Trump’s Persistent Use of ‘Low IQ’ Targets Black Individuals and Fuels Racial Discourse

On June 9 2026, the New York Knicks lost a game that could have gone either way, but instead of focusing on the sport, former President Donald Trump directed a familiar insult toward a well‑known ESPN commentator and seemed to train his rhetoric toward a broader audience. The phrase—“low IQ”—has become a hallmark of the former president’s language whenever he confronts critics he perceives as “not smart enough for the presidency.”

Trump’s comment took place just before the announcement that he would be boarding Air Force One. He told reporters that would “need a high IQ” to run for president, suggesting that the commentator did not possess that IQ. The words resonated with a historical pattern identified by political scientists and linguists, who argue that the phrase serves as a “racial dog‑whistle.”

A linguistic analysis explains that a dog‑whistle is an utterance that on the surface might appear innocuous, yet its meaning is very clear to a specific audience. The phrase “low IQ” has traditionally been applied by white elites in the United States to signal that someone is racially inferior. Experts say it is an echo of ideas that were widely used during the colonial era and have persisted in political advertising and public commentary.

Trump’s use of the phrase is not an isolated incident. He has repeatedly used the same words when addressing public figures, many of them Black. From commentators such as Stephen A. Smith to lawmakers such as Hakeem Jeffries, most uses of the phrase have targeted people of color. In a recent study of his social‑media posts, researchers found that eight out of every ten instances were directed at Black or brown people.

The repetition of this phrase creates a broader narrative of racial superiority, a message that critics argue is a tactic used to rally a specific voter base. Furthermore, the shape the former president’s public comments take is not purely self‑deprecating or a reflection on intelligence. Instead, it operates as a coded language that frames disagreements and controversies in racial terms.

Critics argue that the phrase is not a matter of pure insult but a vehicle for perpetuating harmful stereotypes. By using the same phrase to degrade Black public figures, the former president signals that the racially coded remark is a legitimate political tool. This has spurred discussions about how the media should respond. Some journalists emphasize the importance of explicitly labeling the phrase as hateful and racist rather than calling it a simple insult.

Ultimately, Trump’s use of the “low IQ” rhetoric highlights a pattern in his public speech: when he perceives a criticism or a challenge, he channels it through a historically racialized language that, while deniable in its intent, is unmistakable to audiences who understand its history.