I keep hoping that I'll wake up one morning and everyone drinking DJT's Kool Aid will no longer follow the 21st Century's Pied Piper. For all his claims of superior intelligence and advanced degrees from really good schools, the man's communication skills and body language are those of a low level good fella hoping to crack the big time. While I understand people don't like to admit they're wrong, the current allegiance to a pathetic character lends itself to cult status. Sadly, with his followers continuing to drink his Kool Aid, there's a chance we'll be poisoned by the sheer magnitude of their insanity. I hope and pray it doesn't happen. Now for another night's sleep and the hope tomorrow the insanity ends!
33
It seems Donald Trump is literally losing his mind, mainly the frontal lobe. His social skills have shrunk to predictable recidivism. Its the same theme, same rhetoric, same name calling and same violent threats. Some of the "changing stories" and "lies" are partly his inability to remember. So call him dumb or dumber, I think its the beginiging of the Alzheimer's disease.
48
Mr Blow need to zoom out to benefit from a larger picture via a wide angle lens - it is not always about race. Lebron has been trolling the President - who I think is a buffoon - for months. He finally garnered the response he was trolling for.
Neither one of them look particularly intelligent in this exchange - King James could do with studying the writings of our last President while Mr. Blow could use some new nibs for his pen.
6
Malignant narcissistic personality disorder. Period.
50
"I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers."
- Stephen Hawking, in answer to the obvious question.
There you have it, folks. From a genuine stable genius. Donald Trump is a loser.
70
As dumb as Trump is. The people who voted for him are dumber. To think that he actually cares about the working class. He has never worked a day in his life. He was handed his wealth. He does not care about anything or anyone other than $. To think otherwise is naive and stupid. Wake up America before it is too late.
56
Add to the IQ stuff that women have apparently made up the majority of college graduates for the last twenty years. I think in 2016 68% of college graduates were women. Seems like a tipping point is drawing near.
18
I have read and believe I'm correct, that there are now more women in our colleges than men. And, they are doing much better academically than the men.
After years of seeing only men read the news, after listening to my first husband explain that "women just can't be announcers, news casters, etc. because they simply don't have the voice for it," it gives me great pleasure to see so many young women sharing the news spotlight with fewer and fewer men.
Our heroes are of course, Judy Woodruff, Gwen Ifel, Charlayne Hunter Gault (all of whom worked for PBS) and the many others who broke the news casters glass ceiling.
And note, that while Donald Trump was pretending to actually know things on the Apprentice, he was following a long line of women who were cheered on and love by so many: Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, The Golden Girls and so many more. Anyone watching re-runs of the Apprentice?
Compare I.Q.s with these women and all the wonderful women we now have in Congress to so many of the men who came before? Sorry, Dotard Donald, there's no contest. YOU LOSE BIG TIME!!!
25
There is no excuse for Trumps uncivil comments and lies. His skirting laws, undoing decades of civil progress and US diplomatic civility is nuclear dangerous. Trump's only way out of the asylum or prison may be to resign.
Then we need to reteach our children more about courtesy, courteousness, politeness, good manners, graciousness, consideration, respect, politesse, comity.
Trump and family could save face when he resigns by saying he needs to resign to spend more time with his family, to play golf and host celebrities.
It would seem just, right and logical to just "Lock him Up", but he is already a martyr so many. Just having him gone from DC will be wonderful enough.
16
DJT does not like anyone standing up to him, which is what you do to bullies. He did not like Lemon for asking the question about Le Bron sitting across from DJT in the studio, nor did he like LeBron’s response.
Same as the disinvite to Warriors after Curry said he does not want to go to WH.
DJT needs to grow a thicker skin, unfortunately too late for that - but never for anyone speaking up.
7
What’s astonishing is how he has played his constituency, who are suffering from his policies, or soon will be, very smart people.
15
I firmly believe that Trump didn’t get through Warthogs on his own. His lack of knowledge about civics and basic economics indicates that he slept through several classes.
36
I, too, am troubled by the overt misogyny, racism, bigotry, homophobia and xenophobia of this tiny, tiny being. (I can't call him a man, as he doesn't behave in any ways that resemble humanity, which is essential to being a man.) Most troubling, he's encouraging and enabling the haters who, like him, feel so deficient that the only way to prop up their own egos is to attack others. This, apparently, makes them feel big - at least momentarily. And so, it's deeply troubling to watch what he's unleashed in a not insignificant minority of our fellow citizens. However, we should remind ourselves that this pretender reveals to us, with his every utterance, how he feels about himself. That is, he's projecting. His low IQ remark may be the thing that causes him the most insecurity. Maybe this is what his domineering and successful father repeatedly told him throughout his life. As he seems to hurl this more often at women, maybe it was his mother, who reportedly feared him, who drove this point home when he was growing up, until his parents had had enough and sent him off to boarding school. Maybe deep down, he knows his IQ is low, either because it's been tested or he never did well academically or his six bankruptcies and the knowledge that his business acumen and "success" are the smoke and mirrors of a con man. Whatever the reason, this is Trump projecting how he feels about himself. That he applies this insult to women more often may also reveal that he is intimidated by women.
57
It's said in life, that E.Q. is fare more important than I.Q. for success. But then, Trump probably hasn't heard about that (or the difference between the two) and possibly is even unaware of what I.Q. stands for.
Congratulations, LeBron James. With this president being singled out and insulted, means you're a threat.
(I.e., you're accomplished, are far more likable &/or more important than he is.)
50
Take a look at the long list of names Trump has called people since he started running for office (can't believe I'm even typing this about an American President.) You will see that Mr. Blow is correct, women and minorities dominate Trump's variations on dumb when compared to white men.
26
We project onto others the failings we detect in ourselves.
18
A thought experiment. Two debate podiums, one for Trump and one for Barack Obama. But this time the podiums are inside sound booths so that Trump cannot interrupt, cannot talk over the other debater, and cannot the pace the stage like the stalker he is. Pick any public policy topics. Is there any doubt it would be an emotional massacre for The Donald?
42
Are Trump’s tweets just establishing his mental impairment as a legal basis for a defense against Federal and State charges that he is “not guilty” by reason of “mental incapacity?”
16
By the sheer number of tweets, the guy in the White seems to spend most of his time sitting on his bed monitoring an array of television
news shows and lashing out in the language of two year olds if he hears any slights, imagined or not.
A good number of his actions and statements, including constantly lying to the citizenry, creates daily chaos as he careens incoherently from one position to another. He does not seem to know what he’s doing.
Being blatantly racist, misogynistic, and devisive is not running the country. It is running the country into the ground.
His infantile attacks on American citizens is not only below the dignity of the presidency, but of any decent person.
More than sixty thousand verified mental health professionals have signed a Change. Org. Petition warning that Trump is a narcissist who is a danger to our country.
When cornered, they say, he becomes delusional and
Paranoid.
If their “duty to warn” assessment is accurate, he can’t correct himself, but we responsible Americans can help ourselves.
It is understandable that there is the urge to bury one’s head in the sand to escape the constant barrage of craziness coming from the White House.
We must be as courageous and staunch in our resistance as Mr. Blow.
Citizens can show their resistance in November by going to the polls and voting in Congress persons who will protect our interests and rights from the unprecedented travesties being played out in The White House.
25
Mr Blow
Spot on bulls eye. Trump is a inhuman.
15
As a legal matter, Donald is not incompetent. That is, he is ineducable and crassly ignorant of everything he needs to know about running the government and the nation. But he is legally competent to stand trial.
He can't get off by claiming not to understand, or not to know or as Paul Ryan says, because "he's new to this." Those excuses will and should fail. Trump knows what he's doing.
But clearly, he is not capable of "the sterner duties to be performed by the intellectual faculties." He ain't got the juice.
14
Charles, thank you for pointing this out, however, I also want to add that white liberals and conservatives are very much complicit in this. They keep saying ignore Trump remarks, but majority of whites don't think minorities are that smart. The best way to fight this is write off white people. They aren't our friends and never will be. It is time to take the country back. It rightfully belongs to American Indians not White People.
7
In psychology the term "projection" means the person projecting has negative characteristics of which they are unaware. They then accuse others as having the negative unwanted characteristics. Lets look at dumb. Couldn't get into an Ivy league school out of high school had to transfer to Penn in his Soph year. Let people believe he went to Wharton Graduate School didn't'. Went bankrupt many times because of bad decisions business decisions, and on and on. Now look at lying no president has lied as much as Trump. Lied to numerous wives, girlfriends, business associates how high Trump Tower is, and just everything he said in his campaign.It's whoHE is but he can't see it. Poor us
30
Charles...as usual, you are "right on"...Sadly, for a host of reasons, including lack of insight by those who voted for this incredibly unfit-for-the-post person...we are temporarily
saddled with an embarrassment in the White House.
He appears to have compassion for none...and certainly no praise for the California firefighters....
I have great sympathy for parents who are trying to explain to their children
how someone so contrary to values of decency can be in the White House.
I am a proud American who is stunned that this great nation is now in a position of being embarrassed by the antics of one who is so obviously unfit..
F.D.R. is turning in his grave......
39
The Trump image serves the same purpose as the moon cut into the old outhouse door - too obvious to be mistaken for anything else. It's a shame that association is so perfectly appropriate in identifying what goes on in the white house, not to mention the odors that spill out.
5
I'd be happy to pit my female brain against Trump's brain in any IQ test he'd be willing to take.
18
Great so insulting Sen. Corker over his height was OK because he's a white man, and white man don't deserve any sympathy. It's not that we are against name calling in general, it's not that we are for civility and rational discussion. No no no. It's because he dared insult a black man. It's not the insult per se, it's its target. It's always about identity, not principles. Thanks Mr Blow for reminding us all.
34
Trump regularly resorts to IQ as a means of demeaning people of color. Though criticized as measuring only certain kinds of intelligence and often culturally biased, It plays well with his base which is only too ready to accept any number he provides them.
11
Trump's "cleverness" -- as one commenter cited -- is a mirage of relativism. Just as "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king," so 'In the land of the deluded and impressionable, the blind Narcissist is king.' Place him in any context outside of his "base," and there is no cleverness at all.
9
So it took until 2012 that based on IQ scores women are "now" smarter than men.
Could it be, that because before "now" it was only men who were doing the judging?
10
Blow: "The man trying to help at-risk children by opening doors for them was being attacked by the man who has put children at risk by locking them in cages."
Trump is an abuser, pure and simple, and his treatment of children should remove all doubt. However, he was big into abuse before he supported the locking up of children in cages, and that should have been clear when caught on tape bragging about grabbing women and his stiffing of dishwashers, painters, and waiters that did work for him.
LeBron James is someone that is trustworthy; Trump is not.
18
As much as I appreciate Charles Blow regularly sticking our esteemed President with a hatpin by explaining, quite correctly, that the man's dumb as a rock--I mean, the diff between this guy and Rainman is that Rainman actually knew stuff, and was a nice guy--I think there's a real failure here.
To appreciate just how lazy this guy is. I mean to say, this is a Prez who rose to power by screaming incoherently, attacking Barack Obama's golf as well as his education and his national origins.
It's not just that he's too flipping lazy to take a briefing, so lazy indeed that his aides have been trying to wedge an hour-plus of briefing onto one side of one page with bg bullet points.
It's that this weekend, he spent his 176th day at a Trump property, playing golf. Literally a third of his time in office.
Cripes, Reagan at least cleared some brush and rode a horse when he went home for a bit.
17
When I was growing up in a working class, racially and ethnically mixed, in the Bronx, we had quite a cadre of bullies+ racists + misogynists. They would lean on cars and mailboxes, smoking and primping - waiting for the next victim to come by. They commented, cursed and verbally bullied - or worse. Thank goodness a lot of them grew out of it.
I often think that Trump is one of these guys, but, and it is a big but, with money! Without money, he'd be another guy hanging on a mailbox, who never grows out of it.
7
This man is dangerous plain and simple.He's clearly unfit to hold any elected office. America's societal and political norms are challenged while he remains in office.
Women and smart men will prove whose the" real dummy" come midterm elections.
Vote! Vote! Vote!
9
Well, I certainly believe that Trump is a racist, I think his use of the term "dummy" stems from his inability to articulate why he may disagree with someone. He just doesn't or cannot give it enough thought.
6
The unfortunate reality is that many of Trump's supporters, while not necessarily sharing his views about immigrants, the media, minoirites, women etc., do not care what he says - they only care about what he does. So complaints about Trump's insults, moronic tweets and lies are likely to fall on deaf ears when it comes to his supporters.
9
I end my evening by playing devil's advocate after reading Gemli's brilliantly constructed comment.
We all know about Trump's failings as presented by Charles Blow in his columns and by Gemli and others in such careful detail and fine formulations.
We also know nothing written here will change Trump and neither will midterm election results we can at least be dreaming of.
Can we, however, begin a discussion of an action that would be a first step in undercutting the foundation on which neo-Nazis and Donald Trump stand, the belief formulated by Swedish physician Herman Lundborg and adopted by Adolf Hitler that there is a superior "race" consisting of subsets of German and Swedish populations?
That belief is preserved by the USCB system of classifying Americans by "race". a system created by racists so that
Americans could be placed in a racial order with a subset of those who are "white by law" at the top.
Let Prof. Kenneth Prewitt start a discussion in the Times by having him present his proposal (Ch. 11 in his book): End the USCB system and replace it with a new system
Enlist experts such as Svante Pääbo and David Reich to present genome-based research showing that there is no clearly bounded white "race" to which Donald Trump could be assigned but from which me and maybe even Gemli could be excluded.
Give leading comment writers a place in the discussion. I have been waiting for a long time to learn what Gemli might say about such a proposal
Your view, G?
6
Loved the piece except calling Trump "dumb" at the end. While not very learned, he is street-smart when it comes to his constant attacks on people - not just women and blacks - anyone against him. "Dumb" are his followers - as was again pointed out on Bill Maher (with Mr. Blow in attendance) - they believe that Trump is out to help them (not) and Q-ANON is real (not).
BTW - Charles Blow was quite the star last Friday night and yes, how do we present an argument to racists, and why should people of color "be careful" not to hurt their feelings and be scary.
6
Keep your powder dry my dear American cousins. His day of shame is coming very soon, but agreed not soon enough.
13
Ever wondered why it is that Trump was a celebrity in New York City for 25 years and never once was called a racist until he ran against the democrats?
5
Attacking LeBron James was one of Trump's dumbest moves ever. Even Melania distanced herself from her husband. It appears that Trump is on a deep downward slide where every day he says something dumber than the day before. Unfit for the Office of the President of the United States.
21
Trump will usually accuse other people of things he’s actually guilty of. Therefore he must be HUGELY and BIGLY stupid.
11
While I agree that Trump is keen to blast women and blacks, I do believe it's more important to focus on the president's rotten/nasty decisions that should be focused on as much as possible.
5
These are just euphemisms. All the president means by "dumb", "IQ", "low energy" or "weak" is either: (a) not as ruthless as I am, or (b) I reflexively attack whenever I am caught telling a lie, which is often.
6
Hey Charles the President wouldn't have called LeBron or Lemon anything if they hadn't called him ugly things first. C'mon Charles be fair you know that's true and the same thing with that Indian hero soldier family's father. He attacked candidate Trump fiercely right at a Clinton rally? and for sure Mr Trump responded rudely. Charles you want the President to be a wussy and not answer back?.
4
Please remove him from the White House.
9
Interesting that Trump flies by the seat of his pants with no intellectual curiosity or work ethic. His purported smarts are displayed in his tweets and at his rallies, which are really a means to pump up his supporters and feed his ego. Other than ego, he is all id, all need, desire and impulse, and the compulsion for immediate gratification. His insults are at the level of fourth graders arguing in the school playground. That he should insult others' intelligence is the height of cognitive dissonance and chutzpah. He is a racist and a sexist. Minorities and women have no place in Trump world. Women are valued for attractiveness and the size of their breasts, not intelligence. Minorities, immigrants and others are not valued at all.
This truculent man child is POTUS. How can women count themselves among his supporters? How can men who presumably have wives, mothers, sisters and daughters listen to his misogyny and racism? How can any of his supporters bring their children to his rallies to hear this odium and that the press is the enemy of the people. Trump has established a cult of personality no less horrifying than that of the dictators he so admires today and those of the past, like Stalin. Thank God he cannot send anyone to the gulag never to be seen again.
4
@Frea No. We can’t ignore it. Donald Trump isn’t a truck driver or a waiter or a plumber. Mr. Trump is the President of the United States of America, the Commander-in-Chief of the most bloated, over-stocked military machine ever assembled. The United States owns more nuclear weapons than any other country. We own more nuclear sircraft carriers than all the other countries in the world combined.
If I understood your comment, you seem to be suggesting that ignoring the unreasonable, aggressive, racist things that Trump says is a reslistic option. Really? He’s the POTUS!!!
“Fire and fury such as the world had never seen!”
We should just ignore things like that?!?
Out president is also the principle representative of the American people to the world.
You think saving ink by not printing his lies, his delusions and his insults will help? Help what?
We don’t want to return to the Dark Ages.
We’re trying to wrest control of the most powerful country in the world from an unstable, egotistical maniac and his cultish following.
14
Thanks, Charles Blow! The dumbest president EVER deigns to comment on everyone else's smarts - now that's rich. The man who didn't know Lincoln was a Republican until he was told - at the age of 71 (most 6-year-olds know this). Thanks also to the photographer who provided the lovely photo of Trump's orange line...is it supposed to make him look tanned? Oh, I see. So he can look more like the truly beautiful people he denigrates?
6
Mr. Blow: Respectfully, you disappointed me in that you didn’t call out the irony of The Schoolyard Bully even having the chutzpah to bring up the subject of intelligence. He lacks the fluidity and coherence of a 4th grader when he speaks and writes English, his native tongue. He is credibly alleged not to read, ever. He has been described by White House staff as “semi-literate”. He has been further described as a “moron, a f***g moron”, and an “idiot” by 3 of his own cabinet members. He didn’t know that Frederick Douglass is a deceased person. I won’t go on.
14
I wonder what he really thinks of Melania’s brain and also as a woman?
6
If DJT did not like black people, why does he quote the fact, black employment is higher than it's ever been? And, why does DJT have a 29% favorable rating among black voters?
Geez, the crazy stuff you hear on Fox everyday. Who could believe it?
4
Mmmm....let's start calling 45 and co. snotnosed pricks. Seems like something they would understand...
5
Trump is vulgar. However, he is not stupid. His immature comments and name calling are designed to appeal to his base. Said base is primarily comprised of very ignorant people. They have to be ignorant because they allowed themselves to be duped by a seasoned huckster. These individuals, along with Russian meddling and the anachronistic Electoral College, put this dangerous demagogue in the White House. Those who voted for Our Beloved Leader confirm an observation made by H. L. Mencken regarding the intelligence, or lack thereof, of the American people. As for Trump himself, he is what he is , a classic example of what we call in Spanish escoria humana (human trash or human dregs). Trump is a pitiful excuse for a human being, let alone president.
10
Some of Mr. Blow's columns attacking Trump have been so patently partisan they discredit Blow more than Trump. This time, however, he hit a home run.
Blow's attacks on Trump often reflect Blow's obsession with race and gender. Blow says Trump's insults, often aimed at blacks and women, show Trump is a racist and misogynist. It never occurs to Blow that the reason Trump's attacks are preponderantly aimed at women and blacks is because Trump's attackers are often blacks and women.
Trump's repetitious reference to his attackers as dumb has nothing to do with their race or sex. Rather, Trump aims at those who insult him or his policies. Trump would laud any black or woman who publicly praised him.
By repeating in quotations marks a litany of Trump's counter insults, Blow demonstrates Trump's viciousness and his limited vocabulary. Thesarus.com lists 49 synonyms for stupid. Trump's only knows four. One with such a limited vocabulary might viciously be called dumb.
Blow: "I believe that the fact that he so often attacks the intellectual capacity of women and minorities exposes a racial and gender bias, one that has a long history and a wide acceptance."
LeBron for Pres
No! What it exposes is Trump's low IQ, his manifest viciousness, and Blow's obsession with race and gender. Racial bias didn't prevent Obama from being elected President twice, nor did gender bias prevent Hillary from being nominated. The biases you see as America's "widespread" demons are your own boogeymen.
Chuck, you forgot Rosie the "pig" O'Donnell (as called by drumpf) who is singing show tunes outside the white house this very evening. https://www.salon.com/2018/08/06/rosie-odonnell-is-singing-show-tunes-at...
3
Trumped named individuals, not women or blacks as a group. Ironically, it is Charles M. Blow who writes about the intelligence of women and men as a group praising women for being smarter than men?!
Based on what Charles M. Blow has himself written he is what he believes Trump to be. And Trump is better than Charles M. Blow. It is absurd, funny and sad at the same time. I'm getting tired of winning because it is so easy!
3
Everybody knows that we have nothing left to learn about Donald Trump. He is so maniacally stuck on himself that he (perhaps inadvertently) reveals himself on a daily basis. He likes to say he's unpredictable and maybe he is, if only because he has no idea what he's going to do next. But he is not unknowable. We definitely know the true depth of his multiple disabilities and inadequacies. The irony, of course, is that Trump himself is devoid of even a scintilla of self-knowledge or insight into his own behavior. But even above and beyond that, what he does NOT understand is that he "projects." This is becoming more apparent than ever and is perhaps the single thing that is most revelatory about him. He routinely and viciously accuses people of his own faults and deficiencies. He calls people dumb, fake, ugly, dishonest -- on and on, no end to the list -- but he is only describing HIMSELF when he does this. People have caught on and are sneering and sniggering at him as never before. He's toast.
7
For a long time, I thought we had Archie Bunker in a suit as President. Now it appears, we have something far worse. If you have a chance, watch Jeff Dunham on Netflix or YouTube. When he brings out Walter, you see a character that mimics what Charles Blow talks about. And creepy as it sounds, his dummy looks much like this dummy.
7
Can we get Trump's I.Q.?
4
@Mae Emsworth and his tax returns.
7
Too low to record
7
The man is an egotistical lunatic, who cares for nothing but himself. Enough said.
8
Only a lifelong bigot, typecast misogynist, and NYC salesman of greed could stick to the lame, but mesmerizing scripts of Cambridge Analytica, Bannon, and his instincts to bait-voters-through-fear. Mr Blow does justice to the cretin who forever owns his every word .. by tweet or pie hole.
In cahoots, for one, is Fox News channel with its farm system for "replicant speak" - to further feed Republicans' sense of justification.
They may be strong in faith and work ethic, but what good are those talents if they are employed in advancement of a bonafide cur?
Republicans are captured in a long-term strategy of disinformation and incitement to protect privilege. Individually, they are so defensive of crossing the tribe's new strategy, they remain silent. Who knows .. it's probably easier to sit in the shade of the "gung ho" tree than battle the racism, misogynism, and other hatred's taking over their party.
