A Compliment That Didn’t Land the Way It Was Meant
The line itself was brief. Speaking at the Institute of Peace, Trump told attendees they were an “extremely high IQ audience for a change,” and added that it was “very nice.” On social media, the phrase “for a change” got most of the attention.
One X user argued that supporters Trump seemed to be calling low-IQ would only prove his point by voting for him again. Another contrasted the room with the crowd he addressed in San Antonio. A third summed it up by saying Trump had praised this audience by insulting every other one he has faced lately.
Medals for “Six National Treasures”
The event itself was a ceremony. Trump spent part of the afternoon presenting medals to people he called “six national treasures.” Among them were Elon Musk, the former head of DOGE, along with Dell CEO Michael Dell and Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Advanced Micro Devices chief Lisa Su and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang rounded out the group.
Musk got the warmest words. Trump said few Americans in history had done more to advance the country’s national interest, and called him “our modern-day Thomas Edison.” The Mirror US reported the remarks.
The Ohio Rally and the “1775” Claim
The comments at the institute fit a familiar pattern. Trump has often said he has the “highest IQ,” and he returned to the theme at a midterm rally in Ohio. There he backed Sen. Jon Husted in his Senate race against Democrat Sherrod Brown, and Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for governor. As usual, the speech was long and wandering, and at one point he asked voters to “pretend I’m running.”
He then turned to his own intellect, describing himself as a “high IQ person” with one of the top scores “anywhere in the world.” He cited a figure of 1775 and joked that if they could find one more dollar, they would reach 1776. He did not explain the number further.
How Commentators Responded
The claim drew a skeptical reaction on The Daily Beast’s podcast. Co-host Joanna Coles said plainly that 1775 is not an IQ score, and she called the claim “insanity.” Her co-host, David Rothkopf, pointed out that standardized IQ tests do not go above 160, so the figure was more than ten times the usual ceiling.
Rothkopf suggested the number might be a nod to the $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” announced in December 2025 for 1.45 million US service members. He then offered a pointed, colorful critique of Trump’s thinking, describing his mind as a bubbling cauldron of Campbell’s cream of idiot soup. These were the hosts’ opinions, delivered in a satirical register.
The Bottom Line
A single offhand line about the audience set off a round of online ridicule, and it landed in the middle of a week when Trump was celebrating tech leaders and campaigning in Ohio. For critics, it was one more example of his habit of praising his own intelligence. Whether supporters see it as a joke or an insult, the remark is likely to keep circulating as the midterm campaign picks up.
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