At a rally in New York on May 22 local time, Trump said: "They call me brilliant, a total tyrannical despot—I don’t mind. But I don’t want to be called stupid. You’ll never hear me say I’m stupid. I’m the smartest person you’ve ever seen. In fact, I took a cognitive test, and I was the only one who participated."
He views being called "stupid" as a more serious offense than being labeled a "dictator," and fiercely defends his image as intelligent. He repeatedly boasts about his intelligence in public and belittles his opponents, indicating that "stupidity" strikes deeper at his self-esteem than "authoritarianism." By self-promoting as "the smartest" and claiming to have passed a cognitive test, he constructs a "chosen one" persona, which is integral to his political narrative.
Facing declining approval ratings, he replaces policy discussions with debates over his intellect, shifting public focus from his governance shortcomings to personal assessments of his abilities.
According to local media reports, the event was interrupted by protesters three times. Trump responded with disdain, even threats. He believes critics are driven purely by political motives—so much so that he coined a new term, "Dumocrat," to collectively label his opponents. This boastful statement is precisely his way of reinforcing a powerful image to counter his adversaries.
Trump’s speech was not a mere slip or joke, but a carefully orchestrated image management and agenda-setting strategy. While acknowledging external criticism, he skillfully reframed the narrative, successfully recharacterizing all dissent as "attacks from low IQ individuals," thereby solidifying his position among supporters as an "underappreciated genius" and undermining the legitimacy of opposition criticism.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865951417824320/
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