"21st Century Fox's assets include the Fox Entertainment Group—owners of the 20th Century Fox film studio (the company's partial namesake), Fox television network and Fox News channel.."
".. Fox television network, Fox Television Stations, and Fox News Channel will be spun off into a new company owned by current 21st Century Fox shareholders, being referred to internally as "New Fox" .. expected to be completed in 2019.."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Fox
Okay, now I get it. I’ve read enough Charles Blow columns to intuit that he’s not an admirer of president Trump. Can’t wait to read next week’s column. I wonder what it will be about?
4
As I have said before, "Your President is stupid" .. the whole world knows this by his actions alone ... why is he still there? .. what weakness pervades your society, in particular, the Republican Party, that has allowed him to continue to denigrate your country in the eyes of the world?
I don't agree with Putin's politics but I have to say, he must have the most amazing self control to be able to stand next to Trump while Trump defends him in front of the world and not even snicker, let alone laugh out loud at the fool next to him ... heaven, or someone or something help America.
8
Trump is a corrupt to his core mentally ill(Narcissistic Personality Disorder) embarrassment. The American voters will be the dummies if we don’t vote in a Blue Tsunami in November.
8
It's very simple: this master of projection is calling out his deepest fears about himself, against populations for which he has the least respect -- females, black people, and combinations of the two. In the shallow creases of his brain, and in the recesses of his shriveled heart, he knows he is "fake" -- an impostor in the White House, and "low I.Q." -- intellectually and mentally unsuited for the office.
3
Only a lifelong bigot, typecast misogynist, and NYC salesman of greed could stick to the lame, but mesmerizing scripts of Cambridge Analytica, Bannon, and his instincts to bait-voters-through-fear. Mr Blow does justice to the cretin who forever owns his every word .. by tweet or pie hole.
In cahoots, for one, is Fox News channel with its farm system for "replicant speak" - to further feed Republicans' sense of justification.
They may be strong in faith and work ethic, but what good are those talents if they are employed in advancement of a bonafide cur?
Republicans are captured in a long-term strategy of disinformation and incitement to protect privilege. Individually, they are so defensive of crossing the tribe's new strategy, they remain silent. Who knows .. it's probably easier to sit in the shade of the "gung ho" tree than battle the racism, misogynism, and other hatred's taking over their party.
"21st Century Fox's assets include the Fox Entertainment Group—owners of the 20th Century Fox film studio (the company's partial namesake), Fox television network and Fox News channel.."
".. Fox television network, Fox Television Stations, and Fox News Channel will be spun off into a new company owned by current 21st Century Fox shareholders, being referred to internally as "New Fox" .. expected to be completed in 2019.."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Fox
3
Charles Blow. Smart guy.
5
When the Times reported that executives at Trump's hotels would ask employees of color to hide from sight, it was clear Mr. Trump had a severe problem handling cultural diversity. His behavior in response to Charlottesville provided unambiguous evidence that he is close to being a national socialist himself. Moreover, his predatory behavior with respect to women is more than well-documented, reflecting his contempt for an entire gender. So how can anyone be surprised that he would continue to exhibit his extreme propensity for disreputable behavior. The remarkable aspect of the past 48 hours is his wife's exemplary and appropriate rejection of his behavior. Kudos to her. If only republicans in congress would follow her example!
12
Drumpf likes to label those he doesn't agree with, rather than engaging in serious discussion - because, of course, he is right about everything and knows more than any other person on earth. Is there such a thing as a combination Nobel, Pulitzer, and MacArthur prize? Surely he deserves it.
Not.
I think that the Federal judge who ruled that the administration's decision to stop the DACA program was "arbitrary and capricious" was right on. That descriptor applies to nearly everything that this dreadful excuse for a president has done. If Obama did it, it must be overturned. That seems the most important criterion.
7
Einstein mused that “everyone is a genius, ask a fish to climb a tree, and he thinks he’s stupid.” In other words, Einstein was saying, if you can adapt to your environment, you’re a genius. We will never know if Trump has adapted to his world of greedy vulture capitalists without seeing his financial records and taxes. He’s a fish out of water.
5
People like Trump, call other people dumb, or stupid, because that's what bullies do. But in reality, when they call someone dumb, or stupid, they are trying to cover their own cognitive shortfalls, and with Trump, those shortfalls in intelligence are glaringly obvious.
10
The 4th grade "Vocabulary" of the "President" speaks volumes about the United States of America.
19
Trump is a child, throwing sand and tantrums.
4
Trump's racist comments flow very easily from his big mouth. His misogynistic comments as well. He has risen to where he is via white privilege, so his racism seems ingrained. Something is wrong with this guy.
6
This is a dumb opinion. Trump just attacked back against the basketball player. I completely disagree that he is a racist. He does speaketh too much about certain people but it always starts with an attack on him or his policies. These articles are a coordinated effort to flip the midterms toward the left. That is all this is.
5
@fz1
Just so I understand you clearly: you're saying that the New York Times is in cahoots with -- whom? every other mainstream media source out there? -- to affect the November midterm elections? You actually believe that??
My god. No wonder we have a lunatic for president.
18
So, you now want to judge people by I.Q. scores?!
3
Even his own wife seems to distance herself from him.
Come on, Melania, stick up for yourself. Give him the makeover he so desperately needs.
Make America Great Again, Melania!
9
Mr. cannot read or write beyond 3rd grade level president trump delights in lobbing his stupid insults at his idiot audience. We have an embarrassment of a country now. Thanks GOP - you have helped destroy the USA for the next 20 years to come at least.
14
Trump is incredibly insecure about his lack of knowledge of the U.S. government, the Constitution, American history, political history, public policy, you name it. He attempts to cover his complete lack of qualifications with bluster and childish name-calling.
As for race, he also obviously has a problem. The Central Park Five, "the blacks love me", the Obama birther nonsense, the attacks on NFL players, and now Maxine Waters, Don Lemon and Lebron James, coming from a penthouse rich kid is all highly suspect. I still believe that Barack's joke about him in 2011 was the moment he decided to run - no way an African-American was going to joke about him.
As for women, he obviously has little if any respect. That white women voted for him 53-43% still boggles the mind.
The man is simply an embarrassment to our nation.
25
Hey, Trumpites!
Doncha just love how your president is protecting the country and all of us from danger, specially that coming from dumb people. Like LeBron James, a genius basketball player, a superb athlete and a whole human, adult being?
Doncha just love how your president has nothing better to do than insult people, everybody on earth almost. At least all the many millions and millions who didn't vote for him and find him repulsive and despicable, not to mention deplorable.
But you may be the next he will insult, talking about dumb.
10
His is a reptilian mind. What more can be said. He is incapable of understanding higher forms of motivation or largesse. It was Michelle Obama who said "when they go low, we go high." We must go on going high, applauding those of loftier purpose such as Lebron James, even as we keep a wary eye on the reptile at our feet. You won't publish this. of course!
10
Here are two actual Trump Tweets from the past few days. How stupid or senile does Donald have to get before the GOP remove him from office?
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 3h3 hours ago
Governor Jerry Brown must allow the Free Flow of the vast amounts of water coming from the North and foolishly being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Can be used for fires, farming and everything else. Think of California with plenty of Water - Nice! Fast Federal govt. approvals.
10:43 AM - 6 Aug 2018
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump
22h22 hours ago
California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading!
3:06 PM - 5 Aug 2018
15
trump is nothing more than a pampered coward. a small man with a big mouth, he reflects his own shortcomings on to every powerful person he fears... SAD!
15
Trump is so dumb he has to brag frequently about his intelligence to convince himself and his minions, but he never supplies any evidence except passing a test for senility.
Almost every insult he makes is a word that could better applied to himself.
He lies so much it is better to believe the opposite of his statements.
His supporters like that he is a "straight talker" which means he says what he wants whether it is true or not.
7
I have worked in education for more than 40 years. One of the concepts that educators talk about is something called the "hidden curriculum." Every educational institution teaches not only what is in the written and approved curriculum for each subject, but also from the "hidden" curriculum, that is, what the institution values and supports in terms of the way people are treated, the moral assumptions that undergird decisions made by leadership, teachers, and other parties, and the human assumptions about how people learn, change, and grow.
Trump is doing our country a profound disservice by his "hidden curriculum", which encourages people to lie, to disrespect and insult "other" people, and to question and insult basic American beliefs, such as the value of free press.
22
Did I miss it or did Charles Blow omit all the names djt hurled at Hillary during campaign 2016?
Of course, she is so much smarter than he is that it must have really made him feel inadequate intellectually.
19
"The real irony here is that, judging by I.Q. scores, women are now smarter than men."
The real irony here is that, judging by IQ, Asians are smarter than Caucasians, and the latter are smarter than Blacks.
"Who looks dumb now? Yes, Trump"
Who looks dumb now? No, it ain't Trump.
5
Once again, Charles Blow puts his finger precisely on the heart of the matter.
12
You're kind of stretching here Mr. Blow.
Don't over think it.
LeBron James said something that was not complimentary to the President. Don Lemon regularly says things not complimentary to the President.
There's no fight too small for Donald Trump. He's an impetuous child, a school yard bully who needs to "win" everything. Everything. He swats mosquitoes with a sledge hammer. Everything is a death match to this guy.
You, and your colleagues on the left, aren't making sense. On the one hand you say he's an idiot. On the other you say he has some kind of master plan, a genius scheme worthy of Bond villain, to denigrate women and minorities and keep them subjugated.
Which is it? Mr. Scaramanga or Mr. Magoo?
7
It axly don't take that much smarts to respond to absolutely ever'thang by screaming at it and telling a ton of lies before waddling off to play gold.
And that's the sweet thing about racism and misogny, too: all the work's been done for you in advance. You don't even have to heave yerself out of the golf cart before you say something imbecelic.
I like to think of Trump as standing on the shoulders of giants like Joe Pyne, George Lincoln Rockwell, David Duke....
2
Take a look at Trump's two recent tweets about CA fires if you wanna dumb and dumber.
23
what else can you expect from a reactionary curmudgeon?
5
What do you call women who vote for Trump and show open affection towards him even when Trump openly brags about holding any woman by their genitals?
15
Odd?
1
Your response is spot on to Mr Dumb President we have in office thanks to Racism, Russia and Repuplicans. What an embarrassment of a human being Mr Dumb. Thanks Facts do really Matter guess Mr Dumb with his Low life moral does not know all women have always been Smarter than Him at least.
5
The only one that's "dumb" here is the idiot in chief who's using the word. He himself has an IQ of about 6 above a rock. What that means to the common man is that if you took all of his brain power and converted it into gasoline, you wouldn't have enough to power an ant's motorcycle halfway around the inside of a Cheerio.
24
It is interesting that neither Trump on his supporters chiming in here deny the truth of Lebron's statement that the President is attempting to divide the nation. So, is it the job of the President to try to bring Americans together so we are stronger as a nation or not? Are there points of compromise and "win-win" that our most powerful leader should be trying to find and cultivate? Or should the President just play to a narrow base of people who want to maintain white male privilege?
10
The writer says Trump's utterances say something about the nature of the man.
It made me wonder what those utterances say about the press and/or media.
Trump's utterances are nothing new, it seems to me. Lot's of people say such things all the time.
What really makes Trump's utterances what they are, it seems to me, is the attention those in the press, like this writer, devote to them.
The press pours lakes of ink publicizing Trump's excesses, then, turns around and pours more lakes of ink and time discussing them, and perhaps makes some money to boot.
Trump, it seems to me, is simply meeting the demand presented by the press.
May be, it's time to acknowledge that Trump isn't the problem here, but the press who are eager to exploit his utterances for their financial gain, or perhaps, intellectual exercise.
It seems to me like Trump would be nothing without the press and media as his mouthpieces.
So, how are his utterances the problem? If they are, then, don't write or discuss them. Tons of people say similarly ignorant things and are ignored into the oblivion they deserve.
Why not do the same, if Trump's that problematic.
5
@Frea One of the missions of the free press in our democratic society is to cover the three branches of government. That includes the president. The news media is doing its job. Unfortunately, Trump is not.
6
At least, Trump's insults are notable for their clarity, but the rest of his pronouncements far less so. Never has a public figure to my knowledge, required such a coterie of apologists -- be they lawyers or communication pros -- to explain the actual meaning of Trump's statements, even though his usually minimalist statements (think Twits) seldom rise above 7th grade-level in complexity, let alone sentence structure. Supposedly, this was a guy who was elected based on his ability to "tell it like it is," -- he means what he says and says what he means.
Well his post-election performance has certainly blown that theory to bits. His most disturbing insult has been to insult our collective intelligence.
6
the trump clan has a very long history of misogyny and racism. that is part of his appeal to they miscreants who vote for him.
5
President Trump attacks anybody that attacks him, excluding no-one, not even the pope.
6
I’m white. A black lady pointed something out to me that should have been obvious. Maxine Waters is a lot like Donald Trump. Except she’s right.
5
Donald's attitude towards all Blacks and women is, unfortunately, all-too-familiar to anyone who grew up in a Southern household. And that is the crowd he is appealing to when he talks about lack of mental ability. But I don't think he's just playing to his crowd: he really believes this. It is all a part of his upbringing by a repugnant racist real estate developer. And it is still too widespread among wealthy country-club types: the people who have never met or associated with a person of color as an equal, and who think of women first as trophies, second as 'vessels,' and only rarely as people in their own right.
19
Last time I checked he was from New York.
Every so often I will agitate myself by reading a Charles Blow column which of course lacks any pretense of fairness in any respect. And of course the easiest thing is to start in by alleging racism and of course the word misogyny had to be brought in (which I would refer people to the Webster’s dictionary. Absurdly overused And incorrectly used terminology.
Trump is undoubtedly a boor but a racist and a misogynist I don’t believe and this article certainly doesn’t prove it.
Not that it’s any defense but he calls a lot of people dumb. Some of them are.
6
Trump is absolutely a misogynist and racist — you would know this if you saw his Tweets or listened to him speak. I also saw him on “The Apprentice” when it was obvious he was a huge sexist.
2
Is the calling of other people “dumb” the kind of presidential behavior that our country needs? How are these words making our country a better place?
7
What a country!
A key role model is a guy who exploits the kids that adore him to sell them $5-worth jersey made in China for a hundred bucks a piece because he was a part of team that successfully persuaded the youth their worthiness and social acceptance depends on the brand name clothing they wear...
The worst part is that I am not talking at all about Donald Trump...
4
As vewy, vewy clever a sneak attack on Lebron James that was, not to mention how subtle was the clever, clever slur that all black kids care about is a nice pair of sneakers, I regret to inform you that the NBA and NCAA, not Mr. James, hawk said shirts and gear.
But hey...that Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort! Little more than $100 a pop clothes for HIM, huh? Hey, where'd he get all that dough?
Please keep going; it's helpful, considering the topic at hand.
4
@Kenan Porobic
That isn't controlled by Lebron, he doesn't market team jerseys, the NBA does. And at least he's doing things for kids, unlike Trump or congress.
10
Is that actually a fact? And does Mr. James reap 100% of the profit or is it a league promotion?
Either way, he seems to be putting more energy and personal cash than Mr. Trump ever has
trump has lied MORE than all of the previous 44 Presidents combined since Washington, MULTIPLIED by 10...!!!
12
@Carl And yet the GOP Congress looks the other way. Doesn't say much for them, does it?
8
The logic employed in the unending defense of Donald, the repetitous quasi-logic bleated by the folks in the red caps, is more astounding than the absurdity of the Liar in Chief himself.
“But how do you excuse the 3000 lies the Washington post have documented in President Trump’s speeches and tweets?”
“I’ll tell you how! I don’t care about ‘em. Trump’s the best president we ever had, and I’ll tell you why —> Because he tells it like it is!!!”
As I read these comments to articles or op-ed pieces related to our on-going presidential disaster, I am amazed, again and again, at the lengths his supporters will go to to defend ANYTHING Trump does or says. They display a joyful wllingness to twist logic and reason to whatever degree is needed, not only to defend their misguided leader’s lies and blunders, to somehow make Trump’s questionable actions praiseworthy!
How did DT inspire this maniacal level of devotion? Trump’s racism, sexism, hatred of immigrants and Moslems, etc. Someone to hate. Someone to blame.
These vile perks, I am sad to say, are likely playing a major role in scripting the sick tragicomedy, Red Capped Devotion to Donald. (Now playing at a theater or drive-in near you!)
19
Donald Trump uses vitriol to attack people who stand up to him, laugh at him and see through his phony facade. It should be considered a badge of honor to be attacked by this immature, terrified little man.
15
So in an article calling out Trump for referring to Don Lemon as dumb, now Trump only insults women? What are you suggesting about Don Lemon?
Trump only realty loves Trump. Everyone accomplished, every fact, every push back on his obvious deficiencies especially among minorities, every slight on his supposed wealth, every social door closed to his boorish behavior is anathema and attacked. He is the chained cur at the doorstep. The dog that the fearful want to protect them without real gain to them. Pathetic. Dangerous. The sign of an ill run house.
6
Of course he would call the disgraceful and disgusting Trump sycophant Lou Dobbs one of the most brilliant guys on TV
3
Misogyny from a man who bragged about how women enjoyed being grabbed by him - because he's famous? How shocking!
The mere fact that Trump has the support of more than 5% of Americans while speaking and behaving like a gutter rat says so much about the values of our society. He is a disgusting and shameless embarassment.
It is as if there has been this toxic waste dump of hate for women and "others" sealed up for years - suddenly released and empowered by the most despicable leader in modern American history.
Why don't Republicans, the promoters of "family values" and "Christian lifestyles" demand his resignation? Is this the kind of person that their church leaders want their kids to emulate? Seriously?
25
45 hoists his insecurities on everyone. He is jealous when others carry more intelligence, support and favor than him. He is the low IQ, has no shame or filter. We all know he started his campaign with racist statements on Mexicans following years of advocating his birther conspiracy. I hate the example he and his administration are showing our kids.
5
Won the office of President of the United States in an unprecedented campaign coup. Yet still desperately craves the admiration of pop culture celebrities. Very strange.
6
Donald Trump commenting on IQ in any context seems as incongruous as his pronouncements on economics, environment, military, world affairs, or anything else not amenable to description in a single fractured sentence. Trump has no basis in knowledge. The only thing Trump excels at is manipulation. That is not intelligence, but it is dangerous in the white house.
14
The most alarming aspect of this Opinion is revealed in the responses of Trump's devout followers ... aka Trump apologists. Although few in numbers. they are only proving that they are biased beyond hope.
6
I think we may conclude the so-called president has sewn up the name calling voter block.
He may have trouble, however, gaining the allegiance of the mature high school graduates.
8
If you get a chance, check out the 2008 Lebron James documentary 'More Than a Game'. He's truly a great American and has a great American story and is to be admired. T can't hold a candle to Lebron!
9
Don Lemon has two prime time programs on cable news. He has enlightened us with thoughtful news coverage with insight and humor. He's people skills are outstanding, to say nothing of his smile.
Lebron is an TRUE American hero in so many ways.
Both have youth, charm, charisma & personal power. And heart.
What possibly could t's motivation be?
8
He's a bigot. There's never been any expectation that he is anything else. We knew this even before the primaries were a few weeks old. So I cannot imagine why anybody acts surprised at this point. But he is not dumb. He is a canny manipulator of public emotions, and a peddler of the rawest red meat. He is a demagogue and an aspiring autocrat. History has told us that these qualities are extraordinarily dangerous when they get substantial public support.
News flash: he has 85% support from Republican voters. That tells you two things. First, is level of support is dangerous to our democracy. Second, your neighbors are not who you thought they were.
33
@Metastasis OR, that 85% could reflect those people who are still identifying as Republicans and that number does NOT reflect those Republicans with decency who don't want to be associated with Trump and his minions and have left the GOP and are now calling themselves "independent" and not Republican.
4
Too many lying, convoluted twists and turns for one country to take. It feels like the beginning of the end...just too much, Charles. The country can't take much more of this mess.
21
@Nancie The country suffered for 8 years under Pres. Obama who lied incessantly, did absolutely nothing but ruining it. You do remember the deal that Obama did with Iran, don't you? Pardon me, but I think Pres. Trump is way better than Obama anytime. Look how well the country is doing in just under 20 months? Fair is fair.
I felt bad for you Americans when Obama president.
3
Interesting logic. The Iran deal prevented Iran from developing nukes for at least 10 years and economic growth was higher under Obama than under Trump for several quarters. How sad you Trumpistas can be so deceived.
8
I had the same reaction upon seeing the reporting of this tweet. All of the excuses that can be made for this president don't apply to a large number of his base who are in fact, knowingly or unknowingly, racist. He's playing to them and they're eating it up.
18
That's just how small petulant children talk...
17
Trump is justifiably sensitive around the subject of intelligence, of which he exhibits very little himself. Not surprising he uses as a particularly sharp insult something that has no doubt been thrown at him all his life. It says volumes more about him than it does the objects of his venom.
23
The way you fight back against someone attacking you is with facts and the truth. Trump cannot do that because the facts are not on his side, all he ever does is offer a "plausible" explanation, so his supporters can imagine a universe in which they can defend Trump.
Yes he colluded with Russia, yes he cheated on his wife, yes he molested women and has admitted to doing so (that wasn't locker room talk just the best excuse they could find). Yes his "Trump University" was a fraud, yes his "Foundation" used money for things that personally benefited Trump and not for charity. And the list goes on and on.
If everything that Trump is doing as President could be backed by some set of facts or actual consensus, I could see us having a proper political discourse in our country. Instead, Trump does things out of pettiness and grudges: Separating families at the border, trying to kick out or ban transgender troops, the pick of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA (thank goodness he's gone), Picking people like Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy, only because Rick Perry said he would eliminate it, all these things show his pettiness.
Trump has rarely, if ever, offered a reasonable argument for most of anything that he does as President. Only one liners that sound good to his base. Sad.
31
Please God, let us wake up from this nightmare with the world intact!
23
My wife and I, who have to this point disagreed on
Trump, have called him, respectively 'the prez' and
'porky'.
After this last round she referred to him, this morning,
as 'chubby', which I take to be capitulation.
Coming to my side, I asked? Yes, she said, and noted
enough is enough.
13
Let me get this straight.....some of y'all think TRUMP is a 'linguistics savant'...speaking in political 'tongues' that only MENSA members can truly comprehend.....
Hhhhmmmm.....He reminds me more of Ignatius J. Riley presiding over a "Confederacy of Dunces"....
12
Except Ignatius was really an idiot savant. Trump is just the idiot part. He has no master plan,no long term evil project. Just react like the malignant narcissistic fool he is. Dangerous though.
