Twelve years ago I wrote one of my very favorite diaries: How in the world did GDub get an MBA from Harvard?
It didn’t get very many recs or comments, but I have linked to it many times over the years and it was cited on some other blogs as well as a good explanation of why there was no need to be impressed by Bush 43 as the “MBA President”.
There are ways to get an Ivy League education that have nothing at all to do with how smart you are and how hard (or whether) you study and I am pretty sure that’s how GWB managed to get a degree from Harvard Business School.
In recent months I have been asking the same question about DJT and his degree from Wharton, and using some of the same language:
So many people look at DJT's educational credentials and are bewildered by the fact that someone with a degree from Wharton can't express complex thoughts, speak in coherent sentences, or even read aloud very well. He often seems dumber than a box of hair. How in the world did DJT get an MBA from Wharton?
The answer: He didn't.
DJT knows perfectly well he didn’t, but he enjoys leaving people with the impression that he has an MBA from Wharton. "I went to the Wharton School of Finance, the toughest place to get into. I was a great student," he has said.
True, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania is a very good school. An excellent school. And the Wharton MBA is an elite credential. But it is not “the toughest place to get into”—that is just more of DJT’s compulsion to exaggerate. 851 students were admitted out of 6659 applications for 2018. That is an admission rate of about 13%, roughly equal with Harvard Business School at 12% but twice the admission rate of Harvard undergrad (6%).
Is there a psychiatric term for someone who is always self-aggrandizing and inaccurately claiming #1 status for himself in every possible category? I mean, it’s a hard school to get into. Why can’t he just say that? Why does it have to be “the toughest”. This hyper-macho attitude that “second is the first loser” gets old fast. Along the same lines, “someone” (John Barron perhaps?) told the New York Times in 1973 DJT graduated first in his class. The Gray Lady should be ashamed of printing that without checking: A 1968 commencement program does not list his name among students who graduated with honors.
Still, the Wharton MBA program has an outstanding reputation. You have to be smart to get in and smart to graduate. And DJT cares a lot about how people view his intellectual ability. He can handle things! He’s smart! Not like everybody says! Like dumb! He’s smart and he wants respect!
*
So it is very important to DJT to have people assume he is smart enough to have an MBA from Wharton. As he deals with business people in the U.S. and all over the world who know the reputation of the school, it helps them take him seriously.
But he doesn't have an MBA from Wharton, despite various intentionally misleading quotes:
“I went to the Wharton School of Business,” he’ll have you know. “I’m, like, a really smart person.”
He has called Wharton “the best school in the world” and “super genius stuff,” and argues that his Wharton degree qualifies him to be president because “we need business genius in this country.”
Just to be contrary, his ghostwriter also included this in Art of the Deal:
“In my opinion, that [Wharton] degree doesn’t prove very much, but a lot of people I do business with take it very seriously, and it’s considered very prestigious”
Let me repeat.
DJT does not have an MBA from Wharton, or anywhere else.
But he is always mouthing off about Wharton Wharton Wharton, knowing he is creating the false impression that he has an MBA from there, because most people do not know that the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania also awards undergraduate degrees.
All DJT has is a B.S. in Economics (insert your own BS joke here) from Wharton.
B.S. Bachelor of Science. An undergraduate degree. Not an MBA—Master of Business Administration, which is a (usually) two-year graduate degree.
The same is true of Ivanka. She has an undergraduate degree from Wharton as well, also transferring in for just the last two years. She is not quite so blatant about throwing the Wharton name around, but references to her “father’s alma mater” and the erroneous assumption that DJT has an MBA have led to people thinking she also has an MBA. She doesn’t.
DJT Jr., who has a B.S. in Economics from Wharton, does appear to have spent all four years there, but again, he benefits from the carefully cultivated vagueness about his father’s education and many assume Uday has an MBA from Wharton. He doesn’t.
Qusay skipped the whole Wharton scene and graduated with honors from Georgetown (the school Ivanka transferred away from), with an undergraduate degree in finance and management. He minored in psychology, and I hope that has helped him understand his twisted father.
Tiffany (remember her?) graduated from Penn last June but her bios do not mention Wharton; she is listed on Wikipedia as having a joint major of sociology and urban studies. Since she is the only child (except Barron) not overtly cashing in on the presidency nor bragging about her Ivy League education, I am inclined to give her a break. Plus I only figured out today that she was intentionally named after the jewelry company. For some reason I find that very sad.
Brief chronology of all the Trump family attendance at Penn is here.
The Daily Pennsylvanian article from 2015, “Trump flaunts Wharton degree, but his college years remain a mystery” quotes an unauthorized biography that claims Trump was only admitted because Trump’s older brother Fred knew an admissions officer at Wharton who owed him a favor. One of the few details about this story that makes perfect sense.
Apparently DJT wanted or needed a more prestigious credential than an undergraduate degree from Fordham, a very good school but lacking Wharton's same level of reputation. So someone pulled strings to get him transferred into what was then called The Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, so he could graduate in two and join the revolution.
