It is a peculiar thing when a politician's most ardent supporters seem to miss the moment they are being openly mocked. Yet, this is precisely what unfolded at Donald Trump's exclusive New Jersey retreat recently, when the former President delivered a remark about his own followers that instantly went viral and sparked a furious new debate over the intelligence of the MAGA movement.
Despite his increasingly low approval ratings and serious concerns about his mental and physical health, Donald Trump was ready and willing to crack jokes at the expense of his loyal supporters. The scene was the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, New Jersey, where the former President was addressing an exclusive crowd at an education gala.
The event was specifically the 'Hope Through Education' gala, and his remarks came as he addressed the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, using the suspect's alleged leftist ideology to frame his critics.
Dressed in his signature navy suit and red tie, the controversial politician clutched a microphone and, in what was perhaps a moment of brutal honesty, offered a stunningly transparent assessment of his own political appeal.
In a now-infamous video clip, which is only five seconds long but is making its rounds furiously across social media platforms, Trump appeared to reveal his true, unvarnished thoughts about the millions of Americans who have voted for him across three presidential elections. 'Smart people don't like me, you know', Trump said as the room burst out in laughter. 'And they don't like what we talk about'.
The immediate reaction on social media was a wave of disbelief, quickly turning into widespread mockery, particularly aimed at those seen chuckling in the audience. Users on X (formerly Twitter) amplified Trump's own words to lampoon his base. 'Do the people in the room understand he's insulting them to their faces?' one user questioned.
Another quipped, 'I like him calling his own followers dumb', while a third user pointed out the sheer strangeness of the dynamic: 'And the dummies that do like him are standing there smiling like the idiots Trump knows they are'. Another mocked the situation by simply writing, 'That's why they're smart!'
The comments reveal a fundamental tension at the heart of the MAGA movement: the unwavering, almost unbreakable, loyalty that allows supporters to celebrate a joke seemingly aimed directly at their own intellect. One final user, sounding a note of caution, warned, 'Don't worry, Trump. The dumb ones are starting to catch on, too'.
The Demographics of Devotion: Why Donald Trump 'Loves the Poorly Educated'
For long-time observers of the former President, the Bedminster comment did not arrive in a vacuum. It represents a continuation of a political style and a calculated strategy that has long been core to Donald Trump's appeal: positioning himself as the tribune of the forgotten and, often, the formally uneducated.
Many critics were quick to point out similar past remarks from the former candidate, perhaps most notably his triumphant declaration after seizing a key victory in the 2016 Republican primary race. After winning the Nevada Republican caucuses in February 2016, then-candidate Trump delivered a speech where he boasted about the breadth of his support. He outlined his diverse coalition: 'We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated', he proclaimed.
The original source article noted that while critics branded Trump's 2016 comments insulting, his supporters insisted his words were being taken out of context. Yet, the exit poll data has consistently confirmed the validity of Trump's boast regarding his core constituency.
In each of his presidential campaigns, he has overwhelmingly benefitted from voters without a four-year college degree, a demographic that feels ignored by the established political elite and sees Trump as an authentic voice, regardless of his policy programme or rhetorical style.
This dynamic was powerfully illustrated by the 2020 election exit polls, which showed that voters without a college degree, constituting a significant portion of the electorate, favoured Trump by a 14-point margin. More specifically, a staggering 64% of White voters without a college degree cast their ballot for him. This stood in stark contrast to college graduates, who favoured his opponent by a 13-point margin.
Trump: “Smart people don’t like me”
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) December 4, 2025
pic.twitter.com/LHyKvD3BwG
The Calculus of MAGA Loyalty: The Human Consequences of Defending Donald Trump
This pattern of rhetorical insinuation—from 'I love the poorly educated' in 2016 to 'Smart people don't like me, you know'—raises an intriguing question for political journalists and analysts: why does this strategy work? Why would a base continue to offer staunch, unwavering support in the face of comments that appear to diminish their intellectual capabilities?
The answer lies in the deeply personal and emotional connection that many supporters have forged with Donald Trump. For them, the 'smart people' he refers to are not themselves, but the coastal elites, the media establishment, and the Washington, D.C. political class who have long looked down on them.
By claiming that 'smart people don't like me', Trump is, in effect, performing a kind of political inversion. He transforms the perceived insult into a badge of honour. He is confirming that he is on the side of the common man, the one who is hated by the very same establishment figures that his supporters distrust.
This allows his base to interpret his comments not as a jab at their own intelligence, but as a bold, truth-telling swipe at the very people they despise. This is why a statement that would sink any other political candidate is simply met with laughter and applause in a ballroom full of his own donors. The political bond transcends the logic of the words spoken, making the insult itself merely another component of the spectacle that keeps the MAGA faithful loyal.
The episode at Bedminster proves once again that for his base, Donald Trump's insults are merely ammunition against the 'smart' people they detest. But as the next election cycle accelerates, the question remains: Can this deep-seated, loyalty-over-logic bond continue to insulate the former President from the consequences of his own words?
