extremely sharp.” The meeting solidified Pence’s decision to join the 2016 GOP presidential ticket.
MORE: Psychiatry prof to lead confab which warns Trump ‘unfit for office’
MORE: Penn study: America under Trump is LESS racist
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