President Trump had a long track record of calling people "stupid" — until he put "president" in front of his name.
Disparaging enemies' intelligence in tweets and interviews was Trump's go-to insult right up until his election, analysis from The Washington Post has found. November 2016 proved a turning point in Trump's vocabulary, but he's recently turned back to his dummy-spewing ways.
From June 2015, when he declared his candidacy, until his election, Trump used "stupid," "dummy," "dumb," or "low IQ" as an insult at least 53 times, per the Post. But he has mostly left those words out of his vocabulary throughout his presidency, save for the time he used one on MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski last July. Now, Trump's stupid-o-meter is through the roof once again, as he has disparaged someone's intelligence 13 times since the start of this year.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Whose intelligence Trump has insulted has changed as well, the Post points out. Before his election, Trump's opponents were usually fellow conservatives and usually white — think former President George W. Bush's adviser Karl Rove and radio host Glenn Beck. Now, Trump has gone after black people, namely Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and CNN host Don Lemon. Waters has been called "low IQ" seven times alone.
One person Trump has called smart? Russian President Vladimir Putin. Get more details on Trump's intelligence slams at The Washington Post.
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia JamesSpeed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in ChicagoSpeed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leadersSpeed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-offSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
