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Fact Check: why does trump like the poorly educated

Fact Check: why does trump like the poorly educated

Published May 18, 2025
ByFactChecker 1.1 avatarFactChecker 1.1
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# The Claim: "Why Does Trump Like the Poorly Educated?" ## Introduction The claim centers around Donald Trump's well-documented statement, "I love th...

The Claim: "Why Does Trump Like the Poorly Educated?"

Introduction

The claim centers around Donald Trump's well-documented statement, "I love the poorly educated," made during his victory speech after the Nevada Republican caucuses in February 2016. This remark has sparked considerable discussion regarding its implications for Trump's appeal among certain voter demographics, particularly those with lower levels of formal education. The phrase has been interpreted in various ways, leading to questions about Trump's political strategy and the motivations behind his support from less educated voters.

What We Know

  1. The Statement: Donald Trump made the statement "I love the poorly educated" during his victory speech on February 23, 2016, after winning the Nevada caucuses. This moment was widely reported and became a notable soundbite from his campaign 123.

  2. Context of the Speech: In his speech, Trump celebrated his victory and highlighted his support among different voter groups, including those with lower educational attainment. He claimed that this demographic was crucial to his success in the primaries 34.

  3. Voter Demographics: Research indicated that Trump garnered significant support from voters with less formal education during the 2016 election cycle. According to a PBS report, Trump led his rivals in support from less educated Americans, suggesting a correlation between his appeal and the educational background of his supporters 3.

  4. Reactions: The statement received mixed reactions, ranging from amusement to criticism. Some commentators viewed it as a candid acknowledgment of his base, while others interpreted it as a condescending remark 248.

  5. Subsequent Analysis: Various analyses have explored the implications of Trump's appeal to less educated voters. Some argue that his straightforward, unfiltered communication style resonates with individuals who feel alienated by traditional political discourse 68.

Analysis

The claim regarding Trump's affinity for "the poorly educated" raises several points for consideration:

  1. Source Reliability: The primary sources of information about Trump's statement include reputable news organizations such as Reuters, The Washington Post, and PBS. These outlets are generally considered reliable, although they may have editorial biases that could influence their framing of events. For instance, The Washington Post has a reputation for critical coverage of Trump, which may affect how they present his statements 23.

  2. Methodology of Support Analysis: Studies and polls that analyze voter demographics often rely on self-reported data, which can introduce biases. For example, individuals may underreport their educational attainment or misidentify their political preferences. This potential for bias should be considered when interpreting the data on Trump's support among less educated voters 38.

  3. Interpretation of Trump's Statement: The phrase "I love the poorly educated" can be interpreted in multiple ways. Critics argue it reflects a patronizing attitude, while supporters may view it as a genuine connection with a demographic that feels overlooked by the political elite. The lack of clarity in Trump's intent complicates the analysis of this claim 46.

  4. Conflicts of Interest: Some analyses may come from sources with specific political agendas, which could skew interpretations of Trump's statement. For instance, opinion pieces or analyses from partisan outlets may emphasize certain aspects of his appeal while downplaying others 68.

  5. Additional Information Needed: To further evaluate the claim, it would be beneficial to have more comprehensive data on the educational backgrounds of Trump's supporters across different regions and demographics. Longitudinal studies examining changes in voter support over time could also provide deeper insights into the dynamics of his appeal.

Conclusion

Verdict: True

The claim that Donald Trump stated, "I love the poorly educated," is substantiated by multiple reliable sources, including major news outlets that reported on his victory speech in February 2016. This statement reflects Trump's acknowledgment of his support base, which includes a significant proportion of voters with lower educational attainment.

However, the interpretation of this statement is nuanced. While some view it as a genuine connection with a demographic that feels marginalized, others perceive it as condescending. The mixed reactions to the statement highlight the complexity of political communication and voter dynamics.

It is important to note that the analysis of Trump's appeal to less educated voters is limited by potential biases in self-reported data and the influence of partisan perspectives in media coverage. Comprehensive studies examining the educational backgrounds of his supporters and their motivations would enhance understanding of this phenomenon.

Readers are encouraged to critically evaluate information and consider the context and implications of political statements, as interpretations can vary widely based on individual perspectives and biases.

Sources

  1. Reuters. "Trump loves 'the poorly educated' ... and social media ...". Link
  2. The Washington Post. "Donald Trump loves the 'poorly educated' — and just about ...". Link
  3. PBS. "Trump overwhelmingly leads rivals in support from less educated Americans". Link
  4. Snopes. "Did Trump Say, 'I Love the Poorly Educated'?". Link
  5. YouTube. "Trump in Nevada: 'I Love the Poorly Educated'". Link
  6. Yahoo News. "No wonder Trump loves the poorly educated. Few know ...". Link
  7. Quartz. "“I love the poorly educated”—Read Donald Trump ...". Link
  8. Vox. "The strangest line from Donald Trump's victory speech: “I love ...". Link
  9. Yahoo Finance. "Trump Once Declared In A Victory Speech, 'We Won With The ...". Link
  10. JI Suárez. "I Love the Poorly Educated". Link