4
August 6, 2018
There is a great awakening and more so every day about Mr. Trump and is seat of office. More to the point is his nature of mature thinking in the context of civility towards fellow citizens that's borderline criminal abuse in verbal and electronic media form for all to consider, and for the record of America's history and what created this enabling his staying power in office. In any average professional human resource standard for common etiquette and on the job cultural decency his behavior would be cause for dismissal and advised to seek personality counseling for his own personal family life.
Dumbness allowance to avoid introspection and as well importantly his giving thought to his opposition with just cause would have already brought him to his seeking the civility of personality corrective analysis as much in the psychoanalytic realm that is easily able to advise remedy and life course change of behavior to avoid persistent decay and degeneration to ones living biography that would want to be in favorable regard of person-hood.
jja
3
Why don't you just tell us what you really think about our President?
Trump has succeeded in bringing out ugliness in almost every one in this country it seems...when does this end...
9
You can not be dumber than this:
Putin: " What does the "J" stand for in Donald J Trump?"
Trump: "The "J" stands for Genius".
14
Women will save us: The media likes terms that are easy to use: 1) Conservative 2) Liberal 3) Left or Right -pigeon holes for ease of writing and analysis.
But, @Ocasio2018 keeps it simple: "I grew up scrubbing toilets with my mom. We don’t run from the “left.” We run from the bottom." How true is that actually for all of us? Beyond articulate. Alex speaks for me.
10
Trump has always looked and sounded like a dummy, whether or not he is one, or just too lazy to deal with facts in his endless pursuit of blind adulation and one-way loyalty.
9
This is what dumb people do. Call other people they cannot deal with dumb. School yard nonsense. What a child.
20
It's the example of Presidential Statement that he gives frequently and that teaches our children that the Bully wins, that women and non whites are second class, and that Trump has an IQ score of 85.
8
Of course the ironic thing is that Donald Trump's rhetoric aimed at his base has a vocabulary and syntax fit for speaking to six-year-olds.
He knows his base is really dumb but won't tell them.
13
When Trump speaks or tweets he often seems confused or forgetful, using bluster and abuse to substitute for facts. Is he, perhaps, becoming senile? Maybe he should undergo a psychiatric examination.
7
"The man trying to help at-risk children by opening doors for them was being attacked by the man who has put children at risk by locking them in cages." Enough said.
18
As a rule, I allow 5 talking points in an article before I consider it trash and move on. I made it about through less than half of this article before I hit that threshold.
Trump took an unnecessary shot at LeBron. This just in, he takes them at everyone, he is an equal opportunity offender. This article has no more merit than anything on Breitbart. It just happens you can find his article for sale in every Starbucks in North America. Congrats Charles, you're part of the problem.
1
@Jared
It's not the fault of newspapers that Trump's list of insults against women and minorities is so long. If anyone (including myself) is going to call someone a racist or a bigot, you'd better be able to point out some serious examples. If Blow hadn't done that, he'd be rightly criticized for taking a single data point and drawing dubious conclusions. While you may not like reading all these examples of Trump's pattern of behavior, know that a full accounting of Trump's rhetoric in this regard could easily have filled the entirety of this article. This article was just the barest representative sample.
9
Pot, meet kettle.
If it's true, and I think it is, that in life people judge others' intelligence to a very large degree by how they speak... DJT should shut up immediately. (Okay, so this is not the only reason he should shut up immediately. But that's what pertains to this discussion and there's not enough room here to list all the other reasons anyway!)
My ten-year-old nephew is more articulate. And seems to have better vocabulary; he knows words other than GREAT, FANTASTIC, and TREMENDOUS to describe something positively.
POTUS's vocab skills serve mostly to illustrate further that yes, he IS totally winging it. IT being pretty much everything.
7
@YikeGrymon
I have nephews in that same age range and it amazes me how much more mature they are when they are criticized for any kind of misbehavior. They abandoned whataboutism and trying to create ridiculous cover up lies years ago. They might sulk a bit, but ultimately they apologize and try to do better. They learn.
Meanwhile Trump, who is making his way towards a century's worth of life experience, is a living example of how the wisdom/age graph can sometimes plot as more of a negative parabola than straight line. He's long since hit the point of diminishing returns and is clearly accelerating towards near total ignorance.
7
Boss Tweed is alive and well, living in the White House.
3
Here's LeBron James, a talented self made man of wealth, giving back to his community versus the king of media manipulation and lying who got a running head start when he inherited 70? or more million from his racist father.
One man has a foundation which actually does useful good works the other has a foundation which pays off debts and purchases portraits of its namesake. And by the way, this second foundation is mainly funded by other people, since its namesake, Trump is too stingy to actually contribute his own money.
As far as Intelligence goes, the hardly "stable genius" Trump, has yet to demonstrate either stability or genius. He does have the ability to lie, lie, lie, lie, lie and get away with it thanks to spineless republicans and his moronic base.
Trump is like a terrible train wreck which one sees while driving and we can't look away... yet if we fail to keep our eyes on the road boom! We crash our car (Country).
It is time to starve the tweet fever and limit Trump's free media fest.
Also I am so sick of reading euphemisms like "falsehoods", "misleading claims", "dubious remarks", "inaccurate statement" when media refers to Trump's LIES. If a person consistently makes false statements, he is telling lies.
What do we call someone who tells more than 3,250 lies in 17 months? That's right, a LIAR.
So let's get on with it. He's a liar and we must VOTE Democrats in to limit the growing damage 'train wreck trump' is causing.
19
@Howard Beale LeBron PLAYS basketball, lets corporations put his name on sneakers so he can rip off his "community" with $200 SNEAKERS and gets paid $100 Million Dollars a year. Never "worked" a day in his life. Trump leaves the greatest lifestyle at retirement age to work 20 hours a day for 400k that he donates to charity. Yeah I guess you are right. Lebron is the man!
1
Beyond the other absurdities here, I strongly suggest that you attend a couple of Lakers practices, and get back to us on this "never worked a day in his life," jazz.
And were I unhappy enow to find myself a Trumpist, I would at all costs avoid the topic of charitable donations.
6
Trumputin has weaponized twitter. A safe way for a blatant coward to insult people from afar. Alex Jones led the way and Trump picked up the process. Think it would be a huge benefit to our country if Twitter banned General Bone Spurs. By the way, Trump and Giuliani - should be called the Wit brothers - Dim and Half. In common to both is their inability to engineer a successful marriage - multiple divorces - now we have Trumputin offering plane rides to attractive women. Steals the headlines once again.
12
The school yard bully has no idea what kind of women and men are needed for this Country. Trump see himself as the official commentator that the rest of us need his opinion about to survive. This could come to pass if the King who would be King has the chance to denigrate all American values so that he would be the choice of some. There are some already <3%>, as all can see at his 'rallies', just waiting to be 'guided' by a despot. Pay close attention and oppose at every chance . It has happened too many time to discount his intent
5
You are laughing at DT's twitters while he gets the real stuff done. He is indeed a stable genius who successful masks his personality and you guys are just... pathetic.
6
Please let us know what the "real stuff" is that he is getting done.
15
@ZL
They said Mussolini made the Italian trains run on time. How'd he and Italy end up?
14
Attempts to defend Trump's behavior in these instances is astounding. It does not take much analysis to recognize that anyone prone to so easily devolve into obnoxious, toxic bombast upon any criticism by anyone is not fit to be the leader of the free world. Whether he is brilliant, dumb, ignorant, sexist or racist hardly matters when he can't even pass the test of basic decency. We must throw this man headlong into the trash heap of bad leaders. Please, Trump defenders, ask yourself privately exactly why you accept this man's behavior, and after doing that, whether that makes you feel good about yourself.
12
That Trump hates women is no surprise. It's the self-hating women who support him that shocks.
26
@David Henry
Let's be bigly honest: Many women, and obviously those in Trump's cult, idolize and adore blustering, macho bullies, especially rich ones. How many wives has Trump had? Why do so many wives stick with their abusive husbands?
9
It comes as no surprise that dt has these prejudices about women and people of color. Look at the spineless women that surround him. Not one will stand up to him. Why? Are they dumb? Or are they just 'kept' women? I believe that the selfish petulant child in the oval office needs a serious time out. He neither has the stamina nor the intelligence for his office. He's a reality star in his own head and the MOST UN-AMERICAN person living in this once great nation.
8
With this, Mr. Blow might also report as to why so many women voted for Trump. For example, were they willing to overlook the misogyny for racism? (also brainwashing, getting what they want thru men, fantasies of a mafia boss taking them to live in a Mar-a-Lago palace--insulting stuff that one dare not bring up in a nyt comment, even in jest.)
As for Trump, notice that his first defense is to accuse others of the same crime (usually made up), that he, himself, has committed. The reverse of calling women dumb is that have called him out for being dumb (and who isn't when it comes to women). What stands out with Trump is that he believes in witches, and that he thinks that is what he is being accused of. Since we don't yet have an indictment, give him a chance to prove his innocence: throw him in the river and see if he floats. At best/worst this might give him some psychological relief.
What i would like to see reported is climate change reported from a women's perspective. A woman's role has always been to nurture children. The Judeo-Christian tradition of activism has cast man as "dominating" nature. Stewardship is also implied in this. With the mounting evidence of human caused harm to the atmosphere and the ecosystems of Earth from burning fossil fuels, the predominate thinking needs to change from Conquer Nature, to Live With Nature: i.e. like nurturing children, nurture the Earth for future generations. Or how could women vote for any of these Republican men?
You can just imagine what Trump must think of those who voted for him who don't have a college degree!
2
@ELB
If they voted for him they are obviously intelligent even if they didn't get through High School. Duh.
2
Oh that he would have that Romney-type moment recorded at a country club fundraiser and played back for all his base to see. I am convinced it will happen. please!!!
5
Describing Trump is a chicken or egg, which came first? conundrum. Is he a misogynistic racist or a racist misogyne. Whichever, in Trump's case, as in love and marriage, you can't have one without the o-o-o-ther.
4
"You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him."
- Audrey Hepburn
18
Those of us from New York have always known that Trump is a moron. We tolerated him as a New York oddity. Unfortunately, this carpetbagger fooled enough people that he had the values and intelligence they sought.
18
I dont mean this to offend anyone. But why would anyone care what Don Lemon, Lebron James or Charles Blow have to say in the first place? What gives any of them extra wisdom or insights? You have a basketball player and two liberal commentators who all bring nothing but bias and anger. At least Lebron has children. Lemon and Blow dont even have the life experience of raising a family. And Lebron knows nothing about the struggles of raising a family as he has been wealthy since he was 17 and treated like a prince even before then. These are three of the most insulated and detached from reality public figures we have. Elites to the extreme. Trump is doing a great job working for Americas interests. He fights back and that is what they hate about him the most. The would much rather have a Romney or a Bush to accuse of racism and bigotry since they just stood there and took it. No longer takings it from the left. Its about time!
2
You might want to do some research on LeBron James before you comment. He was raised in difficult circumstances by a single mother, and has risen above his beginnings but has not forgotten where he came from. if only more were like him.
23
@paul
Um, Donald Trump is one of the "elites," Paul, or at least he has aspired to be for the last 40 years. Trump wouldn't know the "struggles of raising a family" as he had been wealthy all his life (or so he would like everyone to believe) and is a textbook example of an "insulated and detached from reality public figure." Why do you folks keep insisting that Trump is one of the regular folk? He's not, never has been and never will be.
21
You need to do some fact checking before commenting.
Charle Blow has three children. His oldest son graduated from Yale University. While a student there, he was profiled and detained by Yale police because he was black. While returning to his room one evening he was approached by police because they assumed him (a young black man) to be responsible for recent dorm burglaries .
His younger children are twins. A son and a daughter currently in college.
Having grown up in Louisiana I would believe that Mr. Blow has first hand experience in recognizing and responding to racism when he sees it.
10
For those who claim that Trump is smart because he was able to become the president - only thing that Trump did was to prove that under the right circumstances, even a bigoted dummy can become a President of the United States. Time to change the system so that one vote is truly worth one vote? Senate has to go and popular vote should decide the presidency.
21
After closely following the NYT for almost two decades I think I have finally recognized their editorial credo.
Allegedly, if you keep ignoring the worst problems, those might eventually disappear on their own...
Does Blow or any black or sacred victim minority leader of the now dozens of identity groups created by democrats and neo Marxists ever think about what minority leaders of accomplishment used to call the "tyranny of low expectations"? Low expectations that come from a complete lack of criticism of anyone who is not a white, not a Jewish male in this society. Or are all democrats and minority group leaders so greedy for donations, votes and grabbing eyeballs with cheap media outrage too often about fake hate crimes that they are willing to have most of the people in their groups mired in high murder rate capitals like Chicago and in single-mother poverty for centuries to come, because they can evade responsibility for literally anything by accusing someone else of racism, xenophobia, misogamy, bigotry, anti Semitism, bigotry, being intolerant or "disturbing" for daring to disagree with someone who is not a white, not a Jewish male.
3
You may find it useful to learn that the phrase "soft bigotry of low expectations," actually seems to come from Michael W. Gerson, one of Dubya's main speechwriters, who now says that he thinks Trump is, well, kinda nuts. It may also be useful for you to look up, oh, I dunno, at least the many statements of Democrats like Pat Moynihan and that Obama guy on the matter, since it obviously can't be asked that you learn the long, long history of exactly that sort of concern.
I myself have high expectations: I expect that grownups will be able to put a little more on the ball than, oh, I dunno, a jumble of the usual accusations about the usual suspects. But then, I also expect them to be able to couch their concerns in real, live, grown-up English.
4
I take the point that Charles Blow is kinda preaching to the choir at this point, and might usefully turn to other things--except that golly, he sure upsets Trumpists. And seems to me, there's also something to be said for regularly sticking a metaphorical finger right in the eye of our greedy slob of a President.
19
Trump might have attended Penn, but he did not get an education. I would love to see his transcript. Trump has the vocabulary and speaking style of a high school dropout. He doesn't know anything about history. He doesn't read. He doesn't know government. He has the attention span of a gnat.
40
Donald would be the one bringing soup sandwiches to Mensan outings.
4
Trump has only one emotion, which is complete, sociopathic self-absorption. His every action, every word, every lie can be ascribed to his absolute selfishness.
And all this blathering about IQ tests. Not only by Trump, but, with all due respect, by Mr. Blow, who uses this quote in his column: “Women have scored higher than men in intelligence testing for the first time since records began.”
Actions speak much louder than a score on some useless IQ test. Compare the actions of Trump with those of Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of San Juan or those of LeBron James or those of any of the people Trump has childishly insulted. Seriously, who do you think has the higher IQ?
6
There must have been an issue with his mother for him to be so insulting to women. He may have overheard her say something like, “Why was he ever born.”
Something that traumatic.
15
People voted for Donald trump percisely because he denigates women, minorities, Democrats, liberals, and immigrants. These are the groups his voters are spiteful and afraid of. If you watch the people at his rallys, they are gleeful when he insults people that are better than him. He represents his base well.
25
Why is the NY Times hiring the columnists like Charles Blow?
They are easy to control and manipulate!
When you tell them to write the op-eds about how the Kremlin meddled into the US elections, they sheepishly follow the marching orders.
Why hasn’t the NYT hired the true intellectual colossus like Noam Chomsky?
That kind of people has the impeccable character, the granite-solid system of values, the superior morality and immense courage.
When you provide them with a homework task to come up with a column regarding the Robert Mueller investigation, they have extremely short comment – wouldn’t the taxpayer’s money be better used if we investigated the meddling of the Israeli government into the US elections?
That might be the best kept secret in the liberal press...
Or at least the preferred foreign meddling into our democracy...
1
If Trump wants to see who the dumbest person on television is, he should just look in the mirror.
24
The last American President who was a flat-out racist was Woodrow Wilson going all the way back to 1913 - 1921.
Other American Presidents since Wilson’s time had tinges of racism in them, but nothing compared to Woody.
Trump is our first flat-out racist President in almost 100 years.
If you stop and think about it, that ain't bad.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/11/20/9766896/woodrow-wilso...
6
In 1916 Woodrow Wilson made history by nominating Louis Brandeis as the first Jewish justice to the Supreme Court. Bigots don't nominate Jews to become an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court.
1
@sharon5101 Woodrow Wilson segregated federal offices in Washington, D.C. Wilson said: We “were seeking, not to put the Negro employees at a disadvantage but ... to make arrangements which would prevent any kind of friction between the white employees and the Negro employees.”
1
@sharon5101
This one did, for a variety of reasons spelled out here:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wilson-nominates-brandeis-to...
his money is from both, money laundering and well timed bankruptcies that stiffs shall contractors, workers, and tax payers.
10
Why frame this argument only during Trump's run for office and Presidency? He has a lifelong history of disparaging women and minorities.
11
This is sloppy journalism and I continue to be surprised that the NYT publishes this type of work. In this particular instance, it would be very straightforward for a journalist inclined to do some homework to prove or disprove the hypothesis: does Trump target women and minorities disproportionally is his attacks on intelligence?
In fact, according to a Washington Post article, Trump has called people 'stupid' 74 times since June 2015. 46 times his comments were directed at white men, 16 at white women, 5 at black men and 7 at black women.
While I am appalled that the leader of the free world stoops to this type of discourse at all, that in no way forgives the author (and the paper) from publishing such a blatantly untrue assertion. This is a perfect example of why the idea of 'fake news' had gained traction. NYT - you can do better.
5
While we're on the topic of stupid, your "Post," article actually says, and says very clearly, that while Trump likes to call people stupid a lot, more recently he seems to have a real focus on calling black people stupid. It's become his go-to move. I myself would add that boy, howdy, did Obama's obvious intelligence and excellent education drive the man screaming up the wall.
By the way, Charles Blow wrote an opinion piece--you can tell, it's on the editorial page--not reportage.
Maybe read stuff next time?
15
Brian, are you serious? The word focused on in the article is "dumb." Does anyone believe Donald Trump only used the term "stupid" 74 times since 2015? The Donald lives to insult and belittle. His favorite words of insult are dumb and stupid. Just go back and check his Twitter account over that time frame and you will find at least 100 instances of Trump using those words. We can't count the number of times he used these terms in private conversations. Truth be told, we don't want to know. The real problem is that the president of the United States of America thinks that insult and intimidation are a means to further the interests of this country. It will surely have the opposite effect. It already has.
3
I wonder if it would be possible to find even one example in American history of a previous president who used his prestige and position to deliver personal insults against private citizens?
17
Nixon
2
Dumb Donny seems to check all the boxes, plus it kind of has a nice ring to it.
6
I cannot wait until we are back to the time when we have a president who has grace, dignity and intelligence.
34
There needs to be an end of attempts to psychoanalyze Trump. The psychic needs he meets through his horrid behaviors are his problem. What is our problem is racism and sexism he is giving millions the imprimatur to express openly and vilely. The post-racial Obama era has given way to the “pre-racial”, WASP revival in America. I remember living in the world of Jew-jokes, blond jokes and never ever seeing a black person. I remember phone calls threatening the lives of me and my siblings because my parents sold our house to a Hispanic family. This is what must be understood and stopped.
9
I would point out that Donald Trump is the least intelligent president in my lifetime. I am 70 years old and cannot recall any other president with such a small intellect. On top of that, he is willfully ignorant on just about every important topic he deals with. I wonder if he actually went to Wharton as he claims or if his daddy bought him a diploma.
28
@Polsonpato: I remember the extremely limited intellects and vocabularies of Reagan and Bush 43 as being just slightly better than Trump's. But now I have to raise my estimation of them because they at least were able to hire good advisors, something which seems to elude 45.
7
Right, the guy with the 200-word vocabulary calling people dumb. Actually even his insults lack intelligence. A good politician with that penchant could be way more creative and colorful. As it is, I wince when I hear him talk on his feet. I'm convinced now that absolutely anybody could fill that office, and maybe we'd be better off just skipping elections and picking a citizen at random.
If you want to know how so very far from home we are in this respect, read Lincoln's Bixby letter.
13
Or maybe, in his faux outrage, this author is selectively quoting Trump. It's quite possible that the POTUS has just been counter-trolling after being harassed by alt-left trolls. His statements are taken out of context and are clearly just sarcasm. Anyone who doesn't see that the POTUS is just responding to hateful trolls, by sarcastic jokes, is an extremist. Right, NYTimes?
3
I liked the way you made something up, didn't look to see if it was actually true, then rolled right into talking as if it had actually happened.
8
Charles. PLEASE, write a column about this, too!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/us/chicago-weekend-shootings.html
3
@areader
Silly rabbit don't hold your breath. That will never and I mean never happen.
2
If he hasn't applied the label to Blow yet, it's well past due.
3
Scratch a misogynist and find someone deathly afraid of women, especially women who might possibly be stronger and smarter.
11
Trump, a lifelong racist in constant need of having his ego stroked, always plays to his racist base that thinks having an ignorant, vulgar and incompetent clown in the Oval Office is in their best interests. They believe all the lies he tells and all the propaganda they are fed 24/7 by Fox/Breitbart. Sad. But true.
Racists, white Christian fundamentalists, extreme right wing billionaire corporatists - they have worked together with Russian aid to subvert our nations' government.
Wake up America, and go to the polls in every election from now on if you want to put an end to these disgusting Trumpian displays of hatred and stupidity.
11
Trump has to call everyone he doesn't like dumb. His vocabulary is about as big as a toddler's.
Trump is verbally backward. His repetiore of adjectives is smaller than the number of fingers on my hand. When he doesn't like someone, he calls them dumb. When anything is in any way unpleasant it is "sad."
Of course, Trump is a dunce. When asked during the primaries about his sources of information regarding foreign affairs, he said, "Of course, I watch all the shows," presumabnly referring to TV news programs. And he has the gall to call other people pathetic or dumb.
Trump is very insecure about his own intellect. Why else would he constantly tell us that he is brilliiant, that he went to the Wharton school of economics and that his test scores were high.
He repeats himself so much he suffers from the psychological infirmity of "perseveration," saying the same thing again and again because he is so insecure . He is like an aging starlett who wants to be told she's beautiful. If the North Koreans told him he was super rich and super smart, he would let them have all the nukes in the world.
Because he is insecure about his feeble intellect and even feebler knowledge of history and world affairs, he beats up on the intellect of blacks.
5
During the Reign of Terror in revolutionary France, the 'Sans-culottes' (without breeches) took over, and were known as fierce; seeking social equality, economic equality, and popular democracy, they were blood-thirsty and there is reason to believe that during the Reign of Trump, who is not considered the sharpest blade in the drawer, there will be no stopping the animosity and hatred of his 'Red Caps' and his followers.
A French nobleman, Alexis de Tocqueville, while observing the great potential in America for the success of Democracy, wrote of his reservations in stating that should it fail, we would be on the edge of a far greater precipice.
