TRUMP FEARS EDUCATED PEOPLE FOR GOOD REASON
Donald Trump has frequently claimed to possess exceptional intellectual abilities. He has often described himself as “very, very smart” and a “very stable genius.”  He frequently points to his business success, his deal-making, political victories, and performance on cognitive assessments as evidence of his mental acuity.

For example, Trump has repeatedly boasted about “acing” a cognitive test—the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)—during his 2018 health checkup, claiming a perfect score of 30/30, though the official results have not been released. He often asserts his exceptional intelligence and has claimed to have “one of the great memories of all time.”   Despite his boasting, his claims are largely self-reported and not substantiated by publicly available standardized test results.

Trump’s boastings about his intellect raises a question about why he does it. For sure there is an element of narcissism in everything he says and does, but boasting about your own intellect is something no one does — except Trump. He has no shame in boasting about his intellect. There are four reasons Trump boasts about his intellect:

• Counter internal shame about his weak intellect.
• Project intellectual superiority to his base and opponents.
• Rally supporters who value unapologetic bravado over traditional credentials.
• Position himself as an intellectual champion against “know-it-all” experts, media, or Democrats.

These behaviors align with narcissistic traits and shame-avoidance strategies in which he frames intelligence as a weapon in his “us-against-them, I-win-you-lose, you-win-I-lose” worldview.

One reason Trump fears highly educated is because voting data confirms a “diploma divide,” where college-educated voters increasingly favor Democrats, while non-college-educated voters support Republicans like Trump. The table below shows how he ranked against Democrat opponents three presidential elections.

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‎Clearly, Democrats have always had the edge among college graduates in Trump elections. Just as clearly, Trump has always had the edge among voters who did not graduate from college. It is not surprising, therefore, that he fears college educated voters and that he targets his rhetoric to non-college voters. About two-thirds (67%) of President Trump’s 2024 voters—often synonymous with the MAGA base—lacked a college degree, down slightly from 71% in 2016. This non-college majority defines his coalition, with white non-college voters comprising 51% of it in 2024. Because Trump’s margin of victory (+1.5%) for the popular vote in 2024 was so slim, it makes sense for him to widen his appeal anyway he can (e.g. making himself attractive to non-college voters.)

Trump and his supporters might argue that he targets non-college voters because they prioritize economic populism, border security, inflation, and opposition to “woke” curricula. That is true, but the argument ignores that these policy issues are rooted in existential fears such as TRUMP’S FEARS which his supporters share. Left-leaning college-educated voters, on the other hand emphasize climate change mitigation, racial equity through DEI initiatives, LGBTQ+ rights, gender-affirming care, student debt relief, expanded higher education access, abortion access and gun control.

This difference in policy preferences creates a structural GOP disadvantage based on education that Trump and his conservative allies have good reason to fear if they hope to get elected or reelected. Trump strategically targets non-college voters as his core base because they represent the majority of the electorate and align closely with his policy priorities. On the surface this sounds like good election strategy, but, when his appeal to non-college educated voters is considered in the context of TRUMP’S FEARS, it is reasonable to conclude that he isn’t just courting non-college voters who share his fears and like his policies. He is also exposing his fears of educated people because they tend to vote liberal/progressive and would like to see him impeached.

Trump might not be the genius he claims to be, but he is smart enough to understand why some, maybe all, college educated Democrats and independent voters do not vote for him:  In addition to disliking his policies and character, they see him for who he really is (i.e. a fragile human whose only real strength is his ability to conceal his deep fears and shame from his adoring MAGA followers.) Understanding his handicaps, thoughtful people throughout the education spectrum who know good character from bad cannot vote for him as President.

Trump might also be smart enough to figure out that highly educated, highly motivated voters have the moral, intellectual and financial resources to expose the truth about the moral and psychological fragility of Trump and Republican congresspersons to poorly educated conservative voters and educated independents. This explains Trump’s rhetoric and penchant to punish blue states led by Democrats who generally have more college graduates and left-leaning universities than red states. Not only does he fear the power of their votes, but he also fears how they might mobilize against him and his Republican allies to weaken his presidency and maybe even make the way for impeachment.

No one will ever know if Trump understands these matters at the cognitive level or not. Given his aversion to self-reflection, it is doubtful that he knows or cares. All he cares about is managing his fears and avoiding shame.

What is important, however, is that Trump’s supporters and allies in government be educated about all of his fears. Who knows, if they become educated about the fears and shame that drive him, they might get smart and think again about voting for his conservative allies who run for Congress. It’s a long shot, but it is worth hoping for.