Donald Trump talks like a 4th grader: linguistic analysis
"Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump talks like a 4th grader, according to a linguistic analysis performed by Politico's Jack Shafer. Shafer ran the text of Trumps' responses in the recent Republican debate through the Flesch-Kincaid test, designed to determine how difficult a given passage is to understand for English readers:
Run through the Flesch-Kincaid grade-level test, his text of responses score at the 4th-grade reading level. For Trump, that’s actually pretty advanced. All the other candidates rated higher, with Ted Cruz earning 9th-grade status. Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, and Scott Walker scored at the 8th-grade level. John Kasich, the next-lowest after Trump, got a 5th-grade score.
According to Shafer, Trump's remarks at an August 11 news conference in Birch Run, Michigan, put him at an even-lower 3rd grade level (in the United States, 3rd graders are typically eight or nine years old)."
Makes perfect sense. Trump appeals to people who have the comprehension skills and maturity of 3rd and 4th graders.
Congratulations to his fans. They're not smarter than a 5th grader.
13 comments:
Yes -- a very, very potty-mouthed fourth grader. Actually this supports my impression that Trump has some kind of arrested-development problem, probably due to having been so rich and powerful all his life. He hasn't had the kind of corrective and educational experiences most people do because everybody who gets near him is afraid of crossing him. It's almost a socio-linguistic equivalent of not being toilet-trained.
The more next question is why about a quarter of the Republican base finds his style so appealing, but simplistic rhetoric has always had its appeal.
It would be interesting to put the statements of Hillary and Bernie through the same kind of analysis.
If we remember our grammar school days in the schoolyard, we can remember the kid with the biggest mouth bragging to everyone about how great he was and all the incredible things he could do and all the incredible stuff his mommy and daddy bought for him. Most of us walked away and made fun of the jerk, but there were always those in the schoolyard who were impressed and wanted to be his friend.
I think this explains his popularity with a certain group of TGOPers who never grew out of that mentality, and who were left behind, intellectually, by their classmates who learned to tell the difference between a loud-mouth phony and someone with substance.
Although not a Trump fan the one area he does differ from the DNC choice is she campaigns on government give always and he campaigns on providing opportunities.
The last six plus years have shown no growth except in welfare and food stamps.
The Progressive movement has done nothing for the poor in this country except government give a ways.
Sad that smart people support assistance over opportunity
The dumbing down of America. Near completion.
Time for beer and pretzels.
Anon: "Although not a Trump fan the one area he does differ from the DNC choice is she campaigns on government give always and he campaigns on providing opportunities."
Exactly what "opportunities" has Trump offered? Can you name a specific program or programs that will afford Americans "opportunities?" So far, all we've heard from Trump is name-calling attacks on other Republicans and Democrats and his telling anyone who will listen how rich he is, how great he is, and how phenomenal he'll be. He has not named any opportunities. You're imagining that he did.
Anon: "The last six plus years have shown no growth except in welfare and food stamps."
“Obviously the president came into office at a time of terrible economic conditions,” says Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute. “We have mandatory spending programs that are means-tested, and whether it was Bush in office or Obama, food stamp rolls would have come up.”
The economy has now gained nearly five times more jobs under President Barack Obama than it did during the presidency of George W. Bush, and the unemployment rate has dropped to just below the historical average."
Real weekly earnings are up 1.7 percent, thanks in part to a plunge in gasoline prices.
Corporate profits have nearly tripled, and stock prices have soared.
MORE HERE.
Anon: "The Progressive movement has done nothing for the poor in this country except government give aways"
Obama expanded the safety net through his 2009 stimulus, but the legislation actually prevented even more Americans from falling into poverty through larger tax credits, emergency unemployment benefits, and expanded food assistance. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that the recovery act ultimately kept about 7 million people above the poverty line.
Anon: "Sad that smart people support assistance over opportunity."
No. It's sad that the Republican controlled Congress did nothing on any jobs action as Boner promised when they took control of the House. Remember he said the most important thing was Jobs Jobs Jobs, and then the Republicans did absolutely nothing about proposing opportunities for Jobs Jobs Jobs.