Whether the president understands that he has unleashed events taking place beyond his control, and that no amount of twittering on his part is going to keep our country contained, appears beyond the capacity of his mind in these adverse times.
9
Barack Obama didn't feel the need Trump does to tell everyone how smart he was, how high his IQ is. He simply demonstrated his intelligence by speaking and behaving like the well-educated, erudite, confident and competent man he is. Trump, on the other hand, endlessly blows the horn of his supposed high IQ, all the while conducting himself like a poorly educated, inarticulate, even bumbling buffoon, lurching from side to side of his rocking boat, tossed about on the sea of his lies and spite. It can't go down soon enough.
14
Name calling is beneath the presidency, let alone a grown man who should know better. His behavior lacks dignity and civility no matter who it is directed at consistently. He is a bully pure and simple. Add the other adjectives too when applicable-sexist, racist, misogynist, take your pick. This man has grandchildren and acts the way he does.
Why not praise a citizen who is donating to at risk children?
What has he done for impoverished children in the USA?
7
@Sheeba
Then why did Mr. Blow title his column the way he did?
1
In every instance Trump has responded to someone who’s attacked him first.
LeBron went on CNN and they launched vicious attacks on Trump.
He responded, in kind.
2
Vicious attacks? He merely pointed out that Trump's words and actions are divisive. You may not agree with that observation, but it's hardly a "vicious attack." Quite mild compared to the nasty, immature insults hurled at so many people by this president.
15
Prediction: In the post Trump America People personally insulted by Trump will wear their insults as a badge of patriotic honor.
4
By now, pretty much the entire world knows (although some won't admit; e.g., his loyal base) that Trump is a horrible liar, a horrible racist and a horrible misogynist, just to highlight several of the more noteworthy dysfunctions defining this failed personality. What 'normal' people consider "joy" does not exist in his life: his satisfaction and sense of worth is derived solely through denigrating others. His rallies, which are becoming more and more scary as they attract an even more uglier element, are where his endless narcissism finds solace. How did this ever happen in the world's (allegedly) foremost meritocracy?
7
Trump's shameless misogyny is "telling it like it is" for his dupes and for the 89% whatever might be deemed cringe-worthy is only withheld because it is a bit too impolitic to say. It doesn't take 3-D glasses to see through the code. Trump's racism isn't a bug or some kind of aberrant feature of Republican thinking, it's a deep structural conviction, it's been part of the Republican DNA since Nixon's Southern Strategy, Reagan's embrace of the misogynist and racist evangelicals, and the party-wide call to hatred directed at Hillary Clinton and President Obama. These aren't mere incidents, however many we document. These are expressions of the deeper Republican pathology and its regressive, immoral values. The problem is that about half of America---and nearly all of rural white America---shares this illness.
5
It should go without saying that most women are smarter than Donald Trump.
7
His need to demean women is based on his own insecurity. Basically everything he does is based on his feelings of inadequacy. It's truly pathetic and dangerous in a leader.
6
Now, it is difficult for me to accept that the "like, I'm smart, stable genius" "D" student from Wharton has any ability to assess the intelligence of any other person given his profession of wearing his deliberate and willful ignorance on his sleeve as a badge of honor.
Questions to DJT: Would the SEC have such a winning football record if they didn't have teams with about a 80% population of black players? Would the NFL as well? Have you asked you NFL buddies this question?
Time for the administration to recognize the real world as it is and not as DJT fantasizes it is his narcissistic warped mind.
When will DJT order the replacement of the Stars and Stripes flying over the White House by the russian tricolor? Buddy vlad would really love that...
An Eagle Scout
It is not surprising that Trump is intimidated by and afraid of women -- his record of paying for what he wants, keeping the relationship one of boss/employee with no backtalk or equity of position--speaks for itself. Several times in the run-ups to debates I sent in this question hoping in vain that moderators would ask it: other than Generals, are there people who are not millionaire business men that you admire? Trump openly disdains white people who are not millionaires, even though he inherited his fortune and, if not for the accountants and lawyers that his father set him up with, would have lost it all. That said, clearly he has nothing but disdain for millionaire black athletes, dismissing even the best as being "dumb." Trump often criticizes others for shortcomings that he sees in himself and tries to hide. The truth is, Trump's father did not leave Donald the Trump Organization, he left the Trump Organization Donald to take care of and coddle, to protect and defend from himself. Trump is a loser and hates that about himself. All the bragging, lying and boasting in the world cannot hide this most basic fact about our *President.
8
More of same— Trump is an absolute embarrassment to the USA and the folks who support, most of whom will suffer from his policies, define which it means to be dumb by sheepishly following him
1
Meanwhile, is there any question in anyone’s mind that Trump is one of the most “intellectually challenged” members of his generation?
Certainly he’s the dumbest President we’ve ever had. And that’s a tall order considering we’ve had Bush and Reagan.
4
Mr. Blow points out the racial and gender issues involved, adding another facet to an unflattering picture.
Trump remains trapped inside himself—a world of his own making where he’s always right and anyone who opposes him is not just wrong but dumb. For Donald Trump to throw around accusations of stupidity is the height of irony. Trump needs to look at himself without a mirror to see why his comments are ironic. Sadly, honest self-reflection will escape him.
The problem is that Trump and his supporters, especially those in Congress, cannot see their racism and misogyny. Or perhaps they just refuse to acknowledge it.
Which is worse: a racist misogynist who is blind to their own prejudice or a hypocrite who does not care?
2
Charles. As usual great column. Just saw you on real time with Bill Maher. Keep lending your voice to the truth and defense of the media. Everything you've said in your column about stump should be screamed from the highest mountain. As a 63 year old woman I still cannot believe that ANY woman voted for that troglodyte!
13
LeBron is not dumb, obviously. But I have to agree with the President on Don Lemon, Ana Navarro, and SE Cupp. Women may be smarter on average, but there is a wide distribution.
1
Take deep seeded insecurity, throw in healthy doses of racism and sexism, and this is what you get. I've known these folks. I just never expected one to become the president of the United States.
6
The fact that Trump is constantly calling others dumb has to mean that there is an underlying insecurity about his own intelligence. He calls himself a "stable genius" in jest because he knows the truth. He's smart enough to know how dumb he is.
6
I have tried, from time to time, to tutor students in low-level science subjects. It may be un-gracious to say, but it was always the case that, the dumber the student, the greater their eagerness to declare "That's stupid!" what they couldn't understand something.
5
From Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific", 1949
"You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught"
5
8O% of everything which comes from Trump's mouth is either a lie or a projection.
4
According to a former hotel business associate, Trump said "Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.”
No...I don't think Trump is "the least racist person" as he has claimed. He might not even be in the top few billion.
As for the misogyny part of it, I don't think we need to search too far to see the obvious. It's hardly to stretch to say a guy who bragged about sexually assaulting women and then refused to apologize for it when the comment was publicized is a misogynist.
3
1. US citizens elect unintelligent, dishonest, racist, misogynist, egotistical amateur as president, who makes wacky decision after wacky decision.
2. A significant number of people seem to like this.
3. Those of us who think America deserves something better are told we're suffering from sour grapes (because how could someone defend this doofus using rational argument?)
4. Many of our elected officials sit on their hands and prevaricate.
Anyone have any good ideas about what we can actually do to restore some sanity to our government besides wait for him to self-destruct?
8
Come on, by now isn't it obvious that to be called dumb or any other pejorative remark by Trump is a badge or honor, a compliment or indicative of just the opposite of the insult or all three of the above? I think what is worse and more insulting is to be called smart or in fact anything positive by him.
If people tolerate this abuse, they deserve it!
2
In view of the long pattern of expressly racist tweets published by the New York Times recent editorial board hire – and its subsequent unconvincing rationalization for defending its decision in the face of conservative criticism – the Times, and its columnists and the media in general who have failed to condemn it – have no moral authority in this area.
1
Dumb is in the eye/ear of the beholder. Sixty percent of Americans and 99.9 percent of other nations observe the measurable fact that Trump not only looks dumb (a yellow crowned orange man with white racoon eyes wearing a red tie hanging past his knees), acts dumb (watching FOX, tweeting inane insults, claiming credit for an economy he inherited, etc.), but also speaks dumb (a vocabulary that would make a two-year old proud). We can all agree Trump is the biggest (also literally) dummy to have ever entered the White House, bar none.
But is Trump dumb like a "Forrest Gump"? He is bringing back the coal industry. Could a big dummy accomplish that America? He is making America great by undercutting the prices farmers are able to get for their crops. What dummy could make America great that way? He brings thousands together at his celebrity rallies. What dummy could do that?
Forty percent of Americans see/hear Trump as a genius. They are awestruck by this yellow topped orange man with white racoon eyes clownishly wearing a sloppy red tie. They see him as an impressive business guru who made himself fabulously wealthy with the art of the deal and the pizazz of firing apprentices. They see him as a genius....well, because they are dumber than he is.
America is getting a collective IQ test in November. How smart or dumb will America prove itself to be?
9
I detest Trump completely without qualifications being noted. I do not agree that he singles out minority women or men in racial terms. Trump dislikes everyone who he feels has defamed him. His skin is so thin, it is transparent as are his motivations for insult. Just leave it at that. He is weak, paranoid and vulnerable to outside attacks. Slandering Trump is good sport. Poking him is fun. Keep it up.
5
You're completely right, Charles, but the really sad thing is that "dumb" is among the milder things he has called people.
2
As an actual member of MENSA, I would like to here and now make a public offer to Mr. Donald J. Trump, to pay, out of my own pocket, the examination fee for the two IQ tests which are required for admission to our society.
All you have to do is pass! Which, technically, means that you have to score in the top two percentile points on either one of these two standardized IQ tests.
I'm sure that you will welcome this opportunity to prove, once and for all, that you truly are a "genius", in every sense of the word. And, best of all, it won't cost you a single penny. I'll even pay your first yearly membership dues!
Only, don't hesitate too long! This is a limited time offer, and subject to change at any time. (I'm sure someone with your business experience understands the need for this standard boilerplate)
Come on Don! You've got nothing to lose! (Just like the election)
So, do we have an accord?
Note: Just contact the New York Times and they can forward your desire to take advantage of this offer directly to me.
8
@Chicago Guy
Great suggestion, but Trump will give you the same answer (via his attorneys) that he gave Mueller: Send him written questions and he will return the written answers at his leisure.
If the answers aren't written with a Sharpie and he scores over 80, follow up with a polygraph. If he scores under 80, it means the kids helped Dad with his homework.
4
Trump's misogyny and his racism have been obvious for many years. Unfortunately, these are traits that many of his followers share. The larger issue is his lack of self-awareness and his apparent inferiority complex, which cause him to plunge blindly into issues about which he is ignorant, never realizing how little he actually knows about those issues, and having no desire to learn. He's infallible - just ask him.
4
We've now seen enough of Trump's antics to intepret his "tells."
When he attacks someone, he is signalling his own insecurity and defects. He attacks others about IQ because he fears his own is inadequate. He attacks others about fake news because he spews constant lies. And he brags about being rich because his own persona as a rich man is a fraud. You can add other examples to the list.
To paraphrase the saying attributed to Winston Churchill, Trump is an immodest man but with much to be modest about.
4
Trump's ranting on the intelligence of women is based on his thinking that women are a "commodity", something of little value you need only a few bucks to "buy" it, just buy it.
Since he has no morals, and only "dealing" and making money are important to him, you can't expect no human reaction from him.
Trump is for an European the prototype of a "dumb" American. There is no escape, and he will ruin the country.
5
Trump has the vocabulary level of a six year old (I'm being generous here), so when this small-minded bigot of a president decides to insult someone, about all he can muster is that tired playground taunt.
6
Unfortunately, our president, in addition to being a racist, sexist homophobe (did I miss anything?) also suffers from Dunning-Kruger Effect, a cognitive bias in which people of low ability have illusory superiority and mistakenly assess their cognitive ability as greater than it is.
6
Well said!!! Our President’s bigotry is exceeded only by his ignorance.
3
Trump went to Penn. He doesn't get to call anyone dumb.
2
A lot of commenters seem to attribute Trump's constant "dumb" insults to a diversionary tactic concealing his own mental weakness. If that were the case, however, he'd be more equitable in the distribution of his comments. And Trump is not dumb.
Charles hits on the truth here. Our sorry excuse for a President clearly targets minorities and women for his worst comments. He's a racist, misogynist, pure and simple. Worse yet, he knows how to capitalize on it by inflaming people's worst instincts.
3
Hi Rima -- Trumpist Sharon here. For starters The horrible incident in Central Park wasn't a "craze"--it was a nightmare that dominated life in New York City for decades. I'm genuinely shocked that anyone would dismiss this horror show as a "craze". When Trump published his full page ad demanding the teenage terrorists involved in the incident be severely punished for the crime he was reflecting the views of many New Yorkers at the time. Back then Donald Trump was just Private Citizen Trump and not a candidate for any political office. Oh by the way the N.Y. Times took ads from landlords all over N.Y.C who preferred White Christians only to live in their apartments. Don't you think the N.Y. Times should apologize for aiding and abetting these racist landlords?
Trumpist Sharon signing off.
This just in: those kids didn't do it. And your boy Trump has kept insisting that they did.
Then too, seems to me I remember some stuff about the presumptions of innocence from about seventh grade, not to mention the wacky notion that our leaders were spozed to behave better than us, not worse.
17
"Dumb and Dumber".
"California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading!"
3:06 PM - 5 Aug 2018
Everyday, the revelation of a brain deteriorating before the world; yet silence from the Grand Old Piracy and its Kool-Aid Sippers.
6
It really stretches the reaches of my intellect.......
to comprehend that Trump might be smarter than...........anyone.
3
It's really "President Mean and Meaner" with 13 million tossed off Obamacare; immigrant children incarcerated in concentration camps and psychologically tortured; and literally pouring gasoline on the fires caused by global warming that is killing those fleeing and fighting them, causing increased deaths among the elderly, and polluting the air we breath. ITrump's "actions speak louder than words." His words may wound, but his actions kill.
5
I’d like a journalist ask Mr. Trump: Do you know what the letters ‘I’ and ‘Q’ stand for? I ‘d be shocked if he knew.
1
Trump is a demonstrable ignoramus who is threatened by women for a variety of reasons. One primary reason is that he, using the norms of ideal masculinity (that any intelligent person knows are socially constructed and therefore shifting in terms of how ideal masculinity gets defined across history and cultures--and not "natural") from his youth, knows he can't possibly live up to them. So his whole life has been focused on how to make himself appear to be sufficiently masculine--because he isn't capable of measuring up to such ideals. But then, few men can, and the gender system acts to control both men and women because most people can't meet gender ideals and this keeps many continuously striving to do so, at least to some extent.
Obviously Trump is a fraud in ever sense of the word, and his unending quest to be perceived as the ultimate masculine male is what drives him to be so stupidly rude as well as entirely mistaken. If he wasn't doing so much to harm the U.S. and the world in order to try to get people to worship him as the world's biggest "He man" he'd just be a pathetic joke of a man for whom many people would feel sorry.
What is perhaps even more pathetic is that he is clueless how his ranting insults make it crystal clear the exact nature of his vast insecurities. His lack of intellect prevents him from comprehending this, and so much more.
4
I did see a thing on the internet claiming our Potus has an 150 something IQ.
I try not to believe everything, especially uncredited horse-applery, but the guy to me isn't dumb, though ignorant if not amazingly ... sharp if not
perversely genius.
In other words, I am being trumpest, arrogant, petty, absurd, egotistical, amazingly gifted at ... politics and demagoguery if not a contradictory fool.
He won, me and most of ye readers lost.
2
Great article. The simple version I have is that Trump is a racist and a sexist as clearly all of the people mentioned in the article are very intelligent, Deep down he thinks Blacks and women are stupid and just look at his all white male cabinet for a clue.
On the other hand, such a scary thought that we have a President who won't read anything, even security reports. The only "work" he does is when people come to him and tell him things. The rest of the time he watches cable news, golfs, and uses Twitter to send poorly written inflammatory messages,
I really hope that the minorities and women who couldn't bring themselves to vote for Hillary realize they made a big mistake and show up first in 2018 and then 2020.
6
Yes Charles, there is a broader truth in Lebron James statement: "...the race thing has taken over..." than he or you perhaps realize.
The United States is unique among so-called advanced western countries in classifying people by race. European countries do not do this.
If you could take the time to read Professor Kenneth Prewitt's "What Is Your Race? The Census and Our Flawed Efforts to Classify Americans" you would learn that we use a system created by racists in order to create a racial order. The group placed at the top of that racial order is called by the USCB the "white race".
Donald Trump, neo-nazis, alt-Right, white nationalists support this system and take it further by expressing their belief that there is a genetically distinct group of people endowed with genes that make them superior from birth.''
We - some set of Americans - must do as Professor Prewitt and Professor Dorothy Roberts propose in their essential books recommend, end the use of the USCB system.
In an effort to encourage you to present this subject I used to send Emails to you telling you I would have those books sent to you. I also have recommended here in comment land that the Obamas might take on this project, declaring that there is one race, the human, in which all of us share a common genome with lots of interesting small differences.
Why don't you begin.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
2
Of course trump is not aware...He is unaware of much outside of his reality tv drama queen personality.
2
What is Trump's real IQ?
If he has an average intelligence, he shouldn't have self-transform to a Putin's stooge.
1
The truth is, LeBron James is the embodiment of all qualities, Trump is not. Privately, Trump craves to be a man of honest achievement. Sadly, it has not and will not happen, ever. Frankly, he is just plain dumb and our nation continues to suffer.
3
Trump may very well be a racist and misogynist, but he calls everyone “dumb” “very dishonest” or “very bad”. There’s no deeper meaning here.
2
Trump has been a fraud since the day he was born.
He has accomplished nothing in his life other than juggle credit.
He is inimidated by anyone who actually has accomplished something or has true skill or talent.
He is a danger to our society and the rest of the world.
His hatred for the media is a poison, he will end up with blood on his hands.
4
Love you, Charles Blow! Thanks! (p.s. You were great on Bill Maher Friday!)
3
It's interesting that people are saying Trump insulted LeBron James' intelligence. If a toddler has a meltdown, and screams at his parents that they are stupid, does the toddler insult his parents' intelligence? And what's really pathetic is that if tomorrow, James said something nice about Trump, the President would be fawning all over him. No need to worry about that scenario, though.
1
One of the few (black) women he hasn't attacked (to my knowledge) is Michelle Obama- could it be because her speech was plagiarized by Melania and Melania's 'Be Great' campaign ( or whatever it's called, since it has not taken off) is also based on Michelle's former policy?
Could it be that Michelle is one of the only women he's in awe of and afraid of at the same time?
12
Watched some thing this weekend where he says he's Pro-Life - er Pro-Choice - er no Pro-life - he's such a stupid phony. Rather than expressing pride over the great athletes our country is producing he chooses to denigrate. He's a despicable deplorable - and the only thing to do about in a legal manner is vote Nov. 6 - Vote Democrat across the board!
10
The dumb calling others dumb is old hat.
But “stable geniuses” are rare.
2
The buffoon-in-chief looked dumb well before he had a global megaphone to spout off. It seems that the insults he hurls at others -- women and blacks -- are characteristics that apply to him rather than to those he insults: dumb, failing, fake, stupid, crazy, and so on.
He is our president, leader of the "free world," and this is how he speaks. I wouldn't speak to anyone like that. He's a complete embarrassment to the majority of us in this country, and I pray that his damage to our democracy and our planet can be repaired.
Charles, your columns are always on target. Thanks.
10
I tend to agree with Charles but must ask, "Does he proof read what he writes?" Supposedly, this article is about Trump denigrating women and minorities. In the second sentence, before describing Trump's comments, Charles calls him a "petulant urchin". Charles is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Can you not find a more balanced editorial writer? In his vitriol he loses any shred of credibility.
1
It is possible to have a fair view of a person who is so openly hostile towards women and minorities? Is it possible to write in an objective fashion about a person who is openly hostile to anyone who questions him? President Trump opened the can of worms, started the fires and let the horses out. I’m not sure it’s possible to write about or view him in a manner that does not include hyperbole. In Spanish there is saying “Con la boca cerrada no entra las moscas,” which means, when your mouth is closed flies can not enter. This seems to be a bit of advice President Trump needs to take to heart.
3
@Richard
Charles Blow does not write editorials. He is an op-ed writer. There is a difference.
1
When it comes to intelligence assessments Donald Trump's public utterances and Tweets speak for the man. Has anyone ever heard or read more stupid comments from any previous POTUS? Trump is by any standard the stupidest person to ever have reached that position. How he got there is still inexplicable. How he can remain is unbelievable. How anyone with a reasonable level of intelligence can still support his remaining in office is tragic.
5
It's long been deplorably clear that Trump is a racist bigot, which endears him to his MAGA racist, bigoted "base."
This is not "new" news, but it is real, unlike our fraud POTUS.
4
I'm rubber. You're glue. Everything you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.
3
Another 2.5 years of this mind numbing ranting, bullying and race baiting misogynist at their twitter bullhorn. His track record on treatment of women and minorities over the decades a clear sirens call of bias and bigotry.
Could the cans of aerosol Aquanet used weekly to stabilize the burnt Cheerios winglets be a contributing factor? -or- The meanness and petulance expressed a simple outcome of a narcissist Jackanapes?
1
I would love to know what Mr. Trump ‘s IQ is. Every time he opens his mouth it reminds me of an old saying: “Any fool can talk, and most fools do.”
7
Trump is a deeply fearful and insecure man (as are all racists, bigots and misogynists.)
His hair tells us all we need to know about him. At 72 he's still not comfortable in his own skin.
8
A person resorts to calling women and minorities "dumb" and "low I.Q." is weak. Is a bully. Is threatened by women. Is a racist. We know all these things. We know he also hates not having people regard him as intelligent.
As a child in the 1950's, in my family we teased or taunted each other with the terms "dumb" and "idiot." So to me it always feels childish when I hear a president use these terms. Except HE knows better. He uses them with intent, with political purpose, to appeal to base instincts and racial hatred. Plus I think he enjoys putting people down because at his core he is a mean and selfish man, a non-empathetic individual only looking out for himself at all times. He is now in a vise constructed by and tightened through his own weak character and lies and his avarice. His bullying comments are embarrassing and pathetic.
8
At least half of us know that women have always been smarter than men. We just have to work twice as hard at life - full time job and full time domestic goddess. Men go to work. Women have more compassion also. Trump is the stupidest person we have ever had 'leading' our country. People should be ashamed and really start listening to what he says. He lies hundreds of times a day and isn't smart enough to remember what he said from one moment to the next.
7
Like all schoolyard bullies, Trump is great at labels. He seems to forget what his former secretary of state and others in his cabinet of musical chairs have called him. "Moron" was one, "idiot" another.