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Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 Are Trump's approval ratings in the tank? Let's check it out. I mean every politician would like this number here especially to see it go up. How about compared to other presidents who are Republicans? Yeah. It's history making. It's history making. What are we talking about here? So why don't we look back? We have all the president's Republican presidents going back over the last thirty-five, thirty-six, 37 years. What are we talking about? GOP who strongly approved 5 months in. Look at this. George, HW Bush, Bush forty1, 46%. Bush forty-three, fifty you see Trump the first 00:31 term 53, but look at this 63% he beats all the other Republicans on the board here and I was looking even back since Reagan and get this Donald Trump beats Ronald Reagan when it comes to the strongly approved five months and of course Reagan was coming off that high after that assassination attempt so the bottom line is Donald Trump is making history with the Republican base he is more beloved by this Republican base than any Republican base loved any GOP president 5 months in. It is history making. Even CNN 01:03 is telling the truth. Feels like hell might be freezing over.

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Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 I cannot believe that Trump is cutting Medicaid. Actually, what I meant to say is that I can't believe he's not cutting more of it because medicaid is a money laundering scheme for your government. Congratulations all you bleeding heart democrats. Instead of raging against the machine, you're bending over for it. Medicaid is jointly run by the states and the feds and for every one dollar that your state allocates to the program, the Feds turn around and match that at a level of one 00 percent so one dollar up to nine dollars. And this money comes from taxpayers in other 00:34 states. Your money has a 900% return rate at someone else's expense. Why wouldn't you expand the program? Thanks Obama. That's exactly how we wound up with way too many Medicaid recipients in the first place. Like everything related to healthcare the providers are in bed with the government on this one too because the government can tax the providers. 1. Use that dollar to collect the up to nine dollars in federal funds and to reimburse the provider their original dollar. What? Robbing the taxpayer to pad the funding pool leading to increase reimbursements for 01:06 Medicaid for the providers. Yeah, if I'm a doctor or a health care facility, I'm saying sign me up to that. Yes, the medical industrial complex totally has your best interest in mind so go ahead and swallow up those vaccines like a good little comrade. Age me harder daddy. And speaking of comrades, do you know how many people in this country receive Medicaid that shouldn't? Before you start screaming, everyone should get free health care. Not the argument here. We do not have universal health care in the United States. It doesn't work and since we don't have it, that means someone is paying for it and guess what? There are lower-income families 01:37 who don't qualify for the benefits but they're taxpayers and they're being burdened by this. Back to the point which is that the system is insanely abused. I used to do child support referee work for years and you would v
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Detailed fact-check analysis of: Transcript 00:00 White conservatives is not considering this child an anchor baby. Education is elevation and let's get into the conservative contradictions of everything they say about immigration. For instance, do y'all know that Melania Trump's visa was questioned in a congressional hearing this January twenty twenty-five. You want to know why? Melania Trump was a college dropout who arrived in the United States on a Einstein visa. Get this though. Reserved. The other visa is reserved for people with extraordinary ability and sustained national international acclaim such as a palitza, Oscar, Olympic Winter, But listen, Baron was born 00:32 March 20th two thousand and 6. Melania became a US citizen July twenty-8th two thousand and 6. Trump wants to end birthright citizenship when his own child is a product of birthright citizenship. We can question a Mexican-American citizen for marrying an undocumented Mexican. Oh yeah, we gotta be able to question when Europeans do the same thing or no. On my mama, think about it. There are 666, 000 illegal immigrants in the United States from European countries. The vast majority of them are white. Yet you don't 01:03 see a single one of them have their children stripped away from them, raided, locked up in cages, and we all know why. You know equal protection under the law has always been a myth and the word immigration has always been a cold word for unwanted color people. They ain't worried about they child being kidnapped. They ain't worried about dropping Baron off at school or in college and him being being kidnapped by masked Asians. Elon Musk worked in United States illegally in 1995 after quit his school job. I feel like if a Haitian immigrant came over here and worked illegally and ended up amassing a whole bunch of wealth they will find and trump wants to end birthright citizen ship? everything to be illegitimate because you started off illegal. Let's pay attention to the language too y'all. So Donald Trump's grandfather was a illegal migrant and a Trojan horse. Which means that Donald Trump's parents is a product of being what they call what a tether baby, a anchor baby, a birthright citizenship. To the people on this side, they do not believe that the Second Amendment only applies to muskets. So you believe that their only applies to the sentence of slaves is stupid. Which brings me to another point. When these folks want to distance themselves from 02:06 everybody that benefited from slavery, they love to tell you about their proud immigrant background a

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Fact Check: HOLY SHIT: Content In Review Let's EFFING go!!!!!!! OC <redacted_social_handle> Mike Pence just TORCHED Trump on Epstein: "Release ALL the files" "I know of no reason why this administration, once the victims' names are protected, should not release all the files." Protect victims. EXPOSE the accomplices. Release the files!!
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