# Trump -- (lack of) intelligence/personality (disorders) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [October 14, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569 "2023-10-14T15:42:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/21 "2023-10-14T15:11:51Z")
> [@FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence (August 8, 2022)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022/969329/7537): > > > [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > > > Trump is a lot smarter than you give him credit for. > > I’m saying he’s not stupid enough to write down notes about criminal conspiracy, and you’re saying he is. > > I am confuse. Sorry. I get the impression that many here think that Trump is a bumbling idiot who is lucky to remember to put his feet on the floor to get out of bed. I guess I grouped you in with them. I apologize for that, but detailed planning is not a sign of stupidity. You can’t plan very well if you don’t write things down. I may very well be wrong and what I posted was merely speculation. But, speculation is necessary when facts are lacking. To me, the explanation of “They’re mine, they make me feel important, you can’t tell me what to do,” is very simplistic and implies Trump has very short-sighted thoughts (stupid). Personally, I think Trump’s motivations are much more involved and thought out. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/22 "2023-10-14T15:27:42Z")
If NBC had not dropped his ‘reality’ show the Apprentice, we would not be in this mess. I’m not blaming NBC, business is business. Trumps ego got bruised. This is NOT something that a narcissist like Trump can handle. He needs face time, TV time, he needs his name in the news. Plan - A run for President, lose, and start his own anti-Hillary channel that would make FOX look fair and balanced. That, is what I think his plan was. It would be a big F you to NBC (Trump runs on revenge), get him TV time and money. What was underestimated by us all, was the level of ignorance in our own country. The racists and bigots put him in the Oval Office. I really think he was surprised too. Turned out, he liked it. He could bully just about anyone. And was mostly protected from any kind of justice. And the grifting, well… WOW. But, his life was put under a microscope. All of his crimes over many years where now front page news. Now he’s screwed. So he must become President again to protect himself from all the additional crimes he has commited. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/23 "2023-10-14T15:40:48Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Even now, I think you’re overestimating his stupidity, assuming it applies to areas where it doesn’t. He didn’t just luck into the presidency: he made a strategically sound plan and followed it. I still think Trump lucked into the presidency as he had no expectation of getting elected when he announced his candidacy. Even on the eve of the election, I believe he expected Hillary to win. Trump was lucky in that his bloviating actually resonated with voters in a way I do not believe he could have predicted. He didn’t figure out a good strategy, he just stumbled onto something that happened to work. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/24 "2023-10-14T16:01:21Z")
I think I got them all out of the Mar-A-Lago thread. Thank you @DavidNRockies for starting this, it made our job easier. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/25 "2023-10-14T16:02:56Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I got them all Good job! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/26 "2023-10-14T16:05:52Z")
In the digression in the other thread, some posters argued that Trump was either quite intelligent or at least of average intelligence. While it can be hard to tease out an estimate of intelligence from a psychopathic personality like Trump, in this case I think it can be done by examining his written and oral communication, of which there is a lot. Seriously, just look at the way he talks and writes. He has the vocabulary and sentence structure of an eight-year-old, and not a very bright one, either. His unscripted communication is mindlessly repetitive and not only lacking in reasoned logic but sometimes completely incoherent. He substitutes repetition for reason. His opponents are characterized in terms of schoolyard insults that most kids would outgrow by about the age of twelve. And his written communication, with its random capitalization and occasional veering into all-caps, verges on illiteracy. These are not the bloviations of an intelligent person. They would be a total embarrassment to anyone of even average intelligence. A good counterexample is another hate-filled criminal who is actually quite intelligent, Conrad Black. When the man wants to insult someone, it’s an art form – practically lyrical! Ordinary people couldn’t even come close, let alone someone like Trump who can barely speak! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/27 "2023-10-14T16:13:41Z")
I’ve given a speech that had upwards of five hundred people whooping and cheering for about ten minutes straight. It’s goddamned _hard_: I spent hours writing and rewriting those ten minutes, and then practiced it half a dozen times. And it was full of factual accomplishments actually worth whooping and cheering for. Trump can do this off the cuff, no biggie, for tens of thousands, day after day after day. Sure, he doesn’t use big words. Sure, he doesn’t use complex structure. _That doesn’t matter_. He’s a genius at what he does, which is to use language to whip crowds into a frenzy. Don’t use the wrong rubric. He’s not trying to write poetry. He’s trying to demagogue. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/28 "2023-10-14T16:18:49Z")