6
Why doesn’t one of these folks just challenge him to an IQ test, where the results would be made public? It might shut him up, or if his ego forced him to do it, he would be proven to be the mental midget that he is? If it turns out he’s a rocket scientist, good for him. In any case, Problem solved...
4
Anyone paying close attention to 45's insults, denigrations, and accusations against others cannot but help notice two things. First, it's pure projection on his part: it's become clear that the accusations of misconduct he lobs at others are actually a bizarre defensive tic as he is, at some level, aware that he has committed that misconduct himself. Second, he operates on a level of immense immaturity. When he is critiqued he responds which various iterations of a child's response akin to "Nu uh, YOU'RE the stupid one."
7
@Kent Moroz. Or literally, as in the debate when he talked OVER Hillary's statements , repeating "No, you're the puppet!"
3
Based on his limited vocabulary, an unwillingness to learn, and hatred of reading, Trump’s IQ is likely below average or well-below average. Someone who questions the intelligence of others when he flaunts his own stupidity, should not cast stones.
17
My first thought was that when Trump tries to label someone as dumb, it is just another case of his projecting. Remember the college professor who said Trump was the dumbest student he ever had.
10
Could it be that the "prez" is, deep down, an insecure man-child seeking attention from surrogate parents (Papa Putin, the religious right, et-al)? Hmmm? Methinks ... YES!
10
Trump is a bigot, ego maniac, demagogue and yes incompetent among other things.
However he is good at being a demagogue.
They have a nasty habit of sticking around since the first one Alcibiades in classical Greece to one of the last ones Chavez in Venz. until they ruin their countries usually economically.
History has taught us that the lure of the demagogue is strong.
2
The Trump doth protest too much.
1
I don't know about this- he called Robert DeNiro dumb too-and oddly enough, I don't think he ever called Hillary dumb just crooked. I don't deny that Charles' list shows that he's targeted women and minorities, but the list also shows that all of them are also all journalists, so maybe there's more to this.
4
Like most men with inflated yet frail egos, Donald Trump is intimidated by strong, intelligent women. That his responses to them resemble the taunts of a grade school playground bully is not surprising. In my experience, most grade school bullies turned out to be intellectual and physical weaklings.
10
Trump's name-calling proves without a doubt that he is not only ignorant, racist and mentally unstable, but he is also immature. This is not news -those who've known him for decades agree with today's assessment. The surprising news is, how and why he was able to con enough voters to place their trust in him. Trump can be proud of only one accomplishment - he is a professional con artist. Then, we as a nation have serious problems - the greatest of which is the systematic loss of our Democracy and the loss of faith and trust of our allies. We are standing alone with this incompetent leader and his Capitalistic Congress.
9
If way, way back, human civilization had become matriarchal rather than patriarchal, we would all be much better off today. Just think of all the the male ego driven wars of history. Women would not have been starting wars.
7
Christianity mandated that men rule women, another reason to make the US a secular nation.
2
@Nancy Rathke No, it did and does not. Far from it.
I must bring up this uncomfortable question-- what does it say that 53% of white women voted for this man? Commenters who try to excuse Trump's behavior by casting his words aside as meaningless and only a defense mechanism fail to recognize the power of words. Well, I recognize the power of words (*ahem*) and Trump's words and his comportment are totally unacceptable, at least to those of us who respect ourselves as women and as human beings.
12
Trump doesn't look "dumb." He looks ignorant. Narcissistic. Egotistical. Bullying. Nasty. Prejudiced. It isn't stupidity, it is a set of fundamental character flaws bundled into a very nasty public persona.
On the matter of race, I have expected him to Howard Cosell himself off the little screen, but he has managed to stop short of something irreversible. On women? I'd say no one in the GOP camp cares, which makes me wonder a bit about the GOP itself.
But the full force of Trump is that he can say these things with impunity, with televised crowds cheering him, and we have to wonder: If he didn't hire all those people to attend and cheer, then there a *a lot* of people who are OK with his fundamental character flaws.
Anything for a tax break, and the hope of a job in steel.
5
I agree with Blow's analysis of racism and misogyny and think the accusations of stupidity are clears signs of projection as well.
Given his apparent short sleep periods and aversion to reading, I have always thought Trump suffers from ADHD and a learning disability. When he was growing up, those disabilities were not recognized nor treated, and the sufferer was often thought to be stupid. What Trump most fears is that those accusations of stupidity were right--look at all his boasts of mental brilliance. Really intelligent people secure in their intelligence seldom even mention it.
Furthermore, when Trump was growing up, especially given his domineering, racist father, to be inferior to either racial minorities or women was emasculating. Thus, to hang on to his own illusion of masculinity, he projects his fear of his own stupidity especially onto minorities and women.
5
Hey, when people say stupid things, what’s wrong with calling them out for it? Mr. Trump is an equal opportunity insulter, are you saying that blacks should be immune? That would be racist.
2
It looks to me that Trump's whole career is built on the stupidity of people who fall for him.
7
Alphabetically misogynist comes before racist. Trump wears his racism first and foremost. His racist outlook is visible when he gazes upon the world he is far to good to inhabit. Always glaring or sneering his tells are racism backed up by misogyny a large helping of victim hood all wrapped in a blanket of ignorance.
1
Why stop at "Dumber" Charles? Donald J.Trump, unqualifiedly, is the Dumbest President in the country's history, in addition to being its most corrupt. His attacks on the intellectual capacities of women clearly is a manifestation of his profoundly deep insecurities. He could never marry an accomplished, independent woman, preferring the company of one-dimensional trophy wives. Just like the mob bosses.
5
Perhaps Mr. Blow might pause and consider how an unintelligent , unrealistic, poorly educated boor from Queens managed to overcome the political professionals of both parties and the antagonism of the media to become the elected President of the United States , while spending half the money that Mrs. Clinton did. It must be because he's so dumb.
"With his history, Trump requires that all his actions be examined through a racial lens."
You're right about Trump, Mr. Blow, but let's face it: you see all actions through a racial lens. It's your job. It's your obsession.
1
And we thought Don Rickles was the king of insults? Look, Trump isn't stupid, but he is far from the brightest bulb in the chandelier. His intellectual acuity, if it could generously be called that, is his ability to insult and incite. The time to have cured his emotional deficiency expired sometime around first grade, and now he has magnified it on the world stage into a horror show of previously unexplored proportions. He is a racist, a misogynist and a jerk, not to mention a danger to everyone on the planet. If any previous president , even the disastrous Dick Nixon, had committed even one of the transgressions Trump has, he would have faced serious censure at minimum. How does this wretch get away with it? It's time that we who Trump considers "dumb" flex our muscles and circumscribe and then remove him before he does something really dumb like start World War III or Civil War II. Both are on the horizon unless we unite and fix this problem now. If we don't find a way to remove him from office expeditiously, perhaps it really is us who are the dumb ones.
3
Citing IQ scores claiming women more intelligent than men, yet claiming said metric racist when applied to average Black IQ testing at 85, reading as disingenuous or even worse, dumb.
1
The really sad truth is we are all watching the Dumb and Dumber sequel and 40% of America is applauding and laughing.
2
While this is once again an excellent piece by Charles Blow, I am growing increasingly bitter at that instead of focusing on the complex issues of the day - how to mitigate the effects of climate change, how to stop self destructive by industry that burns up the planet, how to solve the increasing income inequality and corruption, how to avoid future wars and devastation from rising seas, lack of drinking water... I could go on. But instead we continue to focus on the mind of this really stupid man. A flamboyantly stupid and malevolent oaf who should never have come closer to the white house than his equally stupid hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.
But really, who is to blame? Without equally stupid voters he wouldn't have won. And to show how dumb they really were, and are: they were so dumb, they didn't even realize he was leading them by the nose. He never thought he would win, he never wanted to win. It was all a gigantic charade, starting with his announcement he is running to which he hired people off Craig's List to stand by the golden elevator and applaud.
Only in America.
5
There's a simpler explanation: Dumb Trump has the language and emotional sophistication of the 8-year school-yard bully that he still is.
You certainly shared a lot of examples of Trump calling women dumb, but he calls a lot of people dumb, low IQ, etc. That is his standard insult, because he is too, ahem, dumb to criticize someone based on actual facts. You may be right that he uses it disproportionately against women, but you did not present evidence to support that assertion.
Whatever Trump's problem is (& he's clearly no dummy) has a lot to do with being a hostile, hurtful, mean-spirited racist, misogynistic bully & bigot.
This is evident as Mr. Blow so powerfully states.
Trump also clearly believes that blatantly dog-whistling those hostilities will appeal to his base. He's trying to radicalize his base by appealing to their latent ugly Americanisms.
So, if we agree Trump is a bigot & that his base is fired up by his unleashing of their crypto-bigotry they've been pressure-cooking during the entire era of political correctness, why can't we say this:
Trump is a blatant misogynistic bigot & bigotry should be disqualifying for a president of all americans. In order to vote for a bigoted president, that voter must be a bigot themselves, ergo Trump supporters must be bigots.
Why is this conclusion not allowed to be stated?
7
The use of dumb, dumber, low IQ etc by Trump is also in part due to his low vocabulary. He perhaps does not know more than a couple of hundred words and has to use these words repeatedly. This is rather good in a way. Who knows to what degree his insults would be degrading if his arsenal of deprecatory words was not that modest.
2
It is painfully clear by now that trump projects his own faults onto those he criticizes and belittles. If only we could all ignore this buffoon and his trivial rants, but it’s impossible to do. As long as this imbecile is in office we are all doomed to follow his every ignorant utterance. Unfortunately, his meek minions and enablers cater to and bolster his malevolence. Shame on all of us for allowing this embarrassment of a president to continue his reign.
1
A true racist would look at a person of another race and think them to be inferior and therefore not to be treated as an equal. A true racist would have lower expectations for people of another race and therefore not hold them to the same standards that they have for themselves. A true racist would be careful about what they say about another race to hide their own racism. This type of racism permeates the American left and Democratic Party.
Trump, on the other hand, is the opposite of a racist. He sees all people as his equal and holds all to the same standards. Therefore he doesn't hesitate to call LeBron, Lemon or Waters stupid. He doesn't really think they are stupid. He sees them as worthy adversaries and he fights them face to face just like it did all 17 of his opponents during the Republican primaries. In some ways, if you have been insulted by Donald Trump it is a sign of respect.
1
With Trump, it is all about projection, racism, and misogyny. He calls people "dumb" because that word applies to him. He calls people "liars" because that is what he does each time he speaks. He attacks black people and women with the word "dumb" etc. because it combines all of the things that he is: ignorant, racist, woman-hating etc. He whines about not receiving the "respect" that he thinks he deserves and yet is totally incapable of respecting anyone else -- including his wives -- all of whom he disrespected by cheating on them in plain sight.
4
All you have to do is listen to the vocabulary and epithets used by trump to know who is the real dummy.
2
Woe to anyone who crosses this spoiled, arrogant, lying, racist, insecure, incompetent bully.....etc.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if he left the playground, grew up, went to school and learned what the Constitution stands for and understood the oath he took when he, unfortunately became president. Sadly that will never happen so we must put up with his immature tweets, his rantings and ravings at his rallies. At least the investigation is closing in and he's running scared.
1
All the world's peoples are descended from a few Africans who trekked out a couple of hundred thousand years ago.
The bulk of Africa's people and peoples stayed there. This means the variance is still back there.
We know the tallest and the shortest peoples are the Nilotics and the Pygmies. The stupidest will be the same everywhere, at the lowest bound for group survival. Scottish. German. Whatever.
To the extent that intelligence or any other intellectual capacity is physiological -- anywhere from "somewhat" to "mainly," who knows? -- the best will probably turn out to be African.
LeBron v. LeTrump
LeBron sends kids to school
Trump puts kids in cages
LeBron one wife
Trump three
LeBron no bankruptcies
Trump Six
Trump is just a flat out racist. lies a lot too.
6
Who is really as dumb as a rock? Trump, that's who. I think the sad, stupid remarks of the rapidly aging Trump indicate he, himself, has a deep-down awareness and great fear of his declining intellectual capacity, which is why he denigrates other people's IQ. Furthermore, as his brain deteriorates, he is no longer capable of keeping in check the kinds of beliefs he has held all his life, i.e., thinking that minorities are beneath him simply because of their birthplace and color of their skin. He speaks to the public thinking he is some stable genius, when indeed he comes off as some stupid old grandpa in his cups, on the corner edge of the bar yelling random inanities at a television set. He is regressing not just physically but mentally, as evidenced by his sophomoric tweets and impulsiveness that even his handlers can't handle. We should feel sorry for this toddler and his tantrums, but he is still serving right now, inexplicably to many of us and the world, as our leader. He needs to be removed from his environment and given the nap he greatly deserves, as soon as possible.
8
It´s not nice to be dumb. But in case you are (most people Trump calls dumb are not) it is a biological fact and nothing you are to blame for. Trump might be dumb. That would be a pity, especialy, for those who voted for him. If he is not dumb, he is ignorant, which I personally believe to be worse.
Charles,
Thank you for fighting the good fight. Believe me, I *wish* that every asinine, racist, sexist, xenophobic comment that vile man has uttered were fake news. Alas...
Keep calling it like it is. We need you more than ever.
2
While there is obviously a large racist and sexist component to Trump's spurious attacks on women and people of color, there is also a "trumpload" of projection. You would be hard-pressed to find someone in the public sphere as embarrassingly ignorant, illiterate, and devoid of basic comprehension skills as Donald Trump. His own ghostwriter of the Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz, said Trump has never read a book in his life.
Being called "Low IQ" or "dumb" by someone as intellectually deficient as Donald Trump is like being called uncivilized by Charles Manson.
2
Thanks for writing about this latest atrocity, Mr. Blow. Trump is simply racist and misogynist--off the scales and unabashedly. His deep insecurities and utter incompetence mean that he has to do bait and switch ALL THE TIME. Maxine Waters is brilliant and unconventional in that California way. She has been a public servant for decades. Lebron James is using his place of privilege to do real good in the world--to give back. Trump has no capacity for such feeling or thinking, and he has to put it down as though the person is stupid. He is dangerous, insane and incredibly stupid in every way except survival and manipulating others' stupidity. Oh my. The parallel universes---bigots, greed mongers and religious nut jobs in one, and affirming, intersectional, fair-minded kind people in the other--how will we co-exist? Will this country implode with such hate and paranoia? Everyone--VOTE. We have to keep going.
4
Why is Maxine Waters “brilliant and unconventional in that California way”? Why not just brilliant?
@Elise, I have lived in CA, and so much direct talk and human progress begins there. It is a compliment from my perspective. Sorry if you misinterpreted......
Two points here. One, Trump insults everyone he disagrees with, so I'm not sure this gender/racial line of Blow's is anything but another cheap shot at Trump. Two, Maxine Waters does act rather dumb, so calling her dumb does not seem like much of a stretch. Other than that, carry on.
1
Trump tries to denigrate whomever he fears. And he fears women, blacks, journalists, Democrats, foreigners, athletes, successful people, intellectuals, and the list goes on and on . . . AND ON!!!
6
I can't wait for his cartoon show on Fox Family: "Covfefe Goes to College"
To equate low IQ Maxine to all women is an insult to all women.
You have heard the woman speak, haven’t you?
She is practically as articulate as Pelosi.
And Pelosi can’t remember where she is half the time.
@Ken
"To equate low IQ Maxine to all women is an insult to all women."
And Ken speaks for "all women"?
"Pelosi can’t remember where she is half the time. "
This is a baseless, juvenile, insult--very similar to the kind we would expect from the insulter-in-chief himself.
8
@TimThat's because he's part of trump's base.
A year before the election Trump said he didn't like part of the 14th Amendment (presumably the birthright citizaneship) and he would ask Congress to change it. Congress does not have the power to change amendments. This indicates that Trump makes political statements without proper research, something no educated official would do. (Likewise, he tried to
There is a reason Trump makes "stupidity" insults. He knows that people privately consider him very stupid, so he is obsessed with that particular accusation.
Charles, why even bother giving this jerk the ink he is always looking for? It doesn't matter if they are black, brown, male, female, physically challenged, former war heroes, members of the Democratic party, they are all of inferior intellect and, to use the words of our esteemed, self-proclaimed "stable genius", losers. Doesn't matter that the objects of his virulent, racist, misogynistic tirades have all, without exception, done more for their fellow man in their deeds and example than this man has ever done for anyone. As for his intellectual prowess, I hate to burst his bubble but probably every person he castigates is as bright if not brighter and without doubt certainly more stable to be sure. Bet on it.
"Who looks dumb now? Yes, Trump."
Now??
Since Trump consults with Steve Bannon, the white supremacist, I keep an eye out for how his ideas, attitudes, policy ideas might overlap with those promulgated by Nazi Germany's: "Women In The Third Reich The National Socialist Women's Union and German Women's Agency used Nazi propaganda to encourage women to focus on their roles as wives and mothers. Besides increasing the population, the regime also sought to enhance its "racial purity" through "species upgrading," notably by promulgating laws prohibiting marriage between "Aryans" and "non-Aryans" while preventing those with handicaps and certain diseases from marrying at all."
Girls were taught to embrace the role of mother and obedient wife ..."
3
Our President should be renamed divider in chief! The levels he stoops to go in terms of name calling are just an embarrassment to our country. Republicans - WAKE UP - and fight back. This is not what our country should be.
4
of course trump is not aware....He is unaware of much outside of his drama queen reality tv personality.
5
Thank you, Mr. Blow. I appreciate your allying yourself, in this article, with women and for speaking up for us and about us.
As for 45, his dumb comments, articulated in such simpleton (dumb) language shows what a dumb dummy he is (unless, of course, he is intentionally following the stylistics of the brilliant Gertrude Stein, who certainly was no dummy, even if she thought there was no there there).
Beyond his “being” low I.Q., very low intelligence,” 45 is nothing if not a master (if you can call it that) of projection. I mean, almost word-for-word, he is and/or does the exact types of things he accuses others of being/doing; even as he claims it is he who is doing/embodying all the good and greatness that he most definitely is not (stable genius, the best, the toughest, a lover of women, etc.)!
And speaking of his “love” of women, my guess is he got that from his woman-hating, wife-abusing, demeaning-of-children father.
5
What Donald Trump lacks is self-awareness. He doesn't realize how ironic he is when he insults the intelligence of politicians, athletes, or media personalities. He is without doubt the president with the lowest intelligence in the history of the United States. He is illiterate in geography. Recently he didn't know the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom. He called Belgium "a beautiful city." In a meeting in Israel with Netanyahu he said out loud he'd just returned from a trip to the Middle East. He can't form a complete sentence without repeating himself numerous times. He does not read and he does not listen, even to the people in the White House who are experts in their fields. He's an obese loudmouth subsisting on junk food who does not exercise, yet he often "fat-shames" overweight women. Yet his cult-like followers ignore all this. It's mind-boggling.
19
Donald Trump is a fraud and a criminal. ENOUGH said. You can write all you want - ad nauseum, and I am not being critical of anybody or anything. He is a lot of things but FRAUD and CRIMINAL take the cake. The entire family is too.
5
I wonder if he know what the range of IQ test results are? He might think he's in the 3-400s!
Article should be titled “Meltdown of an Amateur”
The only real stupid women and African Americans were/are those who support President Trump. That's the litmus test!
Mr. Blow is entirely right - Donald Trump insults all kinds of people but he particularly likes to insult those people who normally experience significant prejudice in every aspect of their lives, women, African Americans, Moslems, any one darker or weaker socially.
4
"The man trying to help at-risk children by opening doors for them was being attacked by the man who has put children at risk by locking them in cages." Charles Blow
"Who’s the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?" Don Lemon
4
@AinBmore
Who stole from whom without attribution?
2
@John Xavier III: No stealing. Both facts are evident to even the casual observer and can be expressed by any one of these.
Charles, I have a great husband who has never questioned my intelligence. Otherwise, I would ask you to marry me.
2
"Who looks dumb now? Yes, Trump."
Looks rather than is?
Dumb, dumber and don't forget the dumbest....which is where Mr. Blow has placed himself after his diatribe this morning. Ever think women's IQ is higher because the men are dumber? Blow also has a list of targeted folks he has called dumber equally often as Trump. You could look it up. But what we're after here is not higher IQ. We need higher good sense, prudence and wisdom. Let's call it the WQ for wisdom measurement. In my life, my mother and my spouse are among the many women who exceed the WQ of the many men. Wisdom holds that we find a way to work together. Blow and Trump have a long way to go.
You are making a whole megillah out of nothing. And, frankly, some of these people, the "journalists", are in fact dumb, or act dumb, or say dumb things. That goes for men too ... just turn on the TV. It's non-stop. Excluding LeBron James.
1
Trump always projects his own fears and inadequacies onto others. For his entire life he has felt intellectually inferior so he attacks others for being "dumb."
2
Women in college now exceed men too.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/08/why-men-are-the-ne...
1
So sad that Hillary Clinton couldn't beat someone so dumb. So sad that Hillary couldn't get the votes of Obama voters who voted for the dummy. So sad Hillary didn't campaign against the dummy in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin and Florida. So sad that Blow supported the candidate who could not beat the dummy. Who is the real dummy?
I'm proud to have supported Hillary: she lost because the election was rigged & that's the truth.
9
Unless Mr Sulzberger is willing to hire Ms Bee & Mr DeNiro to enlarge columnists’ allowable vocabulary, I think “Dumb and Dumbest” would have made a better title. I might note that Siri agrees with me and completed my sentence with the superlative without suggesting Trump might just be “dumber.”
To be perfectly honest, this man is no longer worth our rebuttals, our countervailing insight, or our meticulous deconstruction of his ignorance. He is a fool, an ignoramus, a pathetic liar, and a man who deserves no accolades and no generosity of reflection. He is, ultimately, the greatest loser, in every human respect, who somehow managed, through a convergence of illicit events, to wind up in a position for which he is ridiculously unfit and under-qualified. America must acknowledge this sad fact if it wants to continue its path as the greatest, and most humane, nation on earth.
4
In Saudi Arabia leading Women's Rights activists were being imprisoned and possibly tortured this weekend. We were silent. The Saudis have become among the top patrons of Trump hotels and top purchasers of Trump condos. Of course the United States of America is silent about such human rights abuses directed at women.
What a low ignorant person--a racist, a homophobe, a sexual predator, intentionally cruel to the weak and poor--we have in our White House.
7
Mr. Blow, I am 74. A Veteran. And for the first time in my life I find the President of our nation to be not only a "petulant urchin of a man" but a Terrestrial Embarrassment.
10
Ironically, those who think woman are too emotional to be fit for the presidency elected a person who exhibits symptoms of PMS every single day of the month.
4
US President Attacks His Own Citizens; Praises Putin and Kim.
