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Revenge Of The Stupid [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-17
The past few weeks have brought a key component of the last 10 years with Trump into sharp view: the man in stupid.
A lot of us called Ronald Reagan stupid. For what we were used to in presidents, he kinda was. A lot of us called George W. Bush stupid. Looking back at 20 years ago, little did we know how much worse it could get.
It’s not simply that Trump is stupid: he relishes it. Again, it’s another sign of privilege. Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote an essay about Trump’s ascension after Obama as confirmation that the “Lowest White Man” can still trounce the highest level of African American achievement. (Or for women of any race) Only a rich white guy can get so far while being so stupid, so incompetent, and corrupt.
But that’s Trump. What’s with all the people supporting it?
Some smart people voted for Trump, but we know it was for tax cuts or other issues. Other people who are intelligent in certain areas are dumb when it comes to politics.
But Trump’s most devoted supporters- the cult members- are as dumb as him. Or even dumber.
And therein lies the rub- Trump is their revenge on us.
“Us” being the educated, cosmopolitan, well read and highly informed people of the nation.
Part of this is very simple- since Trump is so stupid...since he is so ignorant about so many subjects...since he is as dumb as much of his audience, he can communicate with them on their level.
Finally, they say- someone who tells it like it is! Someone who is talking in a way not only in a way that they understand, but in the same way that they think. And you know what I mean (cue a wall on the Mexican border).
Rather than just be the millionth essay to moan about how much smarter we are and how dumb they are….what’s the deal here? It wasn’t that long ago that dumb people were at least a little self conscious about being dumb. It wasn’t that long ago that dumb people knew enough to have smart people in charge (at least some), at least for the sake of the country.
The deal here is that the American right is reaping what they’ve sown. They have fought against “pointy headed intellectuals” for decades. They have been against actual science for over half a century, when it conflicted with their ideology, religion, or businesses. They have constantly mocked and disdained urban sophisticates that like weird art, movies, music, and even food. Not to mention all their “tolerance” for marginal groups and ideas outside the mainstream.
But there is another factor beyond that at work here.
Pundits made the observation that the GOP is now the “working class” party and the Democrats are the party of the white collar professionals. That’s a dodge, not simply because there are a lot of working class voters that are Democratic (they just aren’t white men).
The real dividing line is education.
The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be a Democrat.
Also, the more educated you are, the more likely you are to have a professional job with a higher income. And live in an urban area. Obviously, the GOP base is mostly the opposite.
No one really wants to say it out loud, but the Democrats are the party of the smart people and the GOP is the party of the stupid ones.
Now take it even further.
It was said that Sarah Palin’s support drew heavily from people who claimed that they “weren’t in control of their lives.” You can certainly draw a line from Palin to Trump. They both operated in the same defiance of all the “smart people” and wore the scorn of the cosmopolitan crowd on their chest with pride.
When you put together the various complaints from Trump/MAGA voters, it’s Grievance City. The racial, sexual, and religious ones we know. But there is also the “tired of being looked down upon”, scorn of “the elites” (not the real financial ones, but the educated ones), and the belief that Democrats and liberals “laugh at them.”
The beefs were less with actual policies from any candidate or party (since we know that the GOP does nothing for the working class while the Dems actually do). It was driven by the resentment of being “looked down upon” by people elsewhere. People in big cities (who could afford to live there). People in well paying and respected jobs (who had the ability to get them). People who had the ability and the desire to get an advanced education.
The MAGA howl is coming from the part of America that has been “left behind” for decades. On the economic front we all understand it. But it’s the cultural and emotional part that’s easy to miss.
The MAGA cult is primarily made up of people who are losers in the world where you need an education, connections, and a “certain background” to succeed. I know when I say “stupid” it’s being harsh. To be clear, this isn’t about every person that is less intelligent or less educated. Many of them are hard working and decent people, of course.
I’m talking about the bitter and resentful ones. The ones that know that they will never fit in or succeed in a world that plays by the rules and preferences of an educated, cosmopolitan elite.
The people being left behind and left out can never win or even play in the world that the educated elites- and the educated not-so-elite- have created. They’ll never wear the right clothes, get the jokes, or understand the references that separate true members of the tribe from outsiders.
More importantly, they don’t want to.
They know that they are kept out of pretty much all of the good jobs and opportunities because of this. This, understandably, breeds resentment. All the talk of the Democrats “ignoring the working class” and “not doing anything for the working class” is tied up in the impression that the Democrats are not from the same tribe, don’t understand them, and can’t find a way to help them where they live.
They see that the Democrats are made up of the same people- educated, urban, professional. The GOP constantly plays up what it is- not urban, not as professional- and downplays how educated it is.
Into this...along comes Trump.
So Trump is stupid, like these people. He sees the world the same way. He also has a kinship with them because he, too, has been on the outside looking in. The Manhattan elite always looked down on Trump and found him to be a boor and gauche. No matter how much money he made (or claimed to), he never got their acceptance.
Trump has led a movement to enact vengeance on these “elites” with his cult cheering him on.
Attacking the elites in media, academia, and politics is just par for the course. The anti-intellectual attack on all things relying on expertise and- of course- education is in full bloom. Damn the consequences- we don’t need your stinking expertise! And never mind the obvious corruption at having “loyalists” assume key positions, even though they are wildly unqualified.
That’s the point.
If a Trump-led world means that education, expertise, and intelligence don’t matter- in fact they are liabilities- and being loyal and having money are the keys to success….that’s a world where stupid people can succeed in.
A few stupid people do have a lot of money. But for all the ones that don’t, the fact that being loyal can allow them to thrive promises a better world for them. Better than competing with smarter and more educated people. Better than having the right background or the ability to fake it and fit in.
No, a world where simple loyalty can be its own reward is a better world for the stupid MAGA cult members. Is it any wonder that they are getting exactly what they want right now?
And since these MAGA members are bitter and resentful, they fully embrace the malice that Trump uses. The cruelty is the point? Yes. The stupid people that are MAGA do not simply want victory over “the elites” that have kept them out. They want pain, suffering, and humiliation. Trump is a damaged person with no real friends and no empathy. He has become the perfect vessel for these bitter stupid people to get their revenge on the rest of us.
Being stupid means you can and will destroy that which makes us strong and successful out of spite because you believe you can’t be a part of it. If only all these stupid people felt that way about the oligarchs. But then, that’s why they are stupid and MAGA.
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