I keep trying to say something like this, but you did it for me, very well. I’m reminded of the [**seven kinds of intelligence**](https://astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~ljc/smarts.htm) Specifically, > Interpersonal: Leaders among their peers, who are good at communicating and who seem to understand others’ feelings and motives. You take somebody for whom that is their super power, you add in an _insanely pathological_ dose of insecurity and avarice, and … yeah … you get a demagogue. Remember: WE are not his intended audience. Not by a country mile. I’ve definitely known people in my life who were not [**five-tool players**](https://www.fivetoolplayers.org/), but who – in their element – simply soared. Maybe we all recoil at the application of the word ‘intelligence’ to Trump _at all,_ but he’s not without certain skills, execrable and Stygian though they may be. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/29 "2023-10-14T16:20:27Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Trump can do this off the cuff, no biggie, for tens of thousands, day after day after day. Your audiences were very, very different. Put Trump in front of your audience and he would not get a single clap. At all - no matter how hard he tried. However, if you knew your audience were a bunch of racist assholes who loved schoolyard insults, you could whip up a speech in an hour that would have them jumping out of their seats and cheering you. It would be easy. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/30 "2023-10-14T16:27:58Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Put Trump in front of your audience and he would not get a single clap. Put him in front of the UN General Assembly and he’ll get big laughs. Do you have any idea how tough it is to draw laughs from that audience? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/31 "2023-10-14T16:37:33Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > He’s a genius at what he does, which is to use language to whip crowds into a frenzy. There is no doubt that he has an extraordinary Machiavellian-like ability to connect with like-minded racist imbeciles. I wouldn’t use descriptors like “genius” or “intelligence” to describe that ability. There’s nothing adept about his use of language except that it’s at the same level of crassness, low intelligence, and low information as his audience. > [@slicedalone](#): > > Put him in front of the UN General Assembly and he’ll get big laughs. Do you have any idea how tough it is to draw laughs from that audience? Ha! Excellent point. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/32 "2023-10-14T16:38:10Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Don’t use the wrong rubric. He’s not trying to write poetry. He’s trying to demagogue. He fell back asswards into the Presidency that he really didn’t want is what I believe. But he wanted the real movers and shakers in NY that where laughing at him behind his back to respect him. They did not. Most of the world does not respect him. Something in his brain must be telling him that he’s a fool. But he MUST have adulation. He lives for it. Every one MUST think he is the best. NO one can tell HIM what to do. Give a 5 year old a .38 before you tell them it’s time for bed. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/33 "2023-10-14T16:40:23Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Give a 5 year old a .38 before you tell them it’s time for bed. Arguably, a .45 would be better suited to a man-child of Trump’s caliber 😉 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/34 "2023-10-14T16:43:04Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > > [@enipla](#): > > > > Give a 5 year old a .38 before you tell them it’s time for bed. > > Arguably, a .45 would be better suited to a man-child of Trump’s caliber 😉 With those tiny hands? A .22 would be more suitable. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/35 "2023-10-14T16:46:19Z")
Wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/36 "2023-10-14T16:48:24Z")
He’s the dumbest motherfucker on the planet. He does not have charisma, or manipulative skills. He simply has money. This man has never started any project and finished it with success or failure. He doesn’t know real estate any better than a toddler. All he has is MONEY! And people he pays for the real work done. Does anyone think he knew one basic thing about owning a casino? Really? Please. He knew that TRUMP would be in big letters all over the property. That’s his business experience in a nutshell. Take away all his money, give him a studio apartment and a hot dog cart to sell food at the local park. He wouldn’t even try to make any money. He’d whine, whine, whine, not paying for water and power, not paying rent, not paying for a food license, etc. Why? Because he has NO EXPERIENCE in doing any of the things I mentioned about real life. For fuck’s sake, we’re talking about a guy who’s never been grocery shopping! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/37 "2023-10-14T16:50:04Z")
He’s aggressive, amoral, a bully, dishonest, manipulative, and loyal to no one but himself. The combination allowed him considerable success - but I’m not sure I would call that combination “intelligence.” He has the intelligence of a TV preacher. He has been able to identify people and institutions from whom he can extract wealth. As mentioned above, he is intellectually incurious, and seems to disdain intelligence or experience unless it can directly increase his wealth. So, if anything, his intelligence lies in a narrow area - self promotion. In all other respects, I think he’s well below average. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/38 "2023-10-14T16:54:59Z")
Dyslexia. Reading is not a big part of his life. Undiagnosed Dyslexics often become **extremely** resentful of knowledgeable people, because, as schoolchildren, they are _constantly_ corrected, over things that are never the same twice–the arrangement of letters on a page. When the student comes to believe there **are no right answers** , he resents the teacher, and, later in life, all experts. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/39 "2023-10-14T16:55:24Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > give him a studio apartment and a hot dog cart to sell food at the local park. No way in hell he could manage that. I guess he could sell tickets to watch him try to put a hot dog in a bun. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569/40 "2023-10-14T17:01:29Z")
Dyslexia, is very possible. And could cause some of his other conditions. It’s clear that he does not understand the world, and watches a lot of TV. Wanted simple bullet pointed memos that had his name imbedded in it. You may be on to something Bosda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-lack-of-intelligence-personality-disorders/991569.md?page=3)