# What is Donald Trump's IQ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521 "2017-10-10T22:11:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/41 "2017-10-11T06:15:36Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Which was the winning strategy. > > How exactly is intelligence defined by the way? If The Donald’s strategy was so simple and effective why wasn’t it copied by those with IQs 2-3 standard deviations to the right of the mean? Firstly, this is a misconception of what IQ is. It’s not a superpower that means you’re mentally superior in every way. It’s possible to have a low IQ and be charming say, and vice versa. Or if I’ve read some good books on chess strategy, and you have not, I will likely beat you at chess even if your IQ is higher than mine because it’s not a test of IQ. And the same applies to success in business, say. (If we could even say he’s been successful in business) Secondly, I think a lot of the reason he was successful was _because_ he blurted out nonsense and had little understanding of complex issues; much of the public feels the same way. Now, _if_ indeed this was a deliberate feint by him, and he just played the role of a dumb guy because he knew it would get him elected, then I would be right behind you; he is sly as a fox. But all the evidence right now points to him being a (fucking) moron who got elected because this time round enough people wanted to elect a moron. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/42 "2017-10-11T06:21:21Z")
When I was in school, which was before Trump was, my IQ was measured in three different grades, and the scores went into my school records, and were even on my transcripts (which I saw). So it a simple matter for the president to just authorize his school to release his transcripts, which, being an honorable man, he will do at his earliest convenience. Except for the part where the commander in chief doesn’t need to back up his public pronouncements, he can just tweet the next day that he was only kidding whenever a playback indicates that his pronouncement was idiotic… Even if he was only kidding in his challenge, why the hell would he not jjust say “OK, here are my scores”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/43 "2017-10-11T08:31:04Z")
The most I’ve seen is where they analyze his vocabulary for the grade level. He speaks under a sixth grade level. Some tried to claim it was merely a rhetorical strategy, but this has seemed not to change. Most other candidates spoke at a 6-8the grade level, and I know I’ve heard many of them speak at higher levels. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/44 "2017-10-11T12:17:14Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Secondly, I think a lot of the reason he was successful was _because_ he blurted out nonsense and had little understanding of complex issues; much of the public feels the same way. This, at least in part. He rode a gigantic wave of [anti-intellectualism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism) and xenophobia right into the oval office. It also helped that H.R. Clinton did her level best to alienate every voter she could: -she _literally_ told coal miners she would put them out of work -she referred to Republicans as her enemies during a debate -she dismissed a large portion of Trump’s supporters as a “basket of deplorables” She has steadfastly blamed Comey’s late revelation about her emails, but had she not been so undiplomatic toward potential voters, I think she probably would have kept enough margin to win the electoral vote, despite Trump’s anti-intellectual appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/45 "2017-10-11T12:17:45Z")
I’ve read the thread and apparently there’s no published evidence of Trump’s IQ or college admissions score. As one poster noted above, Trump probably knows his IQ scores from his school days since it was a commonly used then. I suspect he scored well only because he brings up the idea so much. I also suspect he exaggerate here as he does in other areas of his life. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/46 "2017-10-11T12:24:37Z")
Exaggerating! Really ? More like a lie!! ---
**Author:** ![Tigers2B1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tigers2B1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigers2B1)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/47 "2017-10-11T12:39:57Z")
No, he graduated from the Wharton school which is probably not an easy task. I doubt its a lie on he way I assume you mean but I do suspect, like his wealth, there is not as much there as he suggests. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/48 "2017-10-11T12:45:19Z")
I weighed in on this elsewhere. > [@The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12087): > > … > > I would estimate Trump’s IQ at about 102. Maybe. Or maybe 90. Usually you guess or infer someone’s IQ by observing their analytical skills, their sharpness of mind, their ability to see how ideas relate to each other and to synthesize new ideas from those connections, and frankly, from how much stuff they _know_ about a wide variety of subjects… history, literature, science-- you know: how SMART they are. > > Trump is so abysmally uneducated and self-absorbed it’s hard to guess. It’s like trying to guess the IQ of a chimp newly arrived from the rain forest or a boy raised by wolves. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/49 "2017-10-11T13:31:52Z")
