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Donald Trump Talks Like a Third-Grader
Politico ^ | 8-13-2015 | JACK SHAFER

Posted on 08/14/2015 10:20:26 PM PDT by Citizen Zed

Donald Trump isn’t a simpleton, he just talks like one. If you were to market Donald Trump’s vocabulary as a toy, it would resemble a small box of Lincoln Logs. Trump resists multisyllabic words and complex, writerly sentence constructions when speaking extemporaneously in a debate, at a news conference or in an interview. He prefers to link short, blocky words into other short, blocky words to create short, blocky sentences that he then stacks into short, blocky paragraphs.

The end result of Trump’s word choice is less the stripped-down prose style of Ernest Hemingway than it is a spontaneous reinvention of Ogden’s Basic English, the pared-down lexicon of 850 words selected by early 20th century linguist/philosopher C.K. Ogden as the bedrock of a new world language. In the August 6th Republican candidates debate, Trump answered the moderators’ questions with linguistic austerity. Run through the Flesch-Kincaid grade-level test, his text of responses score at the 4th-grade reading level. For Trump, that’s actually pretty advanced. All the other candidates rated higher, with Ted Cruz earning 9th-grade status. Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, and Scott Walker scored at the 8th-grade level. John Kasich, the next-lowest after Trump, got a 5th-grade score.

Trump’s low grade at the debates wasn’t a fluke. His comments from an August 11 news conference in Michigan earned only a 3rd-grade score.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: 2016election; arkansas; bencarson; demagogicparty; election2016; jackshafer; johnkasich; memebuilding; mikehuckabee; newyork; ohio; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; politico; scottwalker; soundbite; soundbites; tedcruz; texas; trollalert; trump; wisconsin
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To: GeronL

Diamond Donald Trump, is a builder, he know how to talk to construction tradesmen, Iron men, carpenters, electricians
concrete and sheet rock experts.

These are the people who built America and he speaks their language. If the Haute people don’t like it who cares.


41 posted on 08/14/2015 11:23:05 PM PDT by Zenjitsuman
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To: Citizen Zed

One can understand Trump’s disinclination to engage in a grandiloquent pantomime of polysyllabic sesquipedalianism.

We shan’t hold it against him.

;p


42 posted on 08/14/2015 11:31:18 PM PDT by BuckeyeTexan (There are those that break and bend. I'm the other kind. ~Steve Earle)
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To: Citizen Zed

Elitist snobs come out of the woodwork to bash Trump. If they’d stop to think how much doing that raises regular people/voter’s opinion of him, they’d keep their mouths shut.

The GOPee/Media look more and more worthless every day.


43 posted on 08/14/2015 11:36:09 PM PDT by Waryone
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To: GeronL

The first one to comment on a Trump thread...imagine that.

So, do you just sit around all day waiting to post your wet blanket drivel whenever a Trump thread comes up? You are such a loser!

Instead of trashing Trump endlessly, why don’t you post stories about Cruz? I find it very strange that instead of posting positive things about Ted Cruz, you instead post snarky, nasty comments on every Trump thread you can find.

You my friend, need to get a life!


44 posted on 08/14/2015 11:36:52 PM PDT by Artcore
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To: VeniVidiVici
and mister “Corpseman”?

His 2004 Democrat Convention keynote comes in at grade level 8.6 and reading ease 68.1, according to readability-score.com.

The same site scores the Gettysburg address at grade level 10.9 and reading ease 65.4.

Ronald Reagan's A Time for Choosing is grade level 9.2 and reading ease 65.

Then there's another famous speech that starts out "Be seated" and ends with "That's all.". Grade level 4.5, reading ease 85.7.

45 posted on 08/14/2015 11:40:12 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: Citizen Zed

Unlike the Kenyan, I bet Trump can tell you how many states there are and get it right the first time.


46 posted on 08/14/2015 11:42:54 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Cecil the Lion says, Stop the Slaughter of the Baby Humans!!!)
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To: Citizen Zed

Once upon a time I worked pretty closely with Dr. Alan Keyes. In the course of that work many times I helped make transcripts of his wonderful speeches. What flowed out of his mouth, with no notes or telepromter, translated to the page beautifully. It was like something the best writer of political philosophy could produce, with a lot of effort.


