# Seriously, is Trump a Functional Illiterate? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819 "2017-02-14T15:19:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/21 "2017-02-14T16:23:38Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > I really really love all these propaganda pieces shouting Trump is crude, stupid, illiterate, slobbering, easily manipulated, foolish, lewd, hot-tempered, thin-skinned, narcissistic, misogynistic, brutish, bullying, lying, mentally ill, unstable, temperamentally unfit, dangerous, insecure, treasonous, ignorant, paranoid, demented and gibbers like a baboon in the heat of the night. > > Allow it all, and what the hell does it say about half-wit Hillary that she lost to such a clown ? It says that Hillary’s unlikable, and sexism is alive and well. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/22 "2017-02-14T16:25:43Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I think it’s more likely he has vision problems that he won’t admit to. I would agree this is a more likely explanation. His vanity prevents him from wearing glasses. He may have had lasik in the past, but at his age the effectiveness of the procedure could have diminished. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/23 "2017-02-14T16:31:23Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Not in an era of contacts and LASIK. At least, I would think the only issue there would be wearing glasses. I’m not sure that his ego would allow him to admit he needs correction even to himself. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/24 "2017-02-14T16:34:01Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I’m not sure that his ego would allow him to admit he needs correction even to himself. I think this is piling up suppositions. That he can’t or won’t read seems more encompassing of his… actions. The halting exposition when he is clearly reading a prompter or whatever is more indicative of an inability to process what he’s seeing, rather than the way a naturally garrulous person might perform while having trouble seeing the words. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/25 "2017-02-14T16:34:28Z")
Pakman is wrong on one point, you can confirm that Trump uses reading glasses with a Google image search. There are videos of Trump reading off pieces of paper, including [an immigration statue](https://youtu.be/U4HrPSTOgxU) or [The Snake (he wears glasses during this).](https://youtu.be/Qu6_2hFTw74) It’s possible he struggles with dense legal documents or presidential briefings and memos that may include lots of jargon and references to unfamiliar countries, people, and organizations. One common observation from people who spend time with Trump is that he has a poor attention span and can’t focus on one topic for long unless it’s about him, so perhaps he can read but hates it. Another semi-popular CT is that he has early onset dementia, which could explain some of this behavior. It’s certainly true from all accounts, including Trump’s own, that he doesn’t read much and prefers his information put on as few pages as possible and regularly blows off briefings, which is disturbing from a national security standpoint. GWB was regularly characterized as stupid in popular culture, but he was apparently a voracious book reader. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/26 "2017-02-14T16:37:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Do you think it’s possible for someone to have graduated from an Ivy League University as a “functional illiterate”? I wouldn’t have thought so, but the OP’s link does at least sort of address this. > [@](#): > > For those who might question how he was able to get through college, there are a number of possible answers. He could have had people take notes for him and write his papers. He could still learn through listening to lectures and having others coach him for tests. There are foreign-born students who face similar challenges and some of them use tape recorders during class to listen to and study afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/27 "2017-02-14T16:38:06Z")
This is a common mistake made by some people that people who cannot spell all that well are big dummies. I’m in commercial real estate. It’s what I do for a living and there is subset of people in commercial real estate who are very successful financially, many coming from non-wealthy backgrounds, who are poor casual writers. Not knowing exactly how a word is spelled does not mean they don’t grasp the meaning of the clauses in a lease. Specifically, they are very attuned to the financials, leverage and the cash flow balance of the overall deal structure. Much more so in many cases than many people who can spell perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/28 "2017-02-14T16:38:23Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > I really really love all these propaganda pieces shouting Trump is crude, stupid, illiterate, slobbering, easily manipulated, foolish, lewd, hot-tempered, thin-skinned, narcissistic, misogynistic, brutish, bullying, lying, mentally ill, unstable, temperamentally unfit, dangerous, insecure, treasonous, ignorant, paranoid, demented and gibbers like a baboon in the heat of the night. > > Allow it all, and what the hell does it say about half-wit Hillary that she lost to such a clown ? That this time, half was way too much. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/29 "2017-02-14T16:40:59Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > David Pakman has a youtube channel. He’s obviously very left wing biased - but has put out a number of videos supporting the theory that Trump is borderline illiterate. > > [https://youtu.be/KXGuJlTVXfw](https://youtu.be/KXGuJlTVXfw) > > [https://youtu.be/IzqbE7yYxE0](https://youtu.be/IzqbE7yYxE0) It’s pretty clear that Trump is anti-intellectual — he doesn’t even read books — but I remain skeptical about him having limited literacy. Stonewalling at the deposition just seemed a routine way for a slimy deposee to circumvent discovery. My reactions to these videos are: [ul][li] Early in the first video, Trump reads from a hymn-page. I think that video is edited in a very misleading way, so I skimmed the [complete service](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCnYchWoIEY). My conclusion is that Trump is awkward and not a singer, but I don’t think David Pakman’s claims are supported.[/li][li]Listen to Trump babble beginning at the 4:45 mark in the first video. He sounds almost like a drunk Sarah Palin.[/li][li] People were surprised to hear that Trump insisted his briefings be single-page with 8 to 10 bullet-points. The latest word from the White House is that _even that was too much._ The single page now needs to be mostly graphics and maps.[/ul][/li] It is very sad that Trump’s intellect is what we have as POTUS. At age 70, his brain may have deteriorated further. But some of the charges against him seem exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/30 "2017-02-14T17:02:04Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/31 "2017-02-14T17:08:02Z")
