# Isn’t the root problem that Trump and his followers, honestly, just aren’t that bright? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 19, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818 "2025-03-19T14:03:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/61 "2025-03-20T19:22:15Z")
I think the OP has it basically right, and everything else is overcomplicating things. But the details are still pretty interesting. There are many different aspects of “smartness,” IQ being just one of them. I would agree, however, insofar as Democratic voters were more educated than Republicans in 2024 (which seems to be true per stats already cited in this thread), and insofar as greater educational attainment correlates with higher IQ (which seems undoubtedly true), then, yes, Democratic voters are, on average, of a higher IQ than Republican voters. I read the comments on National Review a lot, and not everyone there is MAGA, some are quite the opposite of that, but if I had to describe the typical MAGA commenter it would be: **smashmouth ludicrously overconfident dumb fucking cock.** Writing like booger-flicking, maximally obnoxious playground bullies. Literally at like a 12-year-old level in terms of both writing and emotional maturity. There’s no way I read what these dickheads say and think anything other than “stupid.” But I have met some “nice” MAGA people too, and observed them online, and I think there is a type: 1. Normie. Believes in the system but thinks a reboot to some sort of more functional past is both necessary and possible (hence “great again”). IOW, these are not intellectuals or philosophers (any such person in MAGA is automatically evil, like a Steve Bannon or Stephen Miller). 2. Not very open to experience. You know, one of the Big 5 traits. MAGAs and “conservatives” in general are squares. They are fear-based people, and thus they can be manipulated based on Fear of the Brown Other. 3. Epistemologically primitive. Of course, they wouldn’t know what this word means. They believe what they believe with no capability to self-assess or recalibrate their narrative. 4. Authoritarian-leaning. They want a Sky Father to protect them and lead them, and they buy into the GOP brand of “law and order” no matter how much the GOP violates the law and degrades order itself. I don’t think this is the only MAGA type, of course. I think the smashmouth dumb cocks are another, more evil type, and then there are the outright white nationalist types that have their own agenda. But I think it’s perhaps the majority type. And yeah, to people who think for themselves a bit, they seem dumb. Lame, weak-minded, and hopeless. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/62 "2025-03-20T19:28:15Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I disagree that Trump supporters are universally stupid. Many are, sure. But my parents are Trump voters, and they’re not stupid. > > What they are is _intellectually **lazy.** _ > > They _could_ figure this stuff out, if they wanted to. They just don’t. Well, remember that about half of Americans have an IQ of 100 or less. I have met IQ 100 people- they are stupid. So, since trump can get about half of Americans to vote for him- that is his **base** right there. By no means all- but his base. Since most voters polled said inflation was the reason they voted for trump, we can see that- Inflation is not easy to understand, and they believed trump when he said he could fix it. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I think more than anything it’s: > > 1. Media diet > 2. Media literacy Yes, obviously if you are even halfway intelligent, going too deep into Fox news or Conservative Talk radio can convert you. I know two rather smart people who were thus converted. So, it is a cause, but all those IQ 90-100 voters are easier to convert and are trumps base. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/63 "2025-03-20T19:44:54Z")
Even if they are dumb, how come the smarter Democrats can’t get the dumb people to vote for them? It should be easier to get a dumb person to vote for you than a smart person, right? And all of the votes count the same. If you can’t win elections, it seems your strategy might be… not very smart. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/64 "2025-03-20T20:02:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have met IQ 100 people- they are stupid. I do think it depends on the person. You can have extreme Dunning-Kruger cases, in which 100-IQ people think they are geniuses (e.g., Trump, if he’s even that high), but you can also have people at that IQ who self-assess correctly and stick to what they’re good at. I would not call such people stupid. > [@](#): > > Since most voters polled said inflation was the reason they voted for trump, we can see that- Inflation is not easy to understand, and they believed trump when he said he could fix it. And, sadly, we’ve seen stupid people all around the world “throwin’ da bums” out even when it’s counterproductive and self-destructive. > [@](#): > > Yes, obviously if you are even halfway intelligent, going too deep into Fox news or Conservative Talk radio can convert you. I know two rather smart people who were thus converted. So, it is a cause, but all those IQ 90-100 voters are easier to convert and are trumps base. Exactly. I think that, since this site is Liberal, there is a an extreme hesitation to be “mean” and cite essential qualities (IQ, etc.) as the cause for bad behavior. We’d much rather cite nurture than nature. But Trump voters are fucking stupid on the whole. Here’s another thing. I grew up in a “conservative” household, and even in the 1980s, it was a truism recognized by “everyone” (including my square parents) that Donald Trump was a stupid vulgarian and a joke of a person. No one I knew would have seen him in an admirable light. And he looked and spoke a lot better then! Further, while exhibiting the poor taste that earned him the universal reputation as a crass vulgarian, he nevertheless exhibited infinitely better taste than he would in the future. In 2016 or 2024, if a person could look at Trump and think, “Yeah, this guy’s the shit,” that person is de facto stupid. No other test necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/65 "2025-03-20T20:09:07Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > Even if they are dumb, how come the smarter Democrats can’t get the dumb people to vote for them? I think you know the answer yourself. Democrats try to govern and do things like discuss policy, etc. This has no interest or appeal to a dumb person. Trump is a moron-whisperer. He’s one himself so he knows how to connect with them on the deepest level. He’s a world-class demagogue. > [@](#): > > It should be easier to get a dumb person to vote for you than a smart person, right? And all of the votes count the same. Why would it be easier? In a way, it’s harder, since you have to think outside the categories in which you’re operating, i.e., politics and governance. It becomes a matter of who can put on a better dog and pony show for the rubes. Smart people who give a fuck about actually helping people are disinclined to play such a dumbed-down game. > [@](#): > > If you can’t win elections, it seems your strategy might be… not very smart. I think a very smart strategy has appeared in the form of the Tesla Takedown. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/66 "2025-03-20T20:24:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, obviously if you are even halfway intelligent, going too deep into Fox news or Conservative Talk radio can convert you. YMMV but I have observed that being “halfway intelligent” can be a worse risk than being pig-ignorant as far as being a Trumper. Being able to consume and accumulate large amounts of information, without the ability to process it well, is a paved path to conspiracy thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/67 "2025-03-20T20:27:00Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Why would it be easier? In a way, it’s harder, since you have to think outside the categories in which you’re operating, i.e., politics and governance. It becomes a matter of who can put on a better dog and pony show for the rubes. Smart people who give a fuck about actually helping people are disinclined to play such a dumbed-down game. The point is to win elections. Like it or not, the dumb person’s vote counts for just as much as the smart person’s. It’s a democracy, after all. Dogs are dumber than me, and yeah it’s not hard to find a way to make a dog happy. But you have to be willing to do it, do things the dog likes, then the dog will be happy and you would have the dog’s vote were it possible. If you’re not willing to skew things toward the average, that you really stand for all of the people, then you stand to lose more elections. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/68 "2025-03-20T20:39:15Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > Dogs are dumber than me, and yeah it’s not hard to find a way to make a dog happy. But you have to be willing to do it, do things the dog likes, then the dog will be happy and you would have the dog’s vote were it possible. Dogs like to have their balls licked. Would you lick a dog’s balls to win an election? You have successfully explained why Republicans win any elections at all, but probably not in the way you intended. They’re willing to do some nasty and degrading things, things that really compromise the ability to govern in accordance with one’s principles. That’s important if you have any principles other than gaining power. Additionally it’s not really accurate to suggest that Democrats have a losing strategy simply because they lost the last election. Over the past 20 years, Democrats have won half of Presidential elections, and a much higher margin of the popular vote than Republicans. (yes, yes, I know there’s no “popular election”, hush. It demonstrates that Democrats are better at winning people over _in general_.) ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/69 "2025-03-20T20:42:21Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > The point is to win elections. Like it or not, the dumb person’s vote counts for just as much as the smart person’s. It’s a democracy, after all. No argument. > [@](#): > > Dogs are dumber than me, and yeah it’s not hard to find a way to make a dog happy. But you have to be willing to do it, do things the dog likes, then the dog will be happy and you would have the dog’s vote were it possible. Here the analogy falls apart. Trump is a demagogue selling fear and hate, and that’s what the people wanted. Hitler, same thing. This is not case, as it is in more normal times, of failing to connect with the “common man.” This is a matter of trying to counter a historic demagogue and cult leader, and failing. > [@](#): > > If you’re not willing to skew things toward the average, that you really stand for all of the people, then you stand to lose more elections. Same point applies. Plus, we can get into the dysfunctional and anachronistic nature of the US system of government, etc., which Trump and the GOP itself have hacked effectively (gerrymandering, voter suppression, nonstop obstruction, etc.). Methinks the current system won’t hold much longer. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/70 "2025-03-20T20:44:15Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > They’re willing to do some nasty and degrading things, things that really compromise the ability to govern in accordance with one’s principles. That’s important if you have any principles other than gaining power. Indeed. “We can go with Trump and participate in a fascist insurgency–or we can lose.” It’s been such a tough choice for the GOP pols to make. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/71 "2025-03-20T20:56:53Z")
Also, turning into a duplicate of the Republicans is not “winning”, even if it actually got them elected (it won’t) . It’s just the Right winning by the Democrats’ total surrender and sacrifice of essentially all their former supporters. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/72 "2025-03-20T21:01:25Z")
Unfortunately, the question isn’t whether one would lick a dog’s balls to win an election. The question is whether one would lick a dog’s balls to win an election if it were shown to work. Winning IS the only thing to them. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/73 "2025-03-20T22:03:19Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > > [@GailForce](#): > > > > I have a hard time believing that Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana isn’t blanking on everything he learned about intelligent discourse while studying at Oxford and that he isn’t affecting a Colonel Cornpone accent and sensibility. > > \*IS blanking ? Yes. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/74 "2025-03-21T00:16:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Unfortunately, the question isn’t whether one would lick a dog’s balls to win an election. The question is whether one would lick a dog’s balls to win an election if it were shown to work. Winning IS the only thing to them. I think they’ve done a lost worse than that! ---
**Author:** ![Fortyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7c8e57/32.png) [@Fortyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortyfold)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/75 "2025-03-21T02:08:46Z")
The root problem is that left & right have diverged so far now that they can barely even understand each other’s viewpoint. Anything either side can’t understand? Obviously must be stupidity, because it’s incomprehensible if you aren’t schooled in that reality. Of course this is now existential as both gestalts can’t peacefully coexist, bad times are likely. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/76 "2025-03-21T11:56:41Z")
The Right simply doesn’t share our reality. Why cannot Trump and his team talk without lying every third word? Why are they so dedicated to psychopathy in fact, actions, and procedure? ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/77 "2025-03-21T12:05:34Z")
someone has occupy the lower 50% percentile. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/78 "2025-03-21T13:00:08Z")
The GOP pols are completely cynical at this point. It’s go with Trump, get elected; do otherwise, get primaried. So they go with Trump. After Trump is gone, they will have nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/79 "2025-03-21T14:53:25Z")
> [@Fortyfold](#): > > The root problem is that left & right have diverged so far now that they can barely even understand each other’s viewpoint. Anything either side can’t understand? Obviously must be stupidity, because it’s incomprehensible if you aren’t schooled in that reality. Of course this is now existential as both gestalts can’t peacefully coexist, bad times are likely Stupidity or evil. There are bubbles on both sides. This place is a bubble. It’s oft been discussed that conservatives have left this place. The general conclusion seems to be that this place is all the better for it. Well those people didn’t all die. They just went other places. They are still alive, in other places. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818/80 "2025-03-21T16:59:16Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > There are bubbles on both sides. This place is a bubble. There are no left-wing equivalents to the Birther Conspiracy (that Obama is a Muslim who was born on another continent). There are no left-wing equivalents to The Big Lie (that the 2020 election was rigged). There are no left-wing equivalents to the propagating of those stories on conservative media, day after day, month after month, despite knowing they were lies. There are no left-wing equivalents to the Dominion lawsuit against Fox, and their pending actions against other outlets, OR the Smartmatic lawsuits still coming. There are no left-wing equivalents to the “Haitians are eating your pets” story. None. False equivalence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-root-problem-that-trump-and-his-followers-honestly-just-aren-t-that-bright/1015818.md?page=5)