In spite of his already-famous name, classmates don't remember seeing him around campus or in study groups, and he did not seem to have any friends (why is *that* not a surprise). The study group thing is particularly important because many a marginal student has skated through business school by relying on the voluntary cooperation of study group friends and/or the paid cooperation of professional term paper writers. One of the few classmates who does remember DJT, possibly because they were both concentrating on real estate, is quoted as saying "He wasn't going to have to study a lot. He was going to get a gentleman's degree." The same classmate also said DJT came to study group unprepared and didn't seem to care about being prepared. That makes sense too. Rules do not apply to him, so…
Bottom line: While other top-tier schools are proud when an alum goes to the White House, Wharton has been very tight-lipped about DJT’s record there, and asked faculty members to avoid talking to the press about DJT.
He’s proud of his association with them, but they do not want to hold him up as a representative of their brand. Someone even took his picture down off a wall of distinguished alumni. Whether it was stolen or just quietly removed from embarrassment will never be known.
The Birther-in-Chief who called Barack Obama a terrible student and demanded his grades should be pressed in the same way about his grades and how he got them.
The man with the tell-all ghostwriter who doubts Barack Obama wrote his own book should be questioned as to how he completed his coursework at Wharton with his *very* limited reading ability and how he wrote his term papers at Wharton with only a third-grade vocabulary to draw on. One of two things must be true: either had better intellectual ability in his 20s and is losing it with age, or he managed to get by with barely adequate work (or the work of others) at one of the top schools in the country.
In a sane, fair world, or a world where we actually did have liberal media bias, this would be a big story.
The proof that we don’t live in such a world is the unqualified fool in the Oval Office. Or rather, since he takes every weekend off, he is probably at Mar-A-Lago right now, schmoozing with members of the .01% who have paid $200,000 for access to him.
All this is also more fuel for the fire of proof that racism was a motivating force behind DJT’s presidential run. Projection (always a Republicon favorite): he knows he got into Wharton through strings being pulled and assumes the same about BHO. Jealousy (on so many levels): the black guy went to Harvard, and while Wharton undergrad is good, it ain’t Harvard. The assumption that the job must be easy because Obama made it look easy—what, you mean you think I can’t do as good a job as a black guy at anything I want?
If I could talk directly to DJT I’d say this:
People I trust (and the evidence of my own fcuking senses) tell me “the black guy” is brilliant. If not the smartest president we have ever had, then right up there among the smartest.
You, not to put too fine a point on it, are not.
Obama got top grades from some of the toughest professors at Harvard Law School. If you had good grades, you’d be selling copies of your Wharton transcript on commemorative plates and tote bags for $50.00 (plus S&H) to support your “self-funded” campaign.
Obama is younger and better looking than you. And his... inauguration crowd is bigger. Much bigger.
I am not impressed by your undergraduate degree from Wharton because my undergraduate degree is from a school that is harder to get into, and I didn’t have any wealthy family members, alums or other connections to pull strings for me. I also have a hard-earned Master’s degree from another school, and I can read and write with a graduate school level vocabulary.
So don’t try to dazzle me by dropping the Wharton name, or expect me to treat you like a smart person. The more you insist on how smart you are the more you sound like Fredo.
And for God’s sake stop trying to make people think you have an MBA from Wharton.
No educated person who has ever heard you talk for 5 minutes believes it.
what if I say I’m not like the others? what if I say I’m not just another one of your plays?
you’re the pretender. what if I say I will never surrender?
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 27: DJT says—if I give you $1,000, can I give myself $30,000,000? Thanks, suckers!
Apr 26: The desperate bully is always spoiling for his next fight
Apr 25: Can you reason with a racist?
Apr 24: Will DJT ever learn the limits of bullying?
Apr 23: TBR SUNDAY: Did Putin or Bannon direct DJT to “endorse” Le Pen?
Apr 22: BLUE RIBBONS: Flipthe6th voters, tax return marchers, and (international!) marchers for science
Apr 21: But he’s not *running* as a prolife candidate?
Apr 20: Is it good or bad that DJT has no idea what he is doing with respect to North Korea?
Apr 19: What Huckabee actually DID say, about journalism, was totally outrageous
Apr 18: Another 20 point swing means the Rs are scrambling to regroup
Apr 17: The number of persuadables is growing as people lose confidence in DJT
Apr 16: TBR SUNDAY: He shook up the world—Easter fears can be overcome with Easter JOY
Apr 15: BLUE RIBBONS: David Fahrenthold, Amariyanna Copeny, Chasity Wells-Armstrong, the ASAN
Apr 14: Everyone talking, everyone reaching out—is it helping?
Apr 13: Three ways to respond to the stress overload of current political news
Apr 12: Republicons--the party of cruelty
Apr 11: Spicer’s comment was MUCH more than just an “insensitive reference to the holocaust”
Apr 10: If DJT changes policy based on televised images... let’s show him some
Apr 9: TBR SUNDAY: DJT supporters do not realize nuclear war could mean the end of the world
Apr 8: BLUE RIBBONS: Jeff Merkley, Gina Mathew & Connor Balthazor, 70 (!) advertisers dump Bill-O
Apr 7: Not taking our eyes off Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly—they should be primaried
Apr 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Apr 5: DJT ran for POTUS to get back at Obama but the person he is discrediting is himself
Apr 4: Obama’s is bigger—Twitter following, inauguration crowd size, and approval rating
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: BLUE RIBBONS for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: BLUE RIBBONS: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: BLUE RIBBONS: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: BLUE RIBBONS: Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: BLUE RIBBONS: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: BLUE RIBBONS: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense