On Sunday, President Donald Trump sat down for a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and in characteristic form, he took some time to call out his haters.
“[Democrats] have a new person named Jasmine Crockett,” Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker while speaking about the state of the Democratic party. “I watched her speak the other day, and she’s definitely a low-IQ person.”
Crockett, who represents Texas in the House of Representatives and frequently criticizes the president, has become a target of Trump as her star has risen among the Democrats.
Trump's History of Insults
Trump’s remarks on Sunday mirror comments he made about her back in March, when he said, “She’s a lowlife, and she’s a very low-IQ person.”
As she’s done in the past, Crockett responded directly to the president’s taunts, writing on X on Sunday: “For you to be in charge of the WHOLE country, you sure do have my name in your mouth a lot. Every time you say my name, you’re reminding the world that you’re terrified of smart, bold Black women telling the truth and holding you accountable. So keep talking...”
Trump's Obsession with IQ
Trump has long held up IQ as the be-all, end-all measure of self-worth. But when he’s claiming a critic is a “low-IQ person” or “individual,” it’s usually a Black woman he’s targeting.
Sagal isn’t the first to notice this habit. As David Smith of the Guardian noted in 2018, Trump has insulted the intelligence of male critics ― calling them “dumb” or “dummy” ― but with Black public figures, he tends to denigrate them on the basis of their intelligence alone.
Racism and Intelligence
The president’s mode of speech ― the markedly different way he speaks about Black people’s intelligence versus white people’s ― reeks of racism, according to linguist Carrie Gillon. Gillon stated that Trump's fixation on IQ and his discriminatory language are clear indications of racism in his communication.
When IQ tests were introduced in the 20th century, they were misused by eugenicists to promote racist ideologies. These tests were used to argue that a person’s intelligence was linked to their biology, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and discrimination.
Ultimately, Trump's focus on IQ and his derogatory remarks reveal underlying racial biases and perpetuate harmful stereotypes, contributing to a culture of discrimination and inequality.