I’d guess it is in the 120 neighborhood. The fact that he even brought it up means that he knows it is a respectable number – fairly intelligent people who get disappointing scores tend to pooh-pooh it. It’s pretty hard to graduate from any university without at least 110. It is certainly above body temperature by a fair margin. The fact that he speaks of IQ score as having any meaning signals that he does fairly well on them. Its entirely possible that somewhere along the way he scored a high number on an IQ type test, which is fairly easy to do if you take a dozen of those kinds of tests over a short period of time. You get to where you can ace them, and I went over 150 a few times when I was in college, and hung out with some of the psych graduate students who used me as a guinea pig on some beta tests. I would not claim one without that caveat, though. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/50 "2017-10-11T13:49:40Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It is certainly above body temperature by a fair margin. Fahrenheit, or Celsius? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/51 "2017-10-11T13:57:25Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Fahrenheit, or Celsius? Living, or dead? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/52 "2017-10-11T14:05:06Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > No, he graduated from the Wharton school which is probably not an easy task… No, he didn’t. See the post from **Duckster** and **Marvin the Martian** above. Is it too much to ask that you read your own thread? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/53 "2017-10-11T14:25:35Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Which was the winning strategy. > > How exactly is intelligence defined by the way? If The Donald’s strategy was so simple and effective why wasn’t it copied by those with IQs 2-3 standard deviations to the right of the mean? It isn’t really very good as a working strategy. Yes, Trump succeeded in getting elected President. But he’s failing at being the President. Most people who’ve run for President want to be successful Presidents not just successful candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/54 "2017-10-11T14:29:58Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I’d guess it is in the 120 neighborhood. The fact that he even brought it up means that he knows it is a respectable number… I’d guess that is wrong. Trump has a habit of of spouting lies even if he knows they are not true (his taping of Comey, for example) as a way of bullying people. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/55 "2017-10-11T14:32:34Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > … It is certainly above body temperature by a fair margin… > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Fahrenheit, or Celsius? > [@QuickSilver](#): > > Living, or dead? I think you need the _liver_ temperature to answer that question definitively. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/56 "2017-10-11T14:40:05Z")
Let’s not confuse IQ with low animal cunning. No matter what Trump’s IQ is, he’s still Stupid. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/57 "2017-10-11T14:42:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Let’s not confuse IQ with low animal cunning. No matter what Trump’s IQ is, he’s still Stupid. I believe, “Fucking Moron”, is technically the correct term. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/58 "2017-10-11T16:00:10Z")
Let me put it this way for the “high IQ” side: If someone has a high IQ, it’s no guarantee that they won’t say or do something dumb, sometimes, but I would expect them to be able to sometimes \*\*show \*\* how bright they are. They could be very knowledgeable about some chosen field of study, or be able to very quickly understand a new and complex problem or be able to skillfully debate on some nuanced topic. We have a lot of footage of trump now…where are the examples of any of these things? Honestly the best example of his intellect that I can recall is when he picked up that child and correctly listed some of the materials involved in building a wall. I’m being serious. Any better example than that? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/59 "2017-10-11T16:09:13Z")
Trump’s speaking style is so simplistic and limited that I am reminded of Chauncey Gardner (Chance the Gardener) from _Being There_. If Chauncey Gardner had narcissistic personality disorder. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521/60 "2017-10-11T16:14:06Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I always think of the rather old-fashioned term, low cunning. I don’t know what the connection is between that and IQ. > > Speaking of IQ tests, can you imagine 45 having the patience to actually take one? After 5 minutes (if that) I can see him throwing it on the ground and calling it fake testing. > [@Oly](#): > > Trump has the same sort of talent a predatory lizard has. His primary asset, and it is formidable, is a keen sense of timing and an eye for the jugular. As well as a complete lack of any sense of shame. > > As for IQ, I find it difficult to believe he could sit still and focus long enough to complete an IQ test. I agree! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-donald-trumps-iq/798521.md?page=4)