12
Would you say LeBron had a more successful year than Donald?
1
It is the immature, uncontrolled anger underlying Trump's racist and misogynist communications that bothers me. His tiny ego gets riled up and in turn he riles up the emotions of many of his followers who, like him, have little ability to self-reflect and reason, especially when they are riled up. It's always the other guy's fault. These communications are no different from his administration's policy decisions -- act first on a whim against the dummies and bad guys; think later and try to fix the damage.
Hum, this 'dumb' guy was smart enough to beat brainiac Hillary Clinton with her great intellect and a billion dollar cash advantage. Maybe if the Democrats had the intellect, or better, the courage to evaluate how this guy won and they lost, we would all be better off.
1
@FXQ
OK, OK, OK! I guess it's time for the Democrats to hire Putin.
5
couldn't have won without Russians.
2
Trump is simply a bully, and like all (biologically) adult bullies, he never really left the kind of mindset that launches grade school lunch money rackets.
Trump will never be more popular or a more positive role model for and in America than LeBron James. Everyone knows this, so Trump calls him "low IQ" because most of his other favorite insults (like "loser" and "failing") would get him laughed at immediately. LeBron is the best at what he does, and Trump, a life-long cheat, can never compete with legitimate accomplishment.
Of all the painful lessons the world will learn from the Trump presidency, one of the biggest might be that impostor syndrome can be all-consuming for those who really are impostors.
5
His insults also reveal a seriously limited vocabulary.
3
This is Ben's wife and we attended a small protest about Microsoft cooperating with ICE. A letter was read that Microsoft employees wrote expressing their concerns as well.
Opposite us was a group of 5 or 6 screaming Trump supporters shouting "USA" over and over. As we walked by on our way to march, I, a skinny old lady with a cane, wanted to tell them that we all love our country, but just disagree on what is best for it and isn't it great that we can all peacefully protest for what we believe.
However, I never was able to utter a word. They began vulgarly pumping their middle fingers up and down and screaming. Two concerned police officers stepped between them and me for safety. I was appalled at their behavior...so ugly and viciously angry.
When Trump became the candidate, my 91 year old mother-in-law and I agreed that he so reminded us of Hitler(and Hitler speeches are one thing his 2nd wife said he kept at his bedside). I shutter to admit that he has fulfilled that fear and so has the behavior of his followers. I am terrified and saddened for the future of this country.
Hitler wrote it was OK to lie to the masses. Sound familiar?
Trump works hard everyday to divide us and "divided we fall"...much to Putin's delight!
9
LeBron James has been concerned about the care of children for years. He helped load diapers, school supplies, and food products onto four tractor-trailers for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and paid the approximate $120,000 bill for the expense. He was twenty years old at that time.
LeBron's high intelligence and extraordinary memory have been documented on many occasions, leaving reporters, fellow players, friends and family awestruck with admiration.
Thank you, Charles, and thank you to those writers who have made so many insightful comments in response to his article.
9
Fifty three percent of white women voted for Trump. Doesn’t this say something about their intelligence?
3
A more appropriate word to describe trump is ignorant; he fulfills all of its definitions:
lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated
lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular
discourteous or rude
3
When Mueller finally gets around to charging Trump with some crime or other, he will be required to prove the element of intent. Fortunately for Mueller, Trump's tweets will provide that proof. Trump has no doubt been advised about this problem but is too dumb to get the point.
3
Notice the lack of a large vocabulary. He uses the exact wording all the people he insults.
Donald, both you and LeBron James are destined for a "greatest" designation in the history books. LeBron as the greatest basketball player in history and you as America's greatest self-inflicted wound. And please, if you're going to insult someone, at least have to courtesy to spell their name correctly; it's LeBron, not Lebron.
3
Trump is stupid, illiterate, and ignorant but I wouldn't call him dumb. His words and the people he targets are all chosen to further ingratiate himself with his base of racist deplorables. This is yet another distraction. November is quickly coming, we need everyone to focus on putting responsible leadership in Congress so we can end this national nightmare. We need stories on why voting is so important - especially for minorities, how to register if you're not, how to be sure you're still registered if you are, what to expect at the polling place, who to contact if you're turned away. We should be screaming this from every pulpit we have. Give people the tools they need to make the change they desire.
2
Women live longer than men and have a higher rate of graduation from schools and colleges. We are more inclined to vote than men and do so at a higher number. As the old adage goes, "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." We, like the notorious RBG will be around for the 2020 election and we will vote!
5
It's truly amazing how many posters here have nothing whatsoever to add to the conversation save a slavish desire to be seen as agreeing with Blow, who isn't qualified to do anything more than "journalism". Wake up.
Trump is not just dumb and dumber, he is easily the dumbest President - in terms of IQ - that we have ever had.
Trump has succeeded in life because of Daddy - who got him into a Ivy League college (transferring from Fordham), bailed him out financially multiple times, left him a huge inheritance - because of his mob business practices and values, because he is a pathological liar and con man, because he always cheats, because he is vicious and ruthless. He used the same skills and Putin’s help to become President and he is using the same skills - along with being Putin’s puppet and lackey - to destroy our democracy and country. None of Trump’s skills (which are considerable in the same way a mafia boss or kleptocratic dictator has considerable ruthless skills) are based on intellect or high IQ - Trump has very low IQ. Some mafia bosses or kleptocratic dictators have very high IQs to go along with their viciousness and ruthless (think Putin), but not Trump - dumbest President we have ever had.
It is also no longer (it never was) in any way debatable that Trump is a racist and a misogynist.
What remains remarkable is that 40% of this country, majority of white Americans, 80-90% of all Republicans, 90% of white Evangelicals support this overt racist, sexual predator and misogynist and traitor - agent for Putin.
4
Calling himself a "stable genius" while using dog whistle comments against minorities and women is just another reason Mr. Trump is not fit to be POTUS. Add it to the many other personality disorders - narcissistic, histrionic, god complex, flagrant lies, sympathetic audience control, etc. Confidence and competence are inversely related, and Mr. Trump's confidence is off the charts.
1
I could use anyone of the names of women in this column but I will use Ruth Bader Ginsburg's because she is a Supreme Court Justice and an octogenarian of superior intelligence.
If RBG is a dumb, Trump's intellect can be compared to the smallest of pebbles on a beach. (My apologies to rocks and their offspring everywhere.)
4
@Kathleen
Typical. He didn't say RBG is dumb. He said RBG made dumb political statements. Big difference.
And he is right. What she said was dumb and her saying it was also dumb. She is supposed to stay out of politics.
None of which says RBG is dumb, which she is clearly is not.
2
@John Xavier III. Language is a wonderful thing. We have thousands of words that can be used to critique someone’s opinions. Donald Trump can only find the word ‘dumb’? But of course anyone who has studied history would know that having an Executive that criticises the Judiciary is dangerous, the fact that he also finds time to go after Journalists and sportsmen is quite frankly demeaning to the office.
Trump is certainly a big dummy but talking about intelligence in averages is rather pointless. By almost any standard, the majority of America is "dumb." For instance, 4-year college degrees represent less than a third of our nation. The figure is a remarkable improvement as well. In 1980, the number was under 10 percent. I'll also point out that Trump holds a college degree but few will remark favorably on his intelligence. His opinion is just as useless as anyone else's. You know "smart" when you see it just the same way you know "dumb" when you see it. I know what I'm looking at when Trump speaks.
@Andy
One doesn’t measure “dumbness” (sheesh--terrible word) by the number of citizens who have college degrees!
I have had incredibly intelligent and resourceful friends and colleagues who didn’t finish high school.
Plus I know folks with advanced degrees-PhDs and MDs who were astonishingly dumb--that is unable to figure out even simple problems.
LeBron James is probably the brightest and best basketball player of his generation. And on top of that his reaching out to children at risk in Akron is remarkable. Trump’s attack on James demonstrates again the stupidity and racial insensitivity of this lamentable President. Do not forget. A king will Trump a president every time.
3
Well of course the "president" uses race and gender as insults. He also uses size, appearance, birthplace, death place, favorite ice cream, anything at his disposal to attack. Racist and misogynist? Old story. A dear old friend put it best: There are only two kinds of people in the "president's" world: Those people being played and the people playing 'em. All suckers are welcome to apply.
A couple of things that would be fun to know:
What actually is Trump’s IQ?
He claimed he graduated on top of his Wharton class, if so is there a record of him possibly being Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and/or valedictorian of his class? If he is not any of this things should we call him a liar for the millionth time and stop him from keeping up this IQ, smart man nonsense?
To work investigative journalists.
2
@Blunt
It’s already been “investigated” to death!
His name appears on the list of graduates printed in the pamphlet handed out to parents.
That does NOT mean he actually graduated as the booklets are printed before all grades are in.
No diploma has been framed; no Summa Cum Laude, no Magna Cum Laude, no Phi Beta Kappa, and no other honor society.
I believe, to have any understanding of the personality of "President"
Trump, one has to understand a Sociopathic Personality Disorder.
To ignore such a basic diagnosis, is to ignore Reality
This guy also bragged his "IQ is one of the highest." Of course, NO ONE with any real intelligence ever says that.
4
Inez Haj is a physical therapist called to Mar-A-Lago to treat Trump's throbbing knee. Security asks for her name when she arrives. "Ms. Haj, Inez," she says.
"You're always welcome here," says the guard.
Haj has gained widespread recognition in PT circles for her unique joint manipulation which she calls "Massage a knee."
Calling Samantha Bee, Michelle Wolf, Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel. Quick! Somebody steal this idea before the National Enquirer does another "catch and kill" and buys the rights to it.
So obviously racist. Why it is still worth protesting the Shockley apologists on campus. Trump was told he got a 100 on his IQ test and he thinks that means he's a genius!
2
Let us review the situation. Who is the biggest pathological liar; Trump or Lebron James? Okay; that was too easy. Who has done more for the pride and upgrade in education in the state of Ohio? Darn; way too easy. Try again. Who has done more for teaching racial harmony in working with teammates of different race/ religion/ or background? If you are having trouble with any of these questions; you really are in serious need of a reality check. As for Don Lemon vs. Trump in either I.Q. or CLASS ; that is even more laughable. Donald Trump is not only dumb & dumber; he is dangerous in how little he knows about any major subject concerning the welfare of anyone on Earth.
2
When your only way or last resort to try to win over a political adversary is to use insults like "low IQ", "dumb", "dumber", the chances are that you are loosing the debate.
Donnie "Boy" Trump will just call the reports about women outperforming men on IQ test "fake news." That's what he calls anything he doesn't like to hear. Just like a spoiled child. Sad.
1
@Doug
The Stanford-Binet IQ test doesn’t mean a lot.
As a twin who grew up in a small university town, my twin and I were subjected to IQ tests 6-7 times a year by students majoring in sociology and psychology.
By the 30th time I scored >150. I simply memorized the SAME QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS.
My definition of a person’s intelligence is their ability to figure out real life problems and the empathy they have for others.
1
Trump throwing the "dumb" bomb is just another example of his projecting. The insults he tosses out so casually are always a reflection of what he actually is.
1
It's time for the Democrats to select a rallying campaign cry:
"UNITED, NOT DIVIDED!!!"
Let's make Trump's bashing should come down crashing!!!
2
Hey Donnie, there's this saying about the pot and the kettle.
Lol, we should have a Jeopardy contest with Trump and all the women he claims are dumb and see who wins. I'm betting Trump would lose badly against them and almost any educated person.
Poor DJT. He calls women dumb and low IQ because his own vocabulary - and his imagination - is so limited. Just look at his own writings - the message he left in the guest book at the Israeli memorial for the Holocaust was shallow, trite, and void of any mention of the Holocaust. His recent letter to North Korea read “....Thank you for your nice letter - I look forward to seeing you soon!”. Seriously, he writes as if he is copying letters from a book titled “Easy Etiquette For Boys And Girls”! The people who have been insulted by DJT should allow themselves a big laugh. His insults are so repetitive and lame, one has to just feel sorry (and contempt, unfortunately) for him.
2
Why is this acceptable to his base and the GOP Congress? I'm absolutely astounded how quickly the standards for POTUS behavior have plummeted. Americans, you are looking dumb to an incredulous world. You never were exceptional in the first place.
2
Just so, Mr Blow. But, you could replace the word dumb with any adjective in the English language and his followers would behave in exactly the same way. They're reacting, they're not listening. So why are we?
Trump seems to be so dumb that calling him dumb, at this point, is, what's that word?...dumb.
The truth is that Trump himself is exactly like his followers: he hears nothing either before or after his name, and though he reacts as though he has actual thoughts, all he really craves is to hear that name as often as possible. This, The Times has been doing since he began his campaign, and so far, the dummy has won every round.
We have about 85 days to preserve what's left of our great experiment in democracy. If reason does not prevail in November we may not have another chance. That's where I want to focus my energies. Let's send President Mortimer Snerd home to Vladimir the Ventriloquist.
1
When a person calls people called dumb, dumbest, and low IQ you know it's really about their mental capacity. We are in a time when the good people must continue to do good and contend with a president who is so limited that if he knew what good was he wouldn't know how to do it. A week ago I did not know who Lebron James was; I know now and what I see says this guy has a genius for doing good. Please keep it p!
A world full of dumb women, with the exception of one brilliant shining star: Ivanka Trump, the woman Trump would have dated had she not been — uh — lucky enough to possess his genes, and cunning enough to surgically remove every trace of her mother from her face.
LeBron James is a better man than Trump. Granted, that doesn't take much, but James is a true leader. Hopefully others will follow his example and try to help their fellow man in their own way. As for the Trumps, the "dustbin of history" can't come soon enough.
1
I believe the verdict is in, The president has serious mental health problems. But he is still able to get intelligent people like yourself to bite on his trolls, I believe it is better to just point out the behaviors as you did, but it reinforces his victimhood narrative about the media when you go beyond that. He likes to be called a racist or misogynist. It helps him when he talks with his base,
I believe that in his heart of hearts Trump knows he is of small intellect. To borrow from his parlance, a man of “low IQ”.
3
There is no question that women, of all races, and black people, of both genders, are constantly having their intelligence deprecated by Donald Trump.
The way the childish insults are thrown around would be unseemly in any adult male, but they are disgusting in an American president.
Trump clearly believes personally that women and black men are intellectually inferior, and he has amassed a cult following of low-educated white men (and obedient white women) who thrill to his legitimizing such racism and misogyny.
What is scary and discouraging is how many well-educated, successful white men – not just from the former Confederate States – enjoy Donald Trump.
Put another way, these prosperous white men like Trump because of his bigotry, not in spite of it.
3
So true, and thank you Mr. Blow, once again.
To really appreciate Einstein, you must have intelligence to comprehend and understand so much. Otherwise, ignorant and ignoble, you may remark how dumb Einstein is, as many supposedly astute but dull brains of his day actually did.
Certainly, Trump follows this wretched tradition of those who attack intelligence in order to hide their own ignorance.
Yes, Mr. Blow, you have hit the nail on the head.
Mr. Trump, on the other hand, appears about as smart as a bag of hammers.
1
There is no way of getting around the fact that the male white "race" is destroying our beautiful planet. Disgustingly, this fact is understood as proof of highest IQ. That, of course is madness.
For information, I'm 100% white, highly educated and born into a family that arrived here in 1620, the beginning date of the pillage which overtook and is still overtaking this continent.
2
Yes. Trump is clearly both racist and sexist. His racist and misogynistic statements, and multiple allegations of sexual abuse are clear on this. What’s harder to explain, and way more troubling than this one man hate machine, is why so many Americans voted for this man to be their president.
"Not a puppet! Not a puppet! You're the puppet!"
He tries to call people the names that apply to him.
2
Trump is very touchy, too touchy, about the issue of intelligence. He must have a little man inside who constantly, correctly, tells him he's an idiot, so he bellows "I'm a genius!" and denigrates the intelligence of all those who disagree with that assessment. Trump is sly, but succeeds (when he does) not due to smarts but to unscrupulousness. It's in his interests to conflate intelligence with dishonesty (as many American businessmen do -- violence and corruption become "smart" and following the rules, including basic ethical ones, "stupid"). Therefore it's no surprise that more moral and intelligent (and especially wise) people get labelled by Trump as "dumb" or "very low IQ". I well recall a boss who, when he discovered I wasn't stealing from the company, said "you're daft". That sums up the Trump mentality.
"the man who has put children at risk by locking them in cages." - You mean Obama?
And where Robert De Niro fits in Trump's insults?
Donald Trump calls women “dummies” because he can’t use the pejoratives he would prefer—fat, old, ugly, or unsexy.
1
If you spend some time in a middle school, you will soon know which kids have the bullying problem. This is exactly the language they use, "stupid" and "dumb" being two of their favorite insults. What I still can't quite figure out is how we got here ......... :(
1
What Trump is demonstrating when he labels critics as "dumb", "low IQ" and the like, is a common psychological failing, discussed in all first year psych texts. It's called "projection." It means that the flaws and failings we possess we project onto others; it makes us feel better if others are stupider than we are. An when it comes to stupidity---especially when buttressed by ignorance--- Trump has an awful lot to project.
1
Trump is school in the summertime - no class. To me, his core base don't appear to be the sharpest knives in the drawer, so his comments on dumb people is right up their alley. Calling his critics dumb is part of his vernacular. It will be so nice to get rid of Trump and replace him with a thoughtful and respectable person. He is such an embarrassment and is making our country the laughing stock of the world.
1
People who are comfortable in their intelligence have no need of boosting themselves by disparaging the intellectual capacity of others.
Trump is that nincompoop of a bully in grade school whose only contribution in class was, "You think you're so smart!" when others had the answers and passed the tests.
And Trump's supporters are those kids who tagged along just behind the bully, snorting and squealing, "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"
1
Donald Trump lacks standing to comment. The man should have stayed in the wrestling promotion business, where his meager talents were useful for shilling for fake sports. Dumb Donald is the least intellectually gifted US President in both the 20th and 21st centuries, and is in the running for the least analytic or insightful, and most emotional and egotistical, US President of all times.
1
Is Trump a racist? Of course he is (duh). A misogynist? Obviously he is too. On these points Mr. Blow and I are fully in agreement. But he, our president, is all sorts of other awful things too. In fact, it is somewhat safe right now to assume that if there is some flavor of intolerance out there, Mr. Trump has likely shown some signs of harboring it. So I don't fully understand why we need to focus on these two. Whenever he feels a need to attack another human being - and that is the case more or less all the time - he simply goes for the worst, meanest type of insult possible. If it's a black athlete or politician - he will of course say something racist. If it's a white woman, he'll question her intelligence, and throw in a vague reference to hormones; if the person has a disability, he'll mock that. Immigrants? Muslims? - Let's not even go there... Another rich white dude he feels threatened by? - He'll come up with a childish nickname based on that person's height... What I'm saying is, Donald Trump is an all-around awful person, in a way that is, well, holistic and well-balanced. An equal opportunity bigot, if you wish. Also, a mean bully, a shady crook, and, likely, a traitor. Focusing on just his racism, or any other single awful trait, amounts to missing the whole picture. Which is that the man is monumentally unfit for office, and a danger to the very survival of this republic in virtually every way possible.
6
Trump is hoping that we will be dumb enough to reelect a Republican Congress.
2
Utterly ridiculous.
LeBron James could out-think Trump in any situation imaginable. He is the smartest basketball player that I have ever seen: great memory; great flexible, creative intelligence; great ability to plan and strategize.
Donald Trump is the dumbest politician I have ever seen: no apparent memory of facts or history or even of the last sentence he just uttered; no ability to respond to novel situations with new creative thinking unless you want to call constant lying creative; too lazy to plan anything, not even the next sentence he will blurt out (see first point)
7
@Christine I completely with you. It confounds me that he gets away with his ugly rants and tweets with not a word of reproach from the GOP. In my world we would give him a private talking-to, telling him that for the sake of the country and to prevent his family from being indicted it is best for him to leave office, stat.
1
When a hundred million people publicly try to hang or crucify a single person, does it meet the minimal requirements to be classified as lynching?
Each of the persons this president attacks as "dumb" or "low IQ" could easily respond with the school yard taunt, "I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you." This, however, would be to riposte at his intellectual level: he might understand it, but they would lower themselves, something none of them will do. Still ... they are rubber and he is glue!
1
There's a socially-unacceptable word such equates women with a body part, and is usually prefaced with "dumb" or "stupid." It fits Trump to a "t."
Dishonest Donald is one of those peculiar people who can make stupid people feel smart. That, I believe, is the method to his madness. The Donald understands how frustrated white people feel badly about being inferior to the likes of LeBron, Lemon, Obama. He helps the self esteem of these snowflakes by tearing down the people who have surpassed them.
I am curious as to why he has not yet made a full out attack on Opra? Is it because she had monster TV ratings? That really is The Donald's goal - to have great viewership of his DC Reality TV Gig.
1
He may or may not be dumb, but he is Evil.
3
A word I would add to this opinion piece is, "misogyny". Defined as the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women..
Trump is a misogynistic dimwit, nothing less.
No need for complicated and nuanced analysis and thought:
Trump is a racist.
Trump is a misogynist (unless the woman is sheepishly doing his every bidding, preferably sexual).
He also is the president of the USA. We elected him. He reflects us. If he is shameful and disgusting, aren't we?
2
Charles, please continue your op-eds. You are a voice of reason in our community which values truth.
Thing is, when you're a stable genius, everyone else appears to be dumb, just how it is.
We'll see just exactly how smart women are at the midterms.
Sorry, Mr. Blow. Trump is clearly an equal opportunity bully. He insults everyone he doesn’t like or deems a threat, regardless of race or gender. NYT has a really helpful list of 487 people Trump has insulted and all the quotes proving that he’s just plain mean to everyone. Google it.
He beat up on every white male in the republican primaries (little Marco, low energy Jeb, lying Ted). He called Kasich “dumb” and Mark Cuban both “dopey” and “too dumb to run for president”. He use dozens of similar epithets against Karl Rove, the Bushes, the republic establishment, and many other white-male targets.
We all agree that Trump is an odious troll. I don’t think that insulting minorities or women is any more disgusting, childish, or damaging to our national dialog than insulting white men.
3
In your example of his insults, his very limited vocabulary is quite striking.
1
And not a word about the highly intelligent blonde female pundits populating Fox News. I wondered what had become of the Stepford wives until l tuned to Fox, an equal opportunity employer.
2
Trump exhibits classic transference syndrome. We all know he is dumb. He knows himself how dumb he is. Insulting and personal attacks are designed to undermine others which is why he is so disgusting. Yep. Trump is disgusting and dumb.
That is to say we have an ignorant nasty excuse for a human being for President. When will we rid ourselves of this onerous idiot?
5
Thank you for your support, Mr. Blow.
I really enjoyed this piece, Mr. Blow. You have certainly proven that you are not a dummy.