47 posted on 08/14/2015 11:51:46 PM PDT by EternalVigilance
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To: Citizen Zed

What would these tough guys say about rappers, and their listeners?


48 posted on 08/14/2015 11:58:49 PM PDT by Captainpaintball (Immigration without assimilation is the death of a nation -- FUJB!!!)
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To: GeronL

I second your vote. This buffoonery and fiasco will soon comes crashing down like a helium balloon on fire. Time for real, intelligent, and experienced adults to take over the leadership mantle. Ted Cruz.

Trump is playing his followers for fools as he tries to burnish the Trump name into a global recognition. This is “The Apprentice” on a national scale from someone who has been all over the place on abortion, and yes immigration (he mocked Romney’s strong stance against illegal immigration); he is unwilling to challenge the supreme court’s unconstitutional edict on gay marriage, has shown a likeness for single payer health plans, and has provided buckets of cash to the Clintons. Please, no more Trumpmania


49 posted on 08/15/2015 12:00:38 AM PDT by Steelfish
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To: Citizen Zed

He does.

And like it or not, that is why people love him.

Most hit pop song lyrics are written at the same level.

He hits everyone with his low brow language.

Imagine this guy against Goldwater or Reagan?


50 posted on 08/15/2015 12:04:13 AM PDT by Eurotwit (Keep calm and Charlie on!)
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To: Steelfish

bump


51 posted on 08/15/2015 12:11:46 AM PDT by GeronL (Cruz is for real, 100%)
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To: BuckeyeTexan

Indubitably!


52 posted on 08/15/2015 12:37:44 AM PDT by Citizen Zed ("Freedom costs a buck o five" - Gary Johnston, TAWP)
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To: All

It’s called being “succinct” unlike that long-winded Obama who talks forever and says nothing.


53 posted on 08/15/2015 1:02:22 AM PDT by Rodney Dangerfield (I stopped drinking the Trump Kool-Aid July 25th and will support Ted Cruz for POTUS)
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To: Citizen Zed

“Donald Trump isn’t a simpleton, he just talks like one”


... And in your case the converse is true!

STE=Q


54 posted on 08/15/2015 1:10:58 AM PDT by STE=Q ('The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'... Edmund Burke)
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To: Citizen Zed

Then I guess I’ll stand on a milk crate when I vote.

Next?


55 posted on 08/15/2015 1:25:29 AM PDT by GoneSalt (+NooB+"I STAND WITH DONALD TRUMP-HE'S TERRIFIC-HE'S BRASH-HE SPEAKS THE TRUTH"~TED CRUZ~)
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To: Citizen Zed

You could have been a bit more brief and witty in your critique of Trump’s speaking, writing style if you’d just said, “He isn’t a bull$h!t artist.

Regardless what you INTENDED; That’s my TAKE from your description.

Thank you.


56 posted on 08/15/2015 3:36:23 AM PDT by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)
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To: Steelfish

Helium is not flammable.


57 posted on 08/15/2015 3:43:28 AM PDT by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)
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To: Citizen Zed
uhhh....when he started out using long sentences, remember what happened? The media was using parts of those sentences as complete quotes in order to change their meaning.

Now, Turmp's style is the antithesis of poli-speak. He's not using notes. He's rambling a bit. He's telling us stories. Every short choppy meandering thought says Trump is not a programmed politician.

58 posted on 08/15/2015 3:48:43 AM PDT by grania
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To: Citizen Zed

This should not be considered a criticism of Trump.

It is criticism of dumbed-down Americans.

Political speech and writings have been declining on that scale for hundreds of years.


59 posted on 08/15/2015 3:52:53 AM PDT by ReaganGeneration2
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To: cableguymn
Then he's talking down to them

GIVE ME A BREAK !!

Did you watch Trump with the families who lost loved ones who were murdered by illegals? Did you watch when he went to the border and met with Mexican-American local government leaders? That speech last night when people in the audience who were seriously distraught asked him about their issues?

I get the feeling that Trump is having a grand ol' time mixing things up and making US citizens feel like we can be part of something great again.

60 posted on 08/15/2015 3:54:54 AM PDT by grania
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