The Republican President is very good at getting attention and seizing headlines, but if you pay attention to the content of what he has to say, and the rambling, garbled way in which he speaks, you will soon realize that he is not very bright. Analyses of his speeches generally find the language to be between the 4th and 6th grade level. This is historically low for a US President.
Many of his voters find his lack of intelligence to be endearing because they say he is “relatable.” I doubt people who say that really understand what they are saying about themselves…. Personally, I would prefer to have someone much smarter as the “leader of the free world”.
Nuclear Policy
“Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?”
August 3, 2016
The Republican presidential candidate asked this question multiple times during a foreign policy briefing in 2016. This illustrates that he does not understand nuclear deterrence nor international diplomacy.
Medical Science
“Suppose that we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light … Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning?”
April 23, 2020
At a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing in 2020, The Republican President suggested that doctors could use light, or disinfectants inside the human body, to treat COVID-19. Besides being dangerous, these suggestions are indicative of the man’s hubris to think that his ignorant speculations were actually of value during a medical briefing. Later, some Americans reportedly DID try his suggestion to ingest bleach. They were taken to hospitals.
Climate Science
“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make the U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
November 6, 2012
This tweet reveals his complete lack of understanding of climate science and the global consensus on human-induced climate change. It is also an example of how he tries to politicize science.
Health Care Policy
“Nobody knew health care could be so complicated”
February 27, 2017
At a National Governors Association meeting in 2017, in discussions about the persistent Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the President expressed surprise at the complexity of health care policy. This revealed his complete lack of comprehension of a policy issue that had been debated publicly for years.
Economic Policy
“We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again.”
March 4, 2025
In his divisive 2025 address to a joint session of Congress, the Republican President revealed his complete ignorance regarding what tariffs are, how they work, what they do and do not accomplish, and who they hurt. His ignorant and inconsistent tariff actions since that speech have raised prices, decimated small businesses, increased unemployment, and could soon close ports and lead to empty store shelves.
His Supporters
“I love the poorly educated.”
February 23, 2016
This remark was made by the presidential candidate in his victory speech after the 2016 Nevada caucuses. It was a surprisingly candid admission of who his strongest supporters are and his affinity with them.
His Source of Information
“All I know is what’s in the Internet.”
March 13, 2016
In an NBC News interview in 2016, the Republican candidate candidly admitted that he had a very limited knowledge base. He does not read books. Once elected, his staff reported that the President’s Daily Brief had to be shortened to one page and, preferably, include graphics. This time around there are reports that he doesn’t bother to look at this critical daily Presidential information at all.
Ego and Bluster
Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.
January 6, 2018
If you have to tell people how smart you are, you probably are not.