Is "Republicans Are the Dumbest Group of Voters" Some Sort of Urban Myth?

I, too, have heard it said innumerable times that a perennially democratic Donald John Trump, the pathologically narcissistic and egomaniacal scofflaw, had once indicated that if he ever chose to gun for the Presidency of the United States which, as of this writing, he already had been for some four of the most miserable and turbulent years in contemporary Post-Civil Rights American Political History, he would expediently and strategically switch parties and ideological alliances and/or allegiances to register and run as a bona fide member of the Grand, Old Party (GOP), that is, the Elephant Party (EP), which is much better known as the Republican Party (RP) – (See “Fact Check: Rumors Have Swirled For Years That Trump Once Said Republicans Are the ‘Dumbest Group of Voters.’ Here Are the Facts” Snopes 1/28/24).

Now, there are some facts and truisms here that should lead us to the fact of whether, indeed, the now-former President Trump had actually once, or even twice, said that if he ever decided to run for the Presidency, he would be more likely to do so on the ticket of the Republican Party. First, we need to verify and establish the historical fact of whether at the time that the apparently apocryphal claim or statement widely attributed to the protagonist of this mini-essay or theme was made, Mr. Trump was a Democrat or a member of the Republican Party. The aforementioned statement, we are reliably informed, was made in 1998. If during the latter year or period in question, the twice-impeached former President of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of the United States of America was a bona fide registered member of the US’ Democratic Party, then, of course, it goes without saying that the next most logical question to ask is the following: When did Mr. Trump decide to switch party loyalties, either from the Democratic Party or the Republican Party and/or vice-versa?

If it turns out that at least in 1998, when the statement widely attributed to Mr. Trump came to public notice or knowledge, the subject of the present column was a registered member of the Democratic Party, either by verifiable or well-documented evidence or the public self-admission and/or confession of the Half-German and Half-Scottish Queens-, New York, born real estate mogul or building contractor, then the next most logical question to ask is this: Precisely what set of factors and circumstances motivated Mr. Trump to switch his political affiliation and ideological alliance and allegiance from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party?

From the set of answers and/or explanations that will be given, we should be able to easily and quickly draw up the relevant conclusions that will either prove or disprove the fact of whether, indeed, about the clearly and neatly marked period in question, the 2024 Presumptive Nominee of the Republican Party Presidential Candidacy had either categorically stated or inferred that if he ever decided to run for President of the United States of America, it would be smack as a bona fide member of the US Republican Party, and not the Democratic Party because, relatively speaking, members of the US Democratic Party often tend to be too far better educated and thus more politically discerning when it comes to the choice or the selection of leaders whom they deem to be the best fit for the White House or the Presidency at any particular or material moment in time.

Now, what the foregoing observation means is that although Mr. Trump may not have categorically stated that whenever and if he ever decided to run for the Presidency, he would do so as a Republican Candidate because the average member or registered voter of the Republican Party almost invariably tended to be far less morally and politically enlightened than his or her counterpart of the Donkey Party, as the Democratic Party is also informally known.

Personally, though, I have a totally different take on this Urban Myth, and it is that very likely the statement being presently attributed to the rhetorically reckless Mr. Trump, may very well have been made by our subject’s equally notorious, egomaniacal and infamous “Political Twin Brother” and personal lawyer, to wit, Mr. Rudolph William Louis Giuliani – aka Rudy Giuliani – the man who was once widely reported to have written in his college-graduation Yearbook that if he ever decided to enter the political arena in the near future, he was likely to do so as a United States’ Senator, because Senators, by the very nature of their job, did absolutely nothing worthwhile on Capital Hill or in Congress and yet were afforded all the fetching and enviable perks and privileges, including a first-class Health Insurance package, that traditionally came with the job.

Plus, a poorly performing US Senator did not have to face the brunt of voters’ anger or settle any accounts with the people who elected him or her to the Upper House or Chamber of Congress until every six years from the last or the most recent election. It has often been said that absolutely no smoke can be seen or smelled anywhere without the concrete presence of fire or a flame somewhere close by. In short, in all likelihood, somebody very close to Mr. Trump must have made this “Republican Voters Are Dumb” statement that is being presently attributed to the man who may very well have said something similar off the cuff and off-the-record at some critical moment in time.

Maybe somebody close to either Monsieur Trump or Monsieur Giuliani might have either conflated or mistaken what had actually been said by one of these “Political Siamese Twins” for the other, that is, the former Number One Mayor of the United States of America or the Former President of the United States of America. The most critical question to ask here, though, is this: Who darn really cares? Who born dog, as Ghanaians are wont to say.

*Visit my blog at: KwameOkoampaAhoofeJr

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., PhD
Professor Emeritus, Department of English
SUNY-Nassau Community College
Garden City, New York
May 18, 2024
E-mail: [email protected]