Another post within the theme of Intelligence – 5 minute read.
Is Donald Trump proving that intelligence without intelligent judgment is worthless.
The argument that only a very bright man could have been such a successful businessman only reveals the understandable fact that few of us ever interacted with billionaires. Very bright billionaires exist, but they are no more common than very bright professors or plumbers or doctors.
IQ= business success.
Around two-thirds of people have an IQ between 85 and 115. About 5% score higher than 125, and about 5% score below 75.
So despite Trump’s assurances about how smart he is. Is he an utter inflated jackass or is he indeed intelligent.
Trump has served no public office and his candidacy has been bedevilled with controversy.
This is the man who once said that illegal Mexican immigrants were mostly murderers and rapists, who pledged to stop Muslim migration and who asked the question: “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
He graduated from Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and anthropology.
He generally expresses himself in an extremely unsophisticated and sophomoric manner. He doesn’t just see himself as a man, he sees himself as a brand. And that’s what he’s been selling his whole life. The election is just one more sales pitch.
How he got off the ground is disputed. “It has not been easy for me,” Trump told an audience in 2015, “my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars.”
That’s misleading.
The company that Donald took over in 1971 – the Trump Organization – was essentially the family business rebranded, and at various points in his career his father helped either as a silent partner, guarantor of loans or by providing capital to keep the wheels oiled. For instance, when one of Donald’s casinos floundered, Fred bought $3.5 million in gaming chips – but didn’t use them.
So who is he?
He was born on June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York. His mother, Mary, came from an island off Scotland. His father, Frederick Christ Trump, was of German descent.
In 1977, Donald married the beautiful Czech athlete and model Ivana Zelnickova Winklmayr – and their shoulder-padded, gold-plated marriage turned them into a yuppie king and queen. In 1985, they bought their very own Versailles: the 118-room Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Parts of the estate were turned into a resort for private members.
In 1991, Divorce proceedings began with Ivanka.
Donald was having an affair with the actress Marla Maples, a relationship that would also end in legal separation in 1999. In 2004, Donald married the Slovenian-born model Melania Knauss. Two of the guests at the wedding were Bill and Hillary Clinton.
His key to success is make an unreasonable demand in order to strike a deal for less but which still leaves him the winner. As he wrote in his 1987 manifesto The Art of the Deal: “Sheer persistence is the difference between success and failure.”
The Trump title had been used to sell “water, Israeli energy drinks, cologne, Virginian wine, vodka, furniture” – and, most controversially, a university.
People assume that because of his sometimes questionable business successes, that he must be intelligent and sharp.
The answer is that Trump apparently has few or no aides who would ask such a question.
In fact, at least with regard to foreign policy, Trump has boasted about consulting with himself.
With a man who operates by such a strange mix of calculation and egomania, it’s hard to tell how much method is in the madness. He’s picked fights with celebrities that seem designed just to gain attention.
The big myth about Trump that needs exploding is the idea that he stumbled into politics without a game plan. Again, that’s branding.
The reality is that his carefully choreographed flirtation with the presidency goes back decades. He has so far defied the rules of American politics and has succeeded because, for all his many flaws, his instincts are far closer to those of the average American than his rivals can match.
Ultimately, Trump has won votes for the same reason that he’s been a success in business. The sales pitch has been smart and God forbid many people rather like the product.
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