Sincerely,
A woman
Dear Mr. Blow, One of the most insightful discussions I have heard regarding the quandary we find our country in was held during the Bill Maher show you appeared on this past Friday. There was compelling explanation regarding the distractions Trump is dutifully providing to facilitate the long-term goals of the Koch brothers to modify our constitution, specifically the 17 the Amendment. Their end game is to revert the process of appointing congressional Senators by state legislature as the constitution originally stipulated. Supreme Court appointments aside, selecting Senators based upon something other than a popular vote would provide a select few with an unprecedented level of control over all matters America. Further discussion was held regarding the deliberate and currently successful strategy the Koch brothers and Russia are engaged in to fracture our laws and our society.
It would greatly behoove us all to take a step back from the presidential lies, Twitter storms, and red meat rallies to see how Trump is just a pawn in much larger and much more insidious threat to our constitution and the American way of life. The time for hand wringing ended in November 2016. We need action and we need it now.
2
Schoolyard stuff. Unworthy of comment.
We need a woman president, if only to avoid the dumbing down of the intellect by testosterone, which gets stimulated by power and turns off the brain.. Picture Trump saying,"My button is bigger than yours" To North Korea's leader, who is also deep into swagger mode. This is pretty dumb. Picture Trump deciding on the basis of pure racism to take a couple of thousand children away from their parents and lock them up in cages and essentially throw away the keys. Maybe this is just insane rather than just dumb, but either way he has no right to disparage women just because they make him look so excedingly dumb. They really can't help thinking more clearly than Trump. It is not really intentional on their part. He just is so very,very dumb. Sad.
1
Donald Trump displays several signs of the Dunning-Kruger syndrome: a) he obsesses about other people's low intellect; b) he claims very high intellect for himself; c) he's convinced that no concept is beyond his understanding. That this misperception is tangled up with misogyny and racism just makes it worse.
4
Excellent summary of a blatantly constant misogynistic behaviour. Any woman voting for that scoundrel must be totally out of her mind - or extremely poorly informed.
3
Women are dumb? Trump spoke these words on July 25:
“We agreed to join forces to protect American and European companies from better and really better than ever we’ve never done like we’re doing I can say from the standpoint of the United States we’ve never done this well but we’re going to do a lot better after we do this deal and other deals that we’re currently working on. Likewise, the European Union is going to do better, stronger, bigger.”
This outpouring of words searching for a sentence occurred in the Rose Garden. The very stable genius even had notes in front of him.
9
When it comes down to it, Trump fears minorities and women, especially strong, independent and intelligent women. This, I think, is why he denigrates them so much; it's his 5-year old emotional brain's only way of coping. He also is deeply insecure, so these attacks on intellect and character are his way of boosting himself and his abilities. By calling someone 'dumb', he is implying, of course, that he is 'smart'. By implying someone has a 'low I.Q.', he is implying that he has a high I.Q. (the Stable Genius).
This is what a bully, a weakling and a coward does.
5
In addition to women and minorities, Trump also denigrates disabled. But I think that was taboo enough for even his base, he’s not gone there again.
Trump is a projectionist. Whatever negative quality he assign others (in every sense), I believe he secretly harbors internally. I believe that pretty much describes bigots, racists, abusers in general. A small, weak man. Bigly. Too bad somebody like this is our President.
3
It's been my experience that people who constantly accuse others of being dumb, stupid, racist, etc., are, quite frequently just that. But what Trump is doing is more dangerous because he's actively encouraging racism and bigotry to flourish in America at a time when it shouldn't be.
The GOP laid the groundwork for much of this. The Democrats never really called the GOP out for what they were doing. But, even more important, the hate speech, which is what is destroying any semblance of a national conversation about important issues, divides and alienates us from each other. This is what the GOP, white supremacists, and others want. If we cannot speak as one voice for the good of the country we are not going to see the changes we need to survive.
We need affordable housing. We need a decent health care system instead of the wealth care system we have. We need to improve our educational systems. We need to improve our social safety net. We need to make America a decent place to live in for all of us. That does mean more taxes. It also means spending on all of us regardless of our social or economic status. It means that the upper middle class and the poor should have access to the same high quality programs.
We have to decide what matters in America. If we prefer to elect people like Trump we're going to get nowhere fast. Trump and the GOP are not working for us. We are not important to them except as pawns. Remember that when you vote in November.
7
I agree with Charles Blow that President Trump is mean-spirited, and that he is especially likely to hurl insults at women and minorities. But I am dumbfounded that Mr. Blow has written yet another in a long, long series of columns telling us that Donald Trump is not a nice guy. We all know that.
2
@Chris Rasmussen I think Mr. Blow should keep on giving his opinion on the continuing down slide of the presidency under trump. tump's actions influence how much we go down the scale on all the humane and decent objectives we have set for our country and for which we had been an example in the past.
Most of us knew trump was not a nice guy, yet he got enough electoral college votes to put him in the White House. Never Again.
2
As horrible as Trump is, he is only one man (albeit with lots of influence and power). What disturbs me more than the actions of the current POTUS is the huge number of people who actually think he's doing a good job and who support him. It's beyond me that there are voters and presumably adults (including women and African Americans, whom he regularly denigrates) who believe that this buffoon is a proper representative of the United States.
3
Trump is the dumbest President ever. Before that, he was the dumbest reality TV “star” ever. Before that, he was the dumbest C-List celeb ever.
What’s more, every time he opens his pie hole he reveals himself to be even dumber than we thought. And believe me, that’s not easy to do.
5
To discern the truth, one need only adhere to these three rules of thumb:
1.The truth is the opposite of what Trump says.
2. The truth about any Trump critic or opponent is exactly the opposite of what Trump says about that opponent.
3. Whatever Trump says about his opponents, is true of him.
7
Having read Blow’s Trump deranged rants over the past two years I believe he will be Trump’s next target.
And for good reason.
The entitled mind of Trump sees the rest of mankind beneath him. He has been enabled all of his life, since childhood. His parents taught him no manners. He has gotten away with walking in on teenage girls in their dressing rooms, affairs with porn stars, infidelity to his wives, stiffing his business associates and lying to the American public and the news media on a daily basis. Instead of being soundly slapped in the face like he should be, he gets worshipped by his fellow Republicans. The Democrats must take the House back if Americans reputation is to survive. It doesn’t take a genius to see how far in the toilet we are.
7
@Alden - and the senate, too. It can be done with the willingness to do it. If we don't show up, help good candidates and vote like our country depends on it (which it does), we are as dumb as Trump thinks we are.
1
Those who would believe Trump's labelling these intelligent and highly accomplished women and men of color "dumb" are the same who would support him should he shoot someone on Fifth Avenue. They are as he called them while expressing his love for them " the highly undereducated." That he is exploiting and lying to them is dangerous and to use his limited vocabulary SAD.
5
How many NY Times "have you no sense of decency, sir" articles do we need before we can, once and for all, deem Trump a racist and a misogynist? Because, guess what, he has no decency, and the first rule of the Trump era is there are no more rules. However, when liberals are told they need to take a stand, its "giving the Republicans a win." Remember the "some are good people" speech? One article on Abolish Ice and the NY Times reader is ready to jump on Trump's Golden Escalator Ride. This is where we are right now, and you can either get in the game and oppose Trump at every turn or get out of the way and join him.
1
I disagree with many of the commenters about Trump's lack of intelligence, keeping in mind that there are many forms of intelligence. He's certainly smart at getting what he wants and I suspect that he "plays dumb" to work his anti-intellectual, anti-elite theme. I believe that he lies to dismantle truth, facts, and the media in general, not because he's ignorant of the truth. He might have a learning disability (see how he struggles to read remarks), but that doesn't indicate a lack of intelligence.
His interpersonal intelligence is sadly lacking, especially regarding empathy for those outside his clan. I see him as a black hole of need for attention -- one that can't even be filled by being President, and as someone who likes to downgrade women and people of color. Trump's not dumb, unless we count racism and misogyny as stupid (which they are, really).
1
@Joan Phelan Everyone has intelligence. It is the scale of it and how it is applied that makes the person. trump is below average--and, no-- cheating tenants and contractors does not require intelligence, just a low-life mentality.
1
@Joan Phelan - People with high intelligence also have a good sense of humor. Trump has no sense of humor.
Trump is widely attacked by women and blacks. So of course he does it to them. However, he does it because that is how he fights, not because he specifically attacks women and blacks that way. Trump respects all women in the political arena who are brainy. But he dismisses those who are ordinary. The words "dumb" and "dumber" are not to be taken in the sense Charles Blow means.
53
@Estaban Goolacki
Trump still believes England and Great Britain mean the same thing. A real genius, our president. To be called out by him with a sophomoric slur is actually a badge of honor. He is obviously threatened by intelligence.
4
@Estaban Goolacki
But they are when it comes to you.
@Estaban Goolacki That is a lame excuse, which boils down to the most childish "they attacked me first..." kind of nonsense. Trump respects no one, with perhaps the exception of Putin, but even in Putin's case it is more likely DT fears rather than respects him.
For clarification sake, the meaning of the terms "dumb" and "dumber" are far too simple and basic to have finely nuanced and complex meanings, particularly in the manner in which Trump uses them. Trump has attacked some of the most brilliant women in the world because he has a tiny fragile ego that matches his tiny fragile brain--he fears women and is constantly and ineffectively trying to knock them down a peg. Intelligent women see all of his pathetic insecurities and this is why Trump fears them.
5
It would help getting voters to the polls if someone would list every demeaning comment and insult Trump has made about minorities and women. Just a big long list of his despicable comments.
4
I find your thoughts about why our leader demeans women very interesting.
There is one other thing that I believe might lead to this unrealistic behavior. Mr Trump is actually afraid of women, and minorities, and by demeaning them and calling them dumb, it makes him feel more superior.
So sad...
4
I agree with point. Would be more powerful with data on distribution of insults. Given frequent use of data in this column, why not here?
1
For more than 10 years, we have found that, throughout most of America, female freshman entering college outnumber their male counterparts. I have heard a few theories on this including the problem of male teens devoting too much of their time in pursuit of video games and an uptick in risky behavior such as extreme sports. Meanwhile, more female teens — despite a widespread addiction to smartphones and social media — have had a knack for keeping up with their studies in the pursuit of college entry and a career.
As the dad of PhD candidate in archaeology, I know how smart women are. Of course, intelligence as been wrapped in the brains of both genders since "time began" and I will leave that to scientists to figure that out.
A few years ago, while shooting a wedding for the daughter of an old friend, I had the delightful experience of hearing the conversation of the bridal couple and their equally well-educated friends — nearly all of whom had earned PhD and MD degrees. From practicing physicians to medical research, these "kids" gave me hope for America's future.
These young men and women are going to shape the future of our country; they will rid us of Trump, Trumpistas and their ilk, or at least send them scurrying back under their rocks.
Trump's war against women AND men who disagree with him will bury his chances for reelection. Hopefully, a blue wave will offer an opportunity to remove him from office earlier than later. We can only hope.
8
It takes one, to think they know another. His actions and deeds speaks for themselves, where commentary is no longer necessary, especially from him. Credibility has never existed, and unfortunately is not valued.
3
People who call others stupid, dumb, or ANY OTHER put down, do so because they feel even lesser than those they use these phrases & words at. They have to or they must cease to exist. Those who talk about women, people of color, people of lower economic lives (i.e. POOR) as less than are not supremacists of any stripe. They are inferiorcists. How many true geniuses act this way? A few, for there are those who just hate people in general in all strata of the species. All people. But, mostly, people like trump, learned early that they are so defective they must attack, at least by mouth, everyone, so they aren’t shoved to the side. For then, many of them would be gently cared for, mostly by keeping them from doing anything. Trump only became head of the family business because his brother died. His father prefered an active alcoholic to someone of ‘such small brain’ (sorry Pooh, you have more humanity in you than any politician), & ignored him, until he was all that was left (sisters don’t count, as you basically said Mr Blow). But, he was never allowed to stand on his own until his father’s Alzheimer’s progressed too far. Then the downward spiral started (what else do you call 6 bankruptcies?). He knows it, & wants to destroy the USA before he dies, to prove his ‘very stable intelligence’, of which he is neither, stability or intelligence. Destruction is his way of life. Many of followers live the same way of life, hate rules their lives. So they say we are ‘haters’.
3
I think Mr. Blow and other pundits’ criticism could be more effective if they called out Trump for the “dumbness” of his attacks. Yes, he seems to disproportionately call men and women of color “dumb” and that is racist and misogynist, but the more important point is that his fans, and even some of his MSM critics like Mr. Blow, give him lots of attention for essentially empty insults. Trump never dares to try to explain what actions or policies are dumb. Instead, he’s obviously threatened by anyone with their own big media presence who dares to criticize him.
2
I'm not a mental health professional, but I suspect that our moronic president also suffers from a severe case of RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). Here are some of the telltale signs:
Control issues. They may be disobedient, defiant, and argumentative [in person and especially on Twitter].
Anger problems. Anger may be expressed directly, in tantrums or acting out, or through manipulative, passive-aggressive [or solely aggressive in this case] behavior. For example, they may give a high five [or handshake] that hurts or hug someone too hard [or grab their you know what].
Difficulty showing care and affection. They may act in an inappropriately affectionate way with strangers [or the U.S. flag] while displaying little or no affection towards their parents [or all of humanity].
An underdeveloped [or non-existent] conscience. They may act like they don’t have a conscience and fail to show guilt, regret, or remorse after behaving badly [or lying endlessly].
6
Although IQ scores may not always be a reliable measure of human intelligence, I agree with Mr. Blow about Trump's regressive views on women and people of color. Dumb? Trump has mastered the art of dumb by failing to grasp opportunities to make a real difference in peoples's lives, acts like a two-year-old when he doesn't get his way, and incriminates himself in the process. He may have "street" or survival smarts, but he lacks true self-awareness and the ability to reflect, and in his case, being always right must be exhausting. Now that's what I call dumb!
7
@Birdygirl Please try to write positive things about Democrats rather than following the Trump shiny objects distractions. The Republicans are trying to divide Democrats. WaPo and the NYTimes should have a policy of not falling for Trumps' and Rudy's inflammatory distractions. Instead, they should seek out every Democrat running in a tough campaign against a Republican and talk about the qualifications and goals of the Democratic candidate. Don't let Trump distract you so much, Charles Blow!
2
@Birdygirl Trump is any thing but dumb. He has fooled 78 million Americans into voting against their own best interests and for Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
We will never end the horrors of the Trump Administration by calling him and his family dumb (e.g. Ivanka dumb as a brick in book "Fire and Fury". I would say a gold brick.) She may act dumb but somehow everything she does ends up making her and her family richer and better off than "we" are.
Trump is smart, energetic, and a workaholic. Don't underestimate him.
But do start reasonaly estimating - and talking about - Democrats who are running for office, highly qualified candidates who will work for the middle class.
1
Whenever he (it) open's his mouth, he's projecting his own failings, his own insecurities and his own failings. It's not rocket science to understand him.
5
Trump's greatest triumph has been to create a truly schizophrenic nation, divided now into two camps: those who buy his lies and, in the case of those who know better, simply don't care -- and in the case of those who don't know better, simply don't care to find out . . . they're blissful, smitten with and happy to exist in his delusional, fake, vindictive reality, including, abetted and fueled by his racism and misogyny; -- and the others of us who know he is lying, know he is creating a false reality that plays to the lowest common denominator of his base. Watching his rallies during the last week, checking the facts, and noting the ratcheting up of his lies (parallel to the ratcheting up of the Mueller investigation as it gets ever and ever closer) cemented this for me. The divide is complete; the losers are truth, unity, and the American people -- all of us. The insatiable need to always have an opponent and to always be a victim, to be perpetrate the myth of being picked on; the bullying of people he perceives as weaker, vulnerable or inferior; the turning back whatever he is accused of being (unstable, stupid) on those who criticize him; and his innate ability to sense what will rile up his base (including the mounting falsehoods, many of which result from his complete misunderstanding and lack of knowledge along with his racism and misogyny) makes the danger of his presidency clearer and clearer with each passing week.
8
I've offered this thought before without publication but feel the need to put it forward again: the man is mentally ill.
Check the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual (DSM) that mental health professionals use to catalogue theses psychiatric disorders. Page 714 of DSM - 4 lists the characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Trump meets all nine.
And there's no cure. And it gets progressively worse.
18
For a President of the United States to insult a sitting member of Congress is simply unheard of and shameful. Even worse is the lack of response from Congress to this blatant breach of the decency and dignity that we expect and require from those we have elected to lead our republic. There can be no excuse for this behavior, nor for any elected official to spew such invective at anyone. An appalling spectacle that I hope never to see again.
John McCoy
Long Beach, CA
11
Typical extraction of the singular to the entirety.... the President's blurts were target specific not blanket ..
And most with an unbiased eye would honestly have to
confess - if not openly -- as accurate
Glad you noticed. Finally.
You got the 14th Amendment. When do I get my ERA?
5
It's ignorance, cruelty and hatred that drives 45. He is shrewd in manipulation and appealing to false emotions. Bet he couldn't pass a Civics exam, or questions on our Constitution. He has no interest in knowledge just greed and power.
19
All these complaints on intelligence recall the Shakespeare line “Methinks thou doth protest too much”.
Quote from Mr Blow "It might strike some as just another insult for a petulant urchin of a man who insults everyone whom he takes issue"
I help out with some Marine Ecology field projects. One looks at the impact of Sea Urchins on marine environment. Sea Urchins as well as being spiky pests, will if unchecked graze the sea bottom of all sedentary life leaving behind a desert informally knows as an "Urchin Barrens".....how very appropriate in the context of Mr Trump
11
Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump dog whistles while Northern California burns. Does history repeat?
10
What’s sad is how many people in this comment section defend Trump with some version of, he “attacked” him first.” James made a fairly mild statement about Trump’s objectively devisive tweets and Trump went immediately to DEFCON 10. It would be like being buzzed by a mosquito and going for your flame thrower in response.
15
@ Robbiesimon - The numbers we all should want to see aren't Trump's IQ but his tax returns, which will very likely be lower.
18
It's the 50th anniversary of Republican's Southern Strategy. With Trump it has lost any pretense and has metastasized into full blown racism.
8
This story is a sad commentary on our society today when we have a president, a supposed college graduate who speaks (and tweets) like a 4th or 5th grade dropout criticizing a Catholic high school graduate who speaks far more eloquently. Trump should heed the advice "better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
24
If only someone would print ‘I was insulted by Trump’ badge and give it to those insulted, we could turn this into a badge of honor! To be insulted would then become an affirmation of ones integrity, intelligence, honor, patriotism....
13
Demeaning an opponent, rather than debating their reasoning, is called *ad hominem*.
Unfortunately, it's often highly effective as it removes rationality from an argument, and as such, it can't be argued against.
It's a tactic used by bullies and people who don't have the intelligence to win debates by rational persuasion.
14
My thoughts are in complete agreement with all these comments. We once had a presidency rich in eloquence and maturity but now has now been downgraded to a secretive and vile schoolhouse environment - replacing the once respected White House authority of the United States of America. Sadly, nothing is going to change.
14
@carlo1
I miss President Obama every single day. Thank you for your post.
8
I saw Charles on Bill Maher the other night and his performance was compelling. He is unfailingly articulate and his passion is inspirational. I just wish his actual audience was, a bit more broad than the folks reading him in the NY Times.
11
Mr. Trump seems incapable of having a respectful interaction with anyone who disagrees with him. I think we've all been given a very public demonstration of how he's conducted his businesses over the years. He's a terrible role model.
10
Lebron gives to a school for at risk children, Trump had a school that put students at risk, to the tune of $25 million.
20
Well, I don’t want to defend Trump but those who enrolled in Trump University weren’t exactly geniuses.
@PaulN So you think that low income people looking for a way to improve their status and trusting a man who was touted as a successful businessman are to blame for allowing themselves to be defrauded?
By your reasoning, those who voted for trump aren't exactly geniuses.
1
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for helping me here with perspective. Do we all know that the I.Q. test scores of some people of color were changed (when too high) during the early days of our apartheid (1952), when I was 12 years old, and was tested?. I still remember some of the acutely racist questions. The beat goes on, huh?
10
President Trump is anything but dumb and dumber. He won the presidential election which was not supposed to happen. He campaigned against 16 mostly established Republicans and won the nomination. He beat Hillary Clinton by winning the electoral college vote which put him into office. This was never predicted to occur against a woman who had had political experience and was highly favored to win.
I would say this was very clever of Mr. Trump and the people loved his message. They see the positive results he has achieved snd continue to support him. If he continues to have this success, he is guaranteed to be reelected.
The people agree he is being attacked by the liberal media snd despise them. They are starting to react by calling out individual correspondents like Jim Acosta at the rallies. They have tuned out these liberal media outlets and no longer pay attention to them. They listen to our president who is as popular as ever. They are also drawing people towards him and they are ecstatic with his results. He is not dumb at all.
@WPLMMT
I'll agree that he was clever enough to get his BFF Putin to put his thumb on the scales and tilt the election in his favor.
But the fact remains, 3 MILLION more people voted for HRC than Trump. He won by technicality ... with fewer people than it takes to fill the University of Texas football stadium on a Saturday afternoon. Sad.
4
I don’t think we read the same op-ed. No, Trump is not dumb- he is a first class manipulator of people and the media. This piece is about the racism and sexism inherent in his shameful and unprofessional comments about the intellect of other people- largely women and African Americans.
3
He is, without argument, the most unpopular president since 1945. Perhaps you are following the wrong media outlets.
1
I'm not going to get into a debate about the intelligence of professional athletes. I suspect that most of them simply have paid more attention to athletics than academics, and most schools -- even the best of them -- encourage and reward this. Trump is entitled to his opinion as to who is smart and who is stupid, of course, but the real issue for me is that, right or wrong, it is appropriate to keep that opinion to yourself. As for looking for a pattern of racism or sexism in Trump's opinions about intelligence, Blow is grasping at straws, however. I think Trump's targets are simply those who say (to his mind) disparaging things about the President, and race, ethnicity, and gender are besides the point. It's people like Blow, in constantly looking for bigotry, do a disservice to those who really are trying to root out systemic racism and sexism. Like the child who cried "wolf," Blow is doing very real harm to the country. Why, you might even think that his purpose is to create divisions and chaos in the electorate ...
3
@Titian
Statistical analyses of patterns in DJT's tweets have demonstrated sexist and racist patterns. So, CB is not "grasping at straws" or "looking for bigotry" or "creating divisions"... rather, he's reporting on it.
4
The irony of Trump's 'low I.Q.' tweets is not lost on me: he's the guy who used The Rolling Stones' song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" as a closing song at the R.N.C. The song is about drugs and violence.
That is some serious 'low I.Q.'
