What are the odds that Trump is actually intelligent and is just playing us?...

[Locut0s]

Let me be clear I don't believe this is true. I think he really is the thin skinned reactionary blow hard that he is. This is just a thought experiment.

Just occured to me when reading about his Twitter war with Arnold that maybe Trump is actually intelligent and is just playing us. Pretending to be thin skinned and hurt and a buffoon, as a purposefull distraction to keep the media busy.

Either way though the result is the same.

What I believe is the truth is that Trump really is that much of a baby and it's Bannon who is the one who is playing us by using Trump as a usefully distractionary tool for the media.

[Nevermypresident]

1. He's a C- or D+ intellectually,

at best. When it comes to lying , manipulating, conning, etc. I give him an A.

[uponit7771]

4. +1, great minds :-)... and the fuckin over people was accumulated during 70 years of breathing

[dhill926]

2. I think we underestimate him at our peril....

[OregonBlue]

24. I think he's very cunnin, not very smart. Prime example is that he was totally for Israeli West Bank

settlements which he knew nothing about until he talked to King Abdullah of Jordon. Now he thinks they are a block to peace. He is just so ignorant. Capable of learning but has had no desire to learn anything up to this point. It's scary how ignorant he is. He's good at a con, but not anything else.

[dhill926]

33. Yep...what I meant....

and he's conning the shit out of us right now. Also knows how to wield power and communicate effectively with the um, less intellectually inclined...

[uponit7771]

3. He's gifted at fucking over people, that's about it... that's knowledge he can gather in 70...

... years of breathing.

Outside of that his ability to absorb and retain information is very low...

Bottom line, give him a problem he's not familiar with there wont be anything CLOSE to figuring anything rational out...

If problem solver is a gauge of intelligence

[underpants]

5. For immediate short term news cycle gain - yes

Anything longer than that- NO

He really isn't very smart.
Two telling instances from his past.

The USFL. When he got in to it it was doing quite well. Spring time football in what would become a year round sport in terms of coverage and interest. He demanded they switch and go head to head with the NFL. It went south from there.

Casino - he never took the time to learn the games and how they actually worked. He way overpaid for the Taj anyway but he never bothered to learn the business.

[uponit7771]

7. +1, his ability to absorb information to a useful degree seems to be stuck at 4yrs old

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

32. Trump broke Atlantic City

The problem in Atlantic City is that it is a seasonal destination. April to September and maybe March to October in a really good year.

Trump built something wildly out of scale and then competitive pressures dictated everyone else do the same. This was occurring at the very moment every Indian Band on the East Coast was building casinos of their own where there weren't people smoking crack and mugging casino and hotel patrons.

Maybe global warming will make Atlantic City a year-round destination someday, but not in a useful time frame for any of the defunct resorts there.

[Sunlei]

6. he is playing people by using his personal twitter account to act like asshole & NOT @POTUS, @WhiteH

@White House.

[LisaM]

8. Then he's even meaner than people think and that's worse.

Either way, we're screwed.

[Demit]

9. Trump produces The Apprentice. When he mentions it in his tweets & speeches,

he's doing PR for his product. IMO, it's just him being a huckster.

[Solly Mack]

10. He's a gifted manipulator. A consummate showman. Professional circus barker.

That doesn't make him intelligent in the sense you mean. He's no intellectual, but he is not without abilities.

You can be clever in some ways and still not be intelligent.

[Locut0s]

12. Very good point. I suppose I suppose it's this type of conniving sociopathic intelligence...

That I am picking up on. I don't believe he is actually intelligent.

[Willie Pep]

20. I agree, Trump is a master showman.

I think it is very appropriate that Trump has a long-time connection with the world of pro wrestling. He is close to the McMahon family of WWE fame and even nominated Linda McMahon for an administration position. Pro wrestling is all about manipulating the fans to believe in the feuds that the wrestlers have even though the matches are predetermined and not real sporting events. The fans are supposed to be manipulated into believing that the babyfaces (the good guys) are virtuous and the heels (the bad guys) are evil and in need of a beating.

Trump uses many of the same techniques that they use in wrestling. He cuts promos on other politicians and engages in feuds that are meant to rally his supporters to him just like fans are supposed to rally to their favorite wrestler. Trump also knows how to connect with his supporters by playing the down-to-earth rich guy. Trump might be loaded but he seems like a regular person to some people because he is brusque and seems to have plebeian tastes. He likes fast food, pro wrestling and reality television. Compare that to the stereotype of the snobbish coastal liberal who eats kale, drinks expensive coffee and listens to NPR and you can see why Trump appealed to many ordinary Americans.

[Solly Mack]

22. Excellent point. It fits beautifully.

[braddy]

11. Cagey and cunning and focused and competitive, (edited to add, and extremely charismatic), all

figure into magnifying someone's native intelligence, in many fields, politics is one of those fields.

[Locut0s]

14. A lot of this also naturally arrises from being a sociopath nt.

[braddy]

18. What do they say, about 20% of CEOs are sociopaths?

[raccoon]

35. CUNNING--yes, that's the right word. One doesn't have to be intelligent to be cunning. nt

[HassleCat]

13. They asked the same question about Bush.

And the answer is still the same. He is truly stupid.

[Locut0s]

16. Lol yeah I forgot they asked the same of Bush...

People questioned is he really was that much of a simpleton. He really fucking is. Lol.

[yeoman6987]

28. I don't think bush could get away with 5 percent trump does.

[yurbud]

15. low. otherwise, shit wouldn't be blowing up in his face

[yurbud]

17. he will eventually be the new icon of a useful idiot. The GOP will smash and steal while he

bloviates, then blame him for their crimes when he implodes.

[logosoco]

19. If so, he deserves an Academy Award.

I don't think anyone could play a fool this well without being one.

But with each cabinet pick, I kept thinking maybe he was just lining them up to say "you're fired". I am having a hard time holding onto that fantasy!
(disclaimer: I have never watched that show and only know about it from hearing of this line in relation to tRump)

[NewJeffCT]

30. Not sure it was true or not

but, didn't he want to bring in the final 3 or 4 Supreme Court choices and then announce the final decision like The Apprentice? I'm not sure if that's true or a rumor. (I'm at work, so don't have the time to google)

[democratisphere]

21. A big fat ZERO on being intelligent.

[delisen]

23. Trump is a highly successful con man. Of course he is intelligent.

I cringe when Dems call opposition stupid or unintelligent. Many Dems value academic success, and think scoring high on IQ tests or getting good grades are indications of high intelligence but whether these accurately measure intelligence is open to debate.

One form of intelligence is knowing how to use the brains of others to achieve your own goals. Watch how effectively he uses his children.

Trump is focused on Trump. He has his own measure of success. He does not hold himself back by "indulging" in ethical considerations, being empathetic, or worrying about whether he is being Christ-like or obeying the Ten Commandments. He is able to dismiss everything that stands in the way of his goal.

Makes reaching ones objectives easier than for the majority of people.

Paul Ryan probably sees him as a kind of Ayn Rand hero -although Ryan would definitely prefer the Gary Cooper version.

Trump keeps score "am I winning or losing? Am I on top of the totem pole? He hits back-but it is not personal.

[LanternWaste]

25. Odds are 25 or six to four.

Odds are 25 or six to four.

[Glimmer of Hope]

26. I think his intelligence is way over rated. Whatever intelligence he had has definitely

diminished with age and progressive mental illness.

[liberal N proud]

27. Bullies are not intelligent

[unblock]

29. Just because someone is evil

Doesn't mean he's intelligent.

He's certainly playing us, but not in that way.

[meadowlander]

31. I keep coming back to the thought

that if he was really that clever and a master manipulator, he would be a lot better at what he's doing. I have never seen a bigger cack-handed policy failure than the Muslim ban. A seventh dimensional chess player doesn't intentionally fuck up in a way that permanently damages his reputation and provides grounds for impeachment over here just so he can pull some other really brilliant move over there.

I think he's just a bullshit artist on a fifty year lucky streak that's about to come crashing down all around him.

[GeorgeGist]

34. zip