During an appearance on Fox News, Newt Gingrich suggested that one of former Republican President Donald Trump's strengths lies in his ability to communicate at a level that can be understood by individuals with lower educational levels.
The discussion occurred following Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' official entry into the presidential race, with Gingrich offering his assessment of the two Republican candidates. However, the focus quickly shifted to the educational level and the implications of simplistic messaging in political discourse.
Fox News personality Laura Ingraham played a clip of DeSantis making a convoluted comparison involving financial institutions and elections, prompting Gingrich's assessment.
He said:
“One of Trump’s great advantages is he talks at a level where third, fourth and fifth grade educations can say, ‘Oh yeah, I get that. I understand it.’”
You can hear what Gingrich said in the video below.
\u201cGingrich: One of Trump\u2019s great advantages is he talks at a level where 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade educations can say \u201coh yeah, I get that.\u201d\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
The clip of Gingrich's remarks quickly went viral and were met with criticism online.
\u201c@Acyn @TheAstuteGaloot The fact that he speaks to the children says everything you need to know about the educational level the Right is shooting for.\n#ItsACult\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
\u201c@Acyn @geoffreylock Trump is on a third grade level, so this isn\u2019t an act.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
\u201c@Acyn I really don\u2019t think that plays like they think it does\ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
\u201c@Acyn I mean he has a point.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
\u201c@Acyn Makes sense why the GOP is banning books.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
\u201c@Acyn I love it when they drive their own wedge issue into their own wedge issue.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
\u201c@Acyn That's really great for them because we all know 3rd, 4th and 5th graders make really reliable voters!\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
\u201c@Acyn @JeffreyMeursing Not certain that's the best attribute or compliment.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1684982331
Trump himself once infamously declared that he loves "the poorly educated" and indeed proved very popular among working class voters—particularly men—who lack college degrees.
In 2016, his eyebrow-raising expression of affection during his victory speech in Nevada generated significant activity on social media. The statement ignited a debate between those who were astonished by the remark and those who argued that it had been taken out of context.
By the next morning, the phrase "I LOVE THE POORLY EDUCATED" had become a major trend. On Twitter, it was being tweeted approximately 15 times per minute, as reported by social media analytics company Zoomph.
In 2019, he was criticized by economist Paul Krugman, who in a column for The Seattle Times revisited the remark and observed that "Trump’s whole career shows him to be the kind of man who, if anything, takes pleasure in taking advantage of people who trusted him."
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