19
The president should be able to disagree with someone's policies without resorting to ad hominem attacks, but then so should editorial writers, pundits, and the people who comment on these articles.
2
@J. Waddell
But the president ought not be the instigator of such attacks. The president should set the example. It's plainly obvious that the president of the united states of america has issue with being truthful and maintaining a level headed demeanor with even the most pedestrian matters.
6
@J. Waddell
"...ad hominem attacks..." -- EXACTLY!
(note my similar comment made a few minutes ago)
@J. Waddell This is an OPINION column, not an editorial. People who read OPINION columns should know the difference. (Hint: Opinion columns have the opinion writer's name; editorials do not.)
1
I'd like to introduce a new quotient in these troubled times. Let's call it a Compassion Quotient.
And just to keep everyone happy we'll draw our baseline with the Squatter in the Oval Office. He will be "0".
Now, let's see how low we can go.
I wager someone lower than zero is not going to crop up overnight.
7
@mj There could be many out there 'lower than 0'. All it takes is a ton of money from the Republican Party and you'll have '00' to tend with. We the people.......
Women of all ages, colors, beliefs, ethnicities: Unite against this man. Stop him now.
"Don't let him".
19
@josie8
What about men of all ages, colors, beliefs and ethnicities? Can't we join you in stopping him?
4
Trump needs to be shunned. We all need to stop noting/repeating his name calling and rabbling rousing--ignore him. Reporters need to stop attending the so called press conferences at the White House until the lying and stone walling stops. Report the actions taken by the administration, the news, but don't mention his name. Trump spews his ignorance daily and it needs to be ignored. Ignoring him won't stop his tweets, but we, the people, don't need to encourage him by reacting to them. It is what he lives for--attention.
27
@Louise Yes, Yes, ignore him, his family, his tweets, but do not forget nor ignore the wrongs he has already done and the investigation to bring him to Justice.
2
Still waiting for Mr. Trump to release his I.Q. test results; SAT scores; high school or college grade point averages; or...anything quantitative and objective.
Until then, I’ll continue to believe his I.Q. is in the room temperature range.
23
@Robbiesimon Room temperature - Antarctic or Amazon (the region that is)
1
Even sadder is Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi are routinely savaged for being smart women.
President Obama, an extremely smart, thoughtful man is having a very successful 2 terms of achievement undermined simply because of his race.
I suspect when illegitimate President Trump has run out of President Obama's achievements to reverse his head will be empty.
20
@HL Then being President won't be any fun for the child-in-chief.
2
While I understand that your president has proven broadly insulting to women and African Americans, might it be possible to construe such insults, coming from such a low-life, as actual compliments, perhaps even as evidence of little more than his hopeless envy?
Given that I am a white male, at first glance, it would seem that I’ll never be the recipient of such a back-handed compliment. Ah, but wait, perhaps as a Canadian, I might still qualify to be some day singled out for name-calling by your president for he has also shown himself to be a world-class xenophobe. Not that it would ever happen but, if it did, rest-assured it would eclipse any other honour I’ve received.
Although I shouldn’t have to point this out, all of this means that, if you’re ever the recipient of praise by this pustule you call a president, well, then I’d be truly insulted. It’s now a very much upside-down world.
8
For the record what exactly is Trump's IQ or is that in the same category as his income tax returns?
7
Trump is merely talking about himself. If he's so smart let him take an IQ test. Then, if his IQ is high enough, he can brag to the entire world he's a Mensa person. Donald, if you have to look up the word Mensa, your brains are rattling around in your empty skull.
7
"Who looks dumb now? Yes, Trump."
I disagree. He's always looked dumb.
8
Trump is a racist and everything that he does is through the
ideology of a white nationalist/white supremacist,
as he is trying to make America white, and is trying to make
black and brown citizens into second class people,
who have no legal rights, is harassed by the police
and immigration officers - as these officers have been imbued
with this racist ideology and do as they are told.
After Trump is gone from the political scene America will be broken and will need healing - lets hope that the Democrats
will be able and committed enough to restore the confidence of every American in its institutions, the rule of law,
and the Constitution.
Trump unleashed racism - but the GOP and the Republicans have used racist ideology as an undercurrent in their policies and their campaigns - and has been trying to bring back a Jim Crow type of society where whites are the dominant ethnic group - just like South Africa's apartheid regime.
Trump is dumb and very stupid as the Special Counsel is getting closer to the Russian criminal conspiracy that hacked the 2016 election in favor of Trump.
Can't wait for the rule of law to come to Trump and his cronies.
7
@PropagandandTreason
Dirt, Deceit, Lies and Russians.
Trump has been caught about meeting the Russians to get dirt on his opponent, and Trump Jr. is at the centre
of the Russian meeting.
GOTCHA.
Trump has been caught being a racist in plain sight,
and where are the Republicans who reject Trump's
racist ideology - which is part of white nationalism.
Trump spouts out racist garbage about African Americans, and peddles a very dangerous ideology
that will eventually destroy him in history.
In history Trump will be known as a racist who tried to make America white, and take away the rights of black and brown people.
"We the people" rejects Trump and all what he stands for in his personal swamp.
Garbage in garbage out.
Can't wait for the November elections.
1
Trump's tweet was clearly a racist attack. Trump is a sick and dangerous person.
5
Yeah, Trump’s a racist and a misogynist; we really don’t need to debate that. What I think is interesting is that he so frequently takes insults that have been aimed at him and uses them on other people. Pretty much everyone has called him “an idiot” (including his cabinet), so he responds by calling others idiots. “You’re a doodyhead: no, YOU’RE a doodyhead!” Yes folks, the free world is being led by a second grader.
7
@WDP
Remember DJT’s performance in the second presidential candidates debate? “No puppet!”, he yelled at Secretary Clinton. “No puppet! No puppet! You’re the puppet!”. So he proved himself an immature, spoiled brat on television in front of millions of viewers. Many of them still voted for him. Ironically, it is becoming more and more evident that DJT is, after all, a puppet who allows many people besides Vladimir Putin to pull his strings.
2
To be fair, even compared to most of us men Trump is pretty dumb.
4
Trump is a classic bully who prefers to wage his wars against people whom he considers vulnerable: women, minorities, immigrants and the disabled. Why? Because he thinks that they won't fight back. Time was, he would have been right. But he is also King of Projection, so on some deep level, he must know that he's really, really, really quite dumb.
10
Trump is a racist, misogynist and a coward. Those views inform fuel his every action, perspective, behavior, and decision. His use of the word "dumb" in reference to the people mentioned is evidence of his ignorance, indifference, opacity and emotional immaturity. The bluff, bluster, lies and are name calling are just further signs of his arrested development as a person...much less a President.
5
He likes nicknames. How about Dumb Donald?
13
Trump gets attacked, sometimes by people he has never met, he fights back and the liberal media accuses Trump of attacking. Think Mr. Khan, Maxine Waters and now LeBron. Think Jim Acosta and Jennifer Ruben. Think Schumer and Pelosi. Meanwhile, Sarah Sanders gets criticized for her looks, including calling her fat, and no outrage from the liberal media. A liberal comedian calls Ivanka the C word. Again, no outrage on the Left. What a bunch of hypocrites you lefties are, today in the form of Charles Blow. It is shameful.
@Jason V. When you're president of the US, people who have "never met" you get to criticize you, based on what you do and say in public.
4
@Jason V.
Actually the "liberal" comedian was called out quite loudly by the left or did you just read headlines? Al Franken had to exit stage left immediately for a photo of him pretending to grope a woman. The left is a far harsher judge of it's own than the right. The right passes out get-out-of-jail-free cards like candy to it's own.
1
You can expect nothing but craziness from a severe malignant narcissistic like our POTUS. It’s all part of his personality disorder and his constant knocking people who disagree with him renders him nothing but crazy. Can you just imagine the self talks he has with himself. He reminds me of a clock-cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.
15
Please! Tell me you’re not saying the man is a misogynistic racist.
FAKE NEWS:)
1
President Dumb and Dumber still in the white house.
When President Dumb and Dumber is no longer in the white house I will happily refer to him as (ex) President Dumb and Dumber.
Until such a time he is "president" dangerous and dangerouser.
9
Mr. Blow, you are very smart to understand this part of Trump and write about it.
Now, which part of our intellect do we need to exercise to write about the heinous "leftist" and "socialist" mob violence which broke out in Portland these past few weeks against ICE.
You know, the protests in which the Portland mayor stated that the ICEW agents would get no assistance from the Portland police because the mayor did not agree with their "mission."
Golly, Mr. Blow, where have we heard that before?
Oh, yeah, from George Wallace and white Southern supremacists in the 60s.
But is the NYT stupid for not accurately reporting on the terror spread by anti-ICE "socialists" and the stupidity of a mayor of a major American city who denies trapped federal agents the aid of the local police?
Seems there's enough stupidity to go around.
Did you know that some of the "protestors" taunted a black ICE agent as "house n----"?
Does that make the leftist protestors and the Portland mayor dumb, or is Donald Trump still the dumbest of them all?
2
There is another meaning of the word “dumb,” which is mute, as in, were Trump only. Then he would, simply, be dumb and...dumb.
4
As the saying goes, "if DJT had dynamite for brains, he couldn't even blow his nose."
12
Charles, to call Trump just dumb is like saying that Hitler and Mussolini were gentlemen.
Because like the men I mentioned above , Trump is a personification of every adjectives in the dictionary to describe a horrible human being.
Since there was hardly a man who could possess all the ugly qualities of Trump, all the major dictionaries left out a single word to describe the worst human being on earth right now.
Time and time again ,Trump has given us the opportunity to see a person who's a traitor to his country, a foul mouthed sexist next. A pure racist at heart and a misogynist, liar of the first order, a homophobic, a philanderer, a would be pedophile who used to deliberately barge into the changing rooms of young girls as little as 12 years old contesting for top prizes in young beauty pageants in his Atlantic City casinos and saying,"Don't worry, I've seen it all in my life."
Now who would say that to young girls unless he's a pedophile. And his attempts now to stop abortions all over the country faults the rumors circling around in many circles that our illegitimate president forced many of his female conquests to abort their unwanted children, the ones resulted from many of his one-night stands with hundreds of women.
So to call Maxine Waters, "a low I.Q. woman". And starting a chant in all his earlier rallies "Lock Hillary up" won't exhume the skeletons in his closets which say that he hates powerful women who can pose a challenge to his masculinity.
Go figure !
7
@ihatejoemcCarthy
Thank you. So well stated!
1
Sad when the NYT engages int he same mud-brawl name-calling as President Trump. This makes everyone look bad, including Mr. Blow. It would be nice if someone took the high ground. President Trump and this NYT columnist seem incapable of that path.
1
@John Jabo Mr. Blow is an "opinion columnist" and he writes about his views...not those of the NYT.
The NYT shares its views in "editorials."
1
Some things never change, and 1 of them is author's attacks on our c-in=c,his integrity, his intelligence! Imagine denigrating i.q. of a U. of Penn graduate, novice politician who won the presidency over the "invincible" Clinton machine, best reader of contracts in the business, and whose adroit handling of the economy has resulted in lowest unemployment in decades, and highest g.d.p.Folks read Times newspaper to be informed, but by what standard can 1 say that present article adds to our understanding of issues, broadens our horizons? Author's defense of Maxine Waters raises questions which r not answered: (1) How did she acquire such vast wealth on her Congressional salary and (2)her defense of a gang leader who crushed the head of Reginald Denny,truckdriver, with a rock, caught innocently in L.A. riots 2 decades ago, brain damaged for life.Re Lebron James, ,he's an athlete, not an intellectual!Prowess on the basketball court should not be confused with sagacity, bookishness.For a change, author should try doing some original research, enlighten us on subjects besides his own personal biases.1 possibility:Connect the dots with respect to killings of 5 Dallas p.o.'s and DM's diappearance from the public square. Was Micah Johnson not an adherent of BLM?
2
@Alexander Harrison Is this intended to be satire?
1
@Alexander Harrison--Thanks for the comic relief.
1
@A2er:What many fellow commenters lack, including yourself, is discernment, lack of intellectual curiosity. Why are you not more critical of author's evasiveness, no se ofenda, his constant attacks w/o substance, reluctance to do original research?How are we more informed, more enlightened because of Mr. Blow's venting? Why do I read only ad hominem attacks, but never a serious debate about policy, as in open borders, for or against?No doubt u are a product of the modern educational system in which criticism of far left "idees recues" r out of the question, "mon avis!"Have you ever heard of WESTBROOK PEGLER?
I suspect that even Mr. Blow can understand that not everyone has the same level of intelligence. In other words, some people are dumber than others.
Mr. Blow certainly believes this about Mr. Trump -- Blow thinks (and frequently writes) that Trump is very dumb (in addition to thinking and writing that Trump is unfeeling, racist, and generally evil incarnate).
But now Mr. Blow professes himself to be shocked -- shocked -- that Trump would say that some of his opponents and critics are dumb.
Keep flailing, Mr. Blow, no matter how futile and dumb that flailing is.
Aw, Charles, very few humans are 'bright'. Almost all are average, and 'average' is very different throughout the world. Or, as Harvey Pekar said to Letterman, "Average is stupid!"
Charles, the president is simply calling black people stupid, period. His supporters buy into the old Step N Fetchit dog whistle name-calling and love it.
Republicans and Fox News don’t like it when black athletes express themselves about racial injustice in America. Laura Ingraham shouldn’t tell LeBron to “shut up and dribble", she should commend LeBron for putting children in school.
LeBron personifies the American spirit that’s so absent from a wide swath of American society today. America would be much better off if there were more people like LeBron James than the president and Ms. Ingraham.
12
By trump’s definition of stupid, we must agree he is right.
Stupid is anyone that would aspire to a higher moral ground, seeking to help improve the lives of people they cannot gain anything from. Look at trump – his total obsession with himself helped make him president. What have random acts of kindness gotten anybody – stupid.
The most profound wisdom is discovered on a toilet seat. Anybody that has to move beyond the bathroom is stupid.
Anybody that reads is stupid. Why read when Fox news tells you exactly what the truth is and how to think. Facts are stupid.
Anybody that doesn’t understand that a good weekend day should be spent golfing, instead of recognizing accomplishments, heroism, tragedy, or sorrow is stupid. It would be an insult to god to not be grateful for the weather god provided trump to play golf.
Recognizing anything at all that happened before trump was born, and had personal experience with, is stupid. That stuff has already happened. Why revisit things like the holocaust. Besides those are Jews, they read backwards. That’s stupid.
Anybody that doesn’t speak English is stupid.. It’s really easy to use, and you can get your point across without having to know any big words.
So yes, I am stupid. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. So let’s get to the next level of insults and bullying.
2
Trump and his father got in trouble over denying blacks apartments in the 1970's.
This was not as racist as it seems. Their operating principal was greed. They knew renting to blacks would have some whites reject the apartments.
If blacks were the most moneyed people in that era, Trump would have sported an afro hairdo.
2
Trump has the 'brain' of a 5-year old and it would seem the only way he can increase it to a 7-year old is to call everyone DUMB! It would be a pleasure to have all the "Dummies" he has named, sit down with him (in a 'controlled/no cheating room) and have them all take an IQ test. We would then see (without question) Trump is DUMB AND DUMBER than them all.
13
Correction: that's President Dumb and Dumberer.
Life imitating art, again.
2
Trump is dumber than a tree stump. Fred bought Dondon's admission to Wharton, and basically paid his way through. Classmates considered him a joke.
He's a full time fraud, in every endeavor that matters... disgusting to boot. It will be interesting to see if America survives it's ambulatory cesspool.
5
@Remember in November
Ambulatory cesspool. I will not forget that one.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. In America, the man with half a brain is President.
13
Thank you yet again Charles Blow. It must be exhausting to continue eloquently exposing the racist in chief. I've reached the point where all I can muster is rage. Trump enjoys pointing out his triumps?. Well one thing he has been successful at, and it definitely suits the topic of your opinion, he is responsible for the dumbing down of the most prestigious position in the world. We have a leader with the vocabulary, demeanor and self control of a third grader.
4
If trump was smart he would keep his mouth shut and keep his thumbs off his phone. But he`s not and we are constantly given proof of his inadequacies. his most notable failure is his failure to put his brain in gear before trying to put his mouth in motion. This is why he doesn`t dare go in front of Mueller, he would dig his own grave. As the bailiffs lead him away his parting comment will be - what did i say that was so wrong. Not wrong dummy, just dumb.
12
Mr. Trump has never called Mr. Blow dumb which makes Blow sad that he doesn't rate. Sad.
2
And what about Al Capone who Trump just labelled
Public Enemy #1 while comparing him unfavorably to Manafort?
Al supplied a major portion of the wet goods needed to keep America afloat during Prohibition, donated generously to charity and never connived with Russians or Ukrainians or Republican operatives. (Well, perhaps he connived just a little bit with Republicans,)
Moreover, he limited most of his killings and other violence to his fellow gangsters.
Can the same thing be said of Manafort and his Ukrainian clients?
Besides which, Al was a nice dresser just like Manafort and took a swell mugshot.
Anyway, we all know who the real Public Enemy #1 of this country is.
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/al-capones-soup-kitchen-great-depressio...
https://www.history.com/topics/prohibition/pictures/al-capone-and-prohib...
3
I have a proposal for "The Dotard in Chief".
If you are so smart...PROVE IT!!
Release verified your IQ, verified SAT scores, and PSAT scores.
Also, if you took these tests:
National Merit Scholarship Test...you needed a 148 or better to be a semi-finalist in Fall 1963.
GRE
What were your GPAs at Fordham and Penn?
Your numbers must be verified by the appropriate test givers.
You have now been officially Double Dog Dared!
15
The NYT does not like analogies that include Hitler in the subject, but this is a reference to trump's bigotry which is well documented as Mr. Blow says in this article.
Hitler called Einstein dumb because he was a Jew. Trump's calling someone dumb almost always falls into this category. Trump's belittling most of the media as fake is his way of calling the reporters of news dumb.
It does not matter how smart or informed you are. If you do not agree with him in every way you are branded as dumb and fair game for the attacks of his followers. Indeed, dumb is a wink to his rabid followers to make those attacks much as Hitler did before Crystal nockt.
I am not saying that Trump is Hitler. I am saying that authoritarians to control their base will use key words to establish their authority with their base and Trump falls into this pattern as he ridicules his opposition with the label Dumb.
14
Basic error of logic to label someone as unintelligent as your argument against their argument.
Remember projection is one of the essential skills of a Narcissist. The pot calling the kettle black is projection. "You are dumb" is the Narcissist's defense for his horrifying, hidden fear: I am dumb.
Dumb, liddle, lyin... they all fit.
11
Trump has always sounded stupid. That he draws much of his support from white men in his own age bracket comes as no surprise.
2
Dumb & dumber?
Why waste words ?
The OVER ARCHING question is: are we looking at CUPIDITY masked as STUPIDITY or STUPIDITY masked as CUPIDITY?
STUPIDITY may be a cover; divisiveness, a tool.
I have to keep this short as it raises my blood pressure.
1
The simpler answer: President Dumb has the vocabulary of, perhaps, a third grader.
2
Dumb and Dumber - I thought you meant Trump and Trump Jr - they certainly fit the bill.
4
Charles, all those people you listed should be proud of themselves. They were so easily able to get under Trump’s skin that he projected his own qualities and insecurities upon them. Such a transparent, malignant narcissistic sociopath!
3
I believe that one-third of the people in this country think exactly as Trump does. They don't believe that all people are created equal. They instead believe that whites are smarter and more capable than African Americans or Hispanics. They believe that men are smarter and more capable than women.
However two-thirds of the people of this country believe in the American ideal that ALL people are created equal and should be given an equal opportunity to make full use of their natural gifts and talents.
Why then is this man our president? Because a great many of the people in the second group did not vote in 2016. They may have been turned off by the negative campaigning, my Russian trolls, by economic restraints, or by cynicism.
The answer to Trump and his one-third is for everyone to get out and vote!! Urge your friends and family members to vote!! Volunteer to drive people to the polls! If you can, donate to fight vote suppression. There are only 92 days until the midterm elections. Act as though our country depends on you, because it does.
6
I don't have Maxine Waters' IQ numbers, which I am sure Trump doesn't have either, but she really does sound like an idiot. I don't get how she has a constituency.
3
In Trumpworld which is really an offshoot of Putinworld, you don’t look at the future, you don’t give people hope; instead you spend your time scapegoating. Trump is good at pulling up old bias and prejudice. He doesn’t do policy to uplift people, he doesn’t care. He temporarily makes his miserable “base” feel better by calling people names. It’s sad for many of them who are caught in an economic or opioid crises because there will never be any guidance or support from the Trump Administration or likely this Republican Congress to help people out. Of course, he may also be following suggestions from both Russian and American Oligarchs to weaken the US so that they (and he as their stooge) can profit. He is a bought person in any case, as are many in Congress. Do we Americans really want that in our future? Do we want that for our children?
2
I would like to say Trump is a moron. But he is not a moron. He is clever indeed. But what is he then? He knows that all of his "dumb and stupid" name calling is obviously false to aware people. And that his race baiting and barely hidden gender shaming are blatantly obvious to you and me. He cares not. We are not his audience. He is driving voter turnout of HIS people. And it all comes down to voter turnout. And Trump knows it. Not stupid at all. Just dangerously evil. You know what you need to do in November. DO IT.
644
@BrianSome people aren't smart enough to be "his audience."
@Brian He is just a predator. All a predator knows how to do is exploit and lie. And all predators need camouflage.
@Brian
He is a moron. The fact that he may be capable in some areas, does not make him any less of a moron. He is condemned by his own public statements. He is very good at shouting and quite good at remembering where his golf courses are, but he's still moronic.
Did any of you expect anything different from Trump? As soon as he won most knew it would be a circus, just what the media needed.
5
It is wonderful that everyday Trump gives us motivation to ensure that we are registered to vote and that we vote. Words cant hurt but they ensure that we all remember them ,the GOP who put children into cages, destroyed the water in Flint Michigan, gave tax breaks to the rich, destroyed health care the list is endless .
So in ever state when we go to vote and stand in long lines we will remember the racism and the deliberate tearing down of American values.
In the short term this a bitter pill to swallow, for all the people who didn't vote and didn't listen to President Obama and vote. You now know what it is like to live in a sick society. The cure is to vote and stay engaged, hold every politician accountable especially the swamp people.
3
President Trump doesn't save his criticisms for any particular group. He is an equal opportunity criticizer. He could say it takes one to know one. They have certainly flung plenty of insults his way to fill a book.
2
While it's undeniable that this president has cynically played to and fanned the flames of racism and sexism for political advantage, the more reliable pattern is that he will praise anyone -- including any woman -- who praises him, and disparage anyone who attacks him.
1