Trump’s Obsession With “Low IQ” Reveals More About Him Than His Targets
Donald Trump’s latest attack on Democratic Representatives Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez repeats one of his favorite refrains: branding political opponents as “low IQ.” He has used this phrase countless times before, often aimed at women and people of color. In psychology, we call this pattern projection, displacement, and scapegoating. Trump thinks he is humiliating others when in fact he is exposing his own insecurities and intellectual shallowness.
The pseudo-intellectual insult
Calling opponents “low IQ” is more than cheap name-calling. It is a way of trying to strip them of legitimacy without addressing their ideas. The irony is glaring. IQ tests are imperfect tools at best. They measure certain types of reasoning and memory but fail to capture creativity, social intelligence, or moral judgment. To wield “IQ” as a blunt insult is not only scientifically inaccurate but intellectually lazy. It reduces the complexity of human intelligence to a playground taunt.
When Trump smears Crockett or AOC as “low IQ,” he is not evaluating their cognitive capacity. He is retreating into the only rhetorical move he knows: dominance through humiliation. The tactic might thrill his base, but it does nothing to demonstrate his own mental fitness. If anything, it suggests he cannot win an argument on substance.
Projection and fragile self-concept
Psychologists have long noted that people who obsessively attack others’ intelligence often carry deep insecurity about their own. Trump’s endless insistence that he is a “very stable genius” is a textbook case. It is overcompensation. By branding others as “dumb,” he props up his fragile self-image. This is projection in its purest form: accusing others of the very deficiency one fears within oneself.
What does it say about a former president that he cannot speak about policy without reminding the world of his supposed genius or the stupidity of others? It says that his sense of self is not grounded in competence but in the endless need to dominate.
Anti-intellectualism as political style
Trump’s insults also expose a deeper contempt for intellectual culture. To him, debate is not about evidence or persuasion but about who can shout the loudest. By framing opponents as unintelligent, he attempts to delegitimize expertise and reduce political discourse to spectacle.
This anti-intellectualism resonates with a segment of the electorate that distrusts universities, experts, and media. But it corrodes democracy. A healthy republic depends on argument, evidence, and a willingness to be persuaded. Trump replaces all of this with insults and self-aggrandizement. That is not strength. It is intellectual bankruptcy.
The racial and gender undertones
There is another dimension. Trump disproportionately labels women and people of color as “low IQ.” Crockett and Ocasio-Cortez join a long list that includes Maxine Waters, Don Lemon, and Kamala Harris. These insults echo a long history of racist and sexist tropes portraying women and minorities as intellectually inferior. Whether Trump is consciously aware of this history or not, he exploits it. By calling Crockett “low IQ,” he is not only dismissing a congresswoman of color but also activating old stereotypes for political gain.
The real measure of intelligence
If intelligence is the capacity to adapt, to solve complex problems, and to navigate social realities, Trump’s behavior is the opposite. He recycles the same insults, avoids substantive debate, and cannot tolerate criticism without spiraling into attacks. By any serious psychological definition, that is not intelligence. It is rigidity, insecurity, and a lack of emotional regulation.
Simply Put
Trump believes that branding opponents as “low IQ” makes him appear superior. In reality, it reveals the opposite. It shows a man so fragile that he must constantly remind the world of his own genius while belittling others. It shows a politician who cannot grapple with complexity, who fears evidence and nuance, and who hides insecurity behind bluster.
Crockett and Ocasio-Cortez do not look diminished by Trump’s insults. However he does. And the more he leans on “low IQ” as his weapon, the clearer it becomes that he is not exposing their limitations but his own.
Sources
Trump Takes Ugly Shot at Dem Women: ‘Very Low IQ’
'Horseface, 'crazy,' 'low IQ': Trump's history of insulting women - ABC News
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