It's the legislature's job to pass legislation that gives people opportunities, or don't you understand how our government works?
You've stated nothing more than a complete lack of knowledge of what has happened over the past 6 1/2 years. No wonder you believe Trump has proposed "opportunities," when he's done nothing of the kind.
Trump can full some of the people all of the time, and there's proof right here he is a champion of that.
"Trump is the demagogue Republicans have been waiting for. Or, as President Richard Nixon’s former White House Counsel, John Dean explains, the “authoritarian ruler” they have been waiting for.
According to Dean, these leaders are “typically male” and “are dominating; they oppose equality; they desire personal power; and they are amoral.” Not your typical messiah, but liberals have long recognized the Religious Right would stone your typical messiah."
The Anon who thinks Trump has talked about opportunities is obviously listening to voices in his or her head, a trait manyof his followers share.
Can someone solve the mystery of why this guy who's like the Trumpster and just makes stuff up?
"Ben Carson Says Abortions Are Main Cause Of Death For Black People
The Republican presidential candidate has accused Planned Parenthood of population control."
Wait. We know. He's black and a TeaPublican (there are so few) so the TPers have to parade the five of them in their club that agree with their b.s. Carson doesn't know what he's talking about, but they love him, especially when he says moronic stuff like prisons make men gay. Or Obama care is worse than slavery. What he said about PP is pure b.s., and the TPers love a steady diet of b.s. from their mouthpieces.
Ronnie's Ray Gun, maybe Dr. Ben doesn't know how to use the intertubes because two seconds worth of googling brought me to the CDC and actual facts about what the leading cause of death is in the African-American community.
Imagine what sort of gullible president he'd make, easily controlled by anyone who feeds him false information. And yes, his nonsensical statements about prison making people gay is another indication of his inability to separate fact from ideological fiction. And a lot of TGOPers (the ones who believe in false facts) think putting Carson in control of this nation's nuclear capabilities is a good idea?
A different anon,
I've listened to a lot of the hot air that's come out of Trumps massive mouth, and nothing has been about policies he'd propose or support to solve this country's problems. But he does love to promise his adoring chumps that he'll be great! He'll be phenomenal!
Hi Bob,
"...these leaders are 'typically male' and are dominating; they oppose equality; they desire personal power; and they are amoral.”
I wasn't sure about Trump and "amoral," but when you read about how easily and often he changes his support of Democrats (just recently he loved Hillary) and positions (pro-choice, anti-choice, talking about not needing god's forgiveness, and joking about wine and crackers), it does look like he doesn't have any strong moral convictions (that remark fantasizing about dating his own daughter was sick).
RN, It's Sam Adams and popcorn for me.
Infidel753,
"He hasn't had the kind of corrective and educational experiences most people do because everybody who gets near him is afraid of crossing him. It's almost a socio-linguistic equivalent of not being toilet-trained.
Great explanation of why so much of what comes out of his mouth is total t.s. (Trump sh*t).
During an interview on Meet The Press, Donald Trump admitted that he gets his military advice from watching television.
Chuck Todd asked Trump who he would turn to for military advice. The billionaire gave a disastrous answer, “Well, I watch the shows. I mean a really see a lot of great. You know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows and you have the generals.”
Chance the Gardener from "Being There": "I like to watch."
Trump is the 21st century's Chance Gardiner:
To this day, a politician criticized for being all style/sound bites and no substance or even intelligence is likely to be compared to Chance.
Let a genuine Republican explain:
"Oh, I love Donald Trump because he exposes everything about the Republican Party that I have frankly come to hate. It is just filled with people who are crazy, and stupid, and have absolutely no idea of what they are taking about. And the candidates, no matter how intelligent they may be, just constantly have to keep pandering to this lowest common denominator in American politics."
-Bruce Bartlett, Senior Policy Analyst; George HW Bush administration-
It's El Dorado IPA from Westfield River Brewing Company, one of the region's better craft breweries for me.
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