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How smart is Trump really?

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  • How smart is Trump really?

    I want to discuss Trump's intellect, because there has been some disagreement about it on this forum. Here, I define intellect as an indefinite, combined measure of book-smarts and street-smarts, including but not limited to problem solving skills, outside-the-box thinking and knowledge.

    I'm hoping to reach one of the following conclusions through an discussion of his past endeavours:

    1. He's generally below average;
    2. He's generally above average; or
    3. He's good at some, bad at others and those things are...

    People think Trump's multi-billion dollar net worth is proof that he is a smart man. Therefore, I shall start the thread with this article from WaPo.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...=.23246cfd5d9c

    Here's an excerpt:

    "Trump returned to the Rich List in 1996 with a reported net worth of $450 million and an editor’s note that he claimed to be worth $2 billion. He never fell off it again. In his book, O’Brien criticized Forbes for rewarding Trump’s fabrications, citing interviews with “three people with direct knowledge of Donald’s finances” who estimated his true net worth after debts to be “somewhere between $150 million and $250 million.” Trump, who had told O’Brien he was worth $6 billion, sued for libel — and lost. When he lost his appeal in 2011, a New Jersey appellate judge wrote, “The largest portion of Mr. Trump’s fortune, according to three people who had had direct knowledge of his holdings, apparently comes from his lucrative inheritance. These people estimated that Mr. Trump’s wealth, presuming that it is not encumbered by heavy debt, may amount to about $200 million to $300 million. That is an enviably large sum of money by most people’s standards but far short of the billionaires club.” "

    Then there are the allegations of money laundering for the Russians.

    What do you think?

  • #2
    anyone who makes it to the US Presidency is basically by definition not "stupid".

    Trump is a genius at identifying points of weakness and exploiting them. he is also very good at the art of the sell (not deal). he is a great entertainer.

    he is pig-ignorant when it comes to US history, economics, or generally any sort of policy. from his POV he doesn't -need- to be smart on any of that, that is what little people are for. facts? facts are what he makes of them.

    as a real estate developer he was never much of anything; he soon realized that it's his BRAND of extravagant ostentatious living that makes his money. and he extended it to politics.
    There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

    Comment


    • #3
      Almost definitely above-average intelligence, probably something in the neighborhood of 120-ish or more? The average person will have squandered away that amount of cash in no time, especially if it were an inheritance. All of my siblings and cousins spent down their inheritances practically immediately. I split mine between an awesome honeymoon and a downpayment on a house, but everyone else bought cars.

      Plus, take a look at his kids. They're all pretty reasonable intelligent. IQ is heritable.

      He talks like a dumbass, but there are a lot of people who talk like a dumbass despite being relatively intelligent and educated. Like all those college-educated people talking about juice cleanses on my Facebook feed.
      "The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood"-Otto Von Bismarck

      Comment


      • #4
        Well he's either an absolute genius or a complete moron. It'll be easier to reach a conclusion after I find someone who can make sense of what he's saying here in this piece supposedly about the Iran nuclear deal. It is probably beyond my intelligence to comprehend it.

        “Look, having nuclear — my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart — you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it’s true! — but when you’re a conservative Republican they try — oh, do they do a number — that’s why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune — you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged — but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me — it would have been so easy, and it’s not as important as these lives are — nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what’s going to happen and he was right, who would have thought? — but when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners — now it used to be three, now it’s four — but when it was three and even now, I would have said it’s all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don’t, they haven’t figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it’s gonna take them about another 150 years — but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us.”
        Got it from here: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/do...rump-sentence/
        Last edited by Firestorm; 07 May 18,, 18:53.

        Comment


        • #5
          Hope this clears any doubts

          Click image for larger version

Name:	trump_tweet-really_smart_genius.jpg
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          We're in good hands people, relax

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          • #6
            “Look, having nuclear — my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart — you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it’s true! — but when you’re a conservative Republican they try — oh, do they do a number — that’s why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune — you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged — but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me — it would have been so easy, and it’s not as important as these lives are — nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what’s going to happen and he was right, who would have thought? — but when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners — now it used to be three, now it’s four — but when it was three and even now, I would have said it’s all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don’t, they haven’t figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it’s gonna take them about another 150 years — but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us.”

            Paragraph police? Incoherent to me.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by astralis View Post
              anyone who makes it to the US Presidency is basically by definition not "stupid".

              Trump is a genius at identifying points of weakness and exploiting them. he is also very good at the art of the sell (not deal). he is a great entertainer.

              he is pig-ignorant when it comes to US history, economics, or generally any sort of policy. from his POV he doesn't -need- to be smart on any of that, that is what little people are for. facts? facts are what he makes of them.

              as a real estate developer he was never much of anything; he soon realized that it's his BRAND of extravagant ostentatious living that makes his money. and he extended it to politics.
              What Astralis said.

              Also, he's a genius at constantly lying and either not knowing or not caring that he's lying. This is called being a sociopath.

              Regarding his supposed business acumen, as I've stated before, it's easy to be "successful" when you f--k your vendors out of payment and declare bankruptcy when things go south.

              I'll accept Warren Buffet as a having a genius business acumen. Not somebody who's failed his way upwards.
              “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Firestorm View Post
                Well he's either an absolute genius or a complete moron. It'll be easier to reach a conclusion after I find someone who can make sense of what he's saying here in this piece supposedly about the Iran nuclear deal. It is probably beyond my intelligence to comprehend it.
                Method writing is an organic approach to the creative process, a way of finding your deep, authentic voice. The method does not deal with traditional approaches to writing that emphasize structure and form—the three-act structure of the screenplay, formal approaches to the novel, etc.

                Like method acting, which focuses on truth and organic process, Method Writing deals with the inner voice and how it can be used to create unique works of art, true to your own voice and style, true to your own vision and point of view, true to your own life experience—whether you're writing poems, stories, novels, plays, screenplays, non-fiction, memoir, shopping lists, ransom notes, recipes, etc.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Please feel to "method write" me a recipe.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    What Astralis said.

                    Also, he's a genius at constantly lying and either not knowing or not caring that he's lying. This is called being a sociopath.
                    the way he eviscerated a rising star in the GOP (Marco Rubio) with one nickname was something. he has a genius for insulting people in memorable ways.
                    There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by astralis View Post
                      the way he eviscerated a rising star in the GOP (Marco Rubio) with one nickname was something. he has a genius for insulting people in memorable ways.
                      No question about it. I wonder what would happen if he tried something constructive for a change...
                      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                        No question about it. I wonder what would happen if he tried something constructive for a change...
                        Like oh, Korea, taxes, deregulation, judicial appointments, dictators who use WMD's.....

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by zraver View Post
                          Like oh, Korea, taxes, deregulation, judicial appointments, dictators who use WMD's.....
                          One could argue that what he did was was more destructive than constructive.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by zraver View Post
                            Like oh, Korea, taxes, deregulation, judicial appointments, dictators who use WMD's.....
                            Exactly the list I was thinking of.

                            Now, if we can get someone to be the last person he talks to on each subject, and to quietly mention that current policy is Obama/Clinton policy, then he’ll reverse all those positions, and the world will be a much better, safer place.
                            Trust me?
                            I'm an economist!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by GVChamp View Post
                              He talks like a dumbass, but there are a lot of people who talk like a dumbass despite being relatively intelligent and educated.
                              *raises his hand*

                              When I'm in a non-professional, informal settings, and I'm not around children, roughly every fifth word I speak is the 'f'-bomb, and variants of it. I use is as an adjective, verb, noun, combine it with other words in a novel way as a compound word, etc.
                              "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

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