Begala: Donald Trump is no 'idiot.' He's something worse

[Demovictory9]

I think Donald J. Trump is plenty bright. Not in the intellectual, Mensa-meeting sense, but he has, I think, an undeniable intelligence. He is street smart, savvy, clever. No one can be that conniving and be an idiot.

So why the disconnect? Why do I as an outside analyst see an intelligence that those closest to the President do not? Because there are different kinds of intelligence that are useful for different purposes. The kind of intelligence I believe Trump has is enormously useful if you want to, say, be a politician -- even better if you want to be a demagogue.

He has a cynical, innate intelligence for what his base wants to hear. It's like a divining rod for division, prejudice and stereotyping. His relentless rhetorical repetition ("No collusion, no collusion, no collusion" is brilliantly designed to tell folks who are predisposed to like him what they want to hear. Forget the objective reality that his campaign chairman, his son and his son-in-law all met with Russians who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government, helping make the case for why Robert Mueller should be investigating potential collusion.

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The problem is, Trump's idiosyncratic intelligence, while enough to propel him to the White House, does not serve him well for the job of President. He lacks, by most accounts, the broad curiosity, the policy depth, the healthy skepticism of his own positions, the attention span, the appreciation of nuance, and most of all, the intellectual humility that successful presidents must have.



https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/01/opinions/donald-trump-is-not-an-idiot-begala/index.html

[RockRaven]

1. Being a persuasive huckster or stump speech giver

is very different than being a persuasive witness and/or defendant in a courtroom. And that is what lies in Trump's future.

Anyone who has seen Trump's deposition videos from civil suits sees how weak and meek he is in those circumstances. Federal and state prosecutors will a) dominate him, or b) bait him into self-immolation, now that he is on their plate.

[Cha]

2. Yeah Big Problem.. and, he does a stunning imitation of an Idiot if not one

The problem is, Trump's idiosyncratic intelligence, while enough to propel him to the White House, does not serve him well for the job of President. He lacks, by most accounts, the broad curiosity, the policy depth, the healthy skepticism of his own positions, the attention span, the appreciation of nuance, and most of all, the intellectual humility that successful presidents must have.

And, missing a million other attributes, too.

[Buns_of_Fire]

3. He's an asshole, and he's damned good at it.

By the way, I took some time out of my busy schedule (ha) to look up the hierarchy of "idiot" vs. "moron". From what I found, "idiot" is the absolute lowest (IQ 0-25), followed by "imbecile" (26-50), with "moron" (51-70) the most intelligent of the three.

So, from Tillerson's diagnosis forward, he's dropped considerably in the last few months, completely blowing past "imbecile" in his race to the bottom. At this rate, complete mental implosion should occur by mid-July.

[applegrove]

4. Look up mini columns in the brain. Autistics have small minicolums close together

Last edited Thu May 3, 2018, 04:50 AM - Edit history (2)

connected to each other and are good at details. People on that side of the spectrum are good at analysis. Dyslexics have greater mini columns in the brain and they are holistically connected all over the brain. They are good at synthesis or unsynthesis. That is what Trump is doing as a dyslexic. Unsynthesizing democracy and synthesizing some other form of authoritarian governance. We've spent 10 000 years building democracy. Trump is going way back in time to some transactional way of governing. And democracies crumble even more when their is corruption.

[JI7]

5. he appeals to shitty types

[DeminPennswoods]

6. The reptilian brain

is what I call it. The part of the brain that has been hard-wired to ensure survival over millions of years.

[Scarsdale]

7. Vlad Putin must be very

proud of himself. He recognized tRump as a total disaster in the office of president of the US. So,, he went to work shoveling $$$$ to the gop for help in totally screwing over the citizens of this country. Most of us KNEW tRump was not the person qualified to be president. Putin knew it, too, so helped get the orange arse into office. The result has been a disaster not just for this country, but the entire free world. The fakers in the gop continue to support this vile man/child.

[Atman]

8. A turd by any other name...

...is still a piece of shit.

[honest.abe]

9. A brilliant idiot

[pansypoo53219]

10. PURE truthiness. plus fux gnewz info. that is double plus idiot.

[LSFL]

11. So I guess all those drunk uncles

That spew racism at family gatherings are intelligent too.

[jimlup]

12. I don't think "intelligence" is the correct word - "Slimy" might fit better /nt

[Vinca]

13. He's smart in the way of the con and that's about it.

He was born a grifter, reared as a grifter and is now the supreme grifter. And we're the marks.

[Demsrule86]

14. He is cunning.

[GoCubsGo]

15. I'm sorry, commiserating with like-minded people isn't "intelligence."

Because, that's basically what he's doing. He's spewing his own hateful attitudes in front of crowds of people who share his hatred. It's not intelligence. It's a circle jerk.

[Dave Starsky]

17. Exactly. I'm not buying it, either.

It doesn't take intelligence to succeed as a grifter / con artist. It only takes a complete lack of morals and empathy, as well as the ability to lie as easily as breathing. Trump has all that in spades.

[CatMor]

18. I'm not either..

I would never call trump intelligent in any sense of the word. I agree a grifter is all he is.

[sweetroxie]

16. I think we endanger ourselves if

we think of tRump as an idiot or stupid. He is shrewd in the ways of survival and manipulation. He has no scruples so he's free to act on his impulses. He is cunning. He's a savant.

[rock]

19. "He has a cynical, innate intelligence for what his base wants to hear."

That's not intelligence. Everyone can plainly see what his base wants to hear. It's a matter of having the gall to spew it (it's the same skill as needed in making shit sandwiches)!