The difference between a man who can’t read and a man who won’t read is… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/32 "2017-02-14T17:09:26Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I think it’s more likely he has vision problems that he won’t admit to. [No, that isn’t it.](https://www.blinkoptic.com/blog/tag/donald-trump-eyeglasses/) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/33 "2017-02-14T17:13:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Do you think it’s possible for someone to have graduated from an Ivy League University as a “functional illiterate”? Exactly what I was going to ask. I have plenty of contempt for him but I do think the man can read. I think he doesn’t like to say words that are written for him but that’s not the same as an inability to read them. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/34 "2017-02-14T17:15:28Z")
Let’s hope he’s not dyslexic, as I have this mental image of a cartoon of him sitting in the Oval Office holding a memo, with a mushroom cloud in the distance outside the window, and him asking Bannon: “It says ‘let’s do a _lunch_’?” ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/35 "2017-02-14T17:35:36Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > David Pakman has a youtube channel. He’s obviously very left wing biased - but has put out a number of videos supporting the theory that Trump is borderline illiterate. > > [https://youtu.be/KXGuJlTVXfw](https://youtu.be/KXGuJlTVXfw) > > [https://youtu.be/IzqbE7yYxE0](https://youtu.be/IzqbE7yYxE0) I hate the man (Trump), but this guy isn’t just biased. He’s reaching. A lot. I tried to watch those videos and right off the bat he ascribes feelings and motives to people he can’t possibly know based on his own interpretation of facial expressions and physical behavior. “Pence is nervous…” or (more likely) he’s treating the occasion and location with solemnity and his facial expression is neutral. “Trump doesn’t know what to do…” Here’s another interpretation: he’s bored due to the fact that he’s not especially spiritual and is, perhaps, slightly uncomfortable with the proceedings. As poorly as I think of The Donald, I don’t think Pakman makes a convincing case. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/36 "2017-02-14T17:48:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Do you think it’s possible for someone to have graduated from an Ivy League University as a “functional illiterate”? Yes, it’s absolutely possible, and very probable, in his case. I’m actually surprised that people are surprised by this. The rich are (for the most part) not better, cleverer, stronger than us; they’re just richer. And that money buys them (and their children, more often) degrees all. the. time. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/37 "2017-02-14T17:48:20Z")
it’s not quite the same, but Jacques Demers managed to coach several pro hockey teams, became the general manager of a team, and was elected to a Senate post all while [not being able to read.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Demers#Literacy_struggles) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/38 "2017-02-14T17:59:32Z")
Apparently Samantha Bee is one of those (not entirely seriously – she’s a comedic news observer, after all) suggesting this: > **[Samantha Bee Is Convinced Donald Trump Can’t Read](https://www.thedailybeast.com/samantha-bee-is-convinced-donald-trump-cant-read)** > > The ‘Full Frontal’ host produced significant evidence Monday night that Donald Trump may be in fact, illiterate. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/watch/samantha-bee-calls-it-is-trump-illiterate/vp-AAjH1S4](https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/watch/samantha-bee-calls-it-is-trump-illiterate/vp-AAjH1S4) I hadn’t noticed the date – Samantha Bee was saying this _months_ ago! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/39 "2017-02-14T18:16:58Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > I really really love all these propaganda pieces shouting Trump is crude, stupid, illiterate, slobbering, easily manipulated, foolish, lewd, hot-tempered, thin-skinned, narcissistic, misogynistic, brutish, bullying, lying, mentally ill, unstable, temperamentally unfit, dangerous, insecure, treasonous, ignorant, paranoid, demented and gibbers like a baboon in the heat of the night. > > Allow it all, and what the hell does it say about half-wit Hillary that she lost to such a clown ? So why does criticizing the president evoke a response of criticizing the candidate he defeated over three months ago? I don’t see the connection. The subject of this thread is rather a leading question and I can see why you might be defensive if you are a Trump supporter. But Trump is demonstrably several, though not all, of those adjectives you listed. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819/40 "2017-02-14T18:43:10Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > So why does criticizing the president evoke a response of criticizing the candidate he defeated over three months ago? I don’t see the connection. Because his supporters can’t point to anything but that and vague promises, unless they want to comment on the chaos that is the Trump White House. So like everyone whose life stalled after high school, they never stop telling you about their glory days as a halfback who boffed the leader of the cheerleading squad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-trump-a-functional-illiterate/779819.md?page=3)