Other politicians talk about doing stupid stuff or say that someone was acting stupidly, but they rarely apply the word to their opponents or adversaries. That’s what Trump’s implying about the people he calls stupid; what they lack isn’t intellect, but smarts. It confirms what a lot of Trump’s supporters have always thought about the “elites,” whom they suspect, with some cause, of looking down on them — no, they’re the stupid ones. “Stupid” suggests to Trump’s fans that they share his intelligence and powers of discernment. “They’re stupid” is something you say when you take it for granted that your listeners are oscillating at the same moral frequency that you are.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 04, 2016 12:01 UTC