Donald Trump asked how someone ‘gets to be president’ if they’re ‘stupid’ and the irony is too much to bear

In a slice of poetic irony that even Larry David couldn’t muster, Donald Trump has questioned how his predecessors were able to be presidents “if they’re stupid.”

Trump made the comments while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, and he directed them squarely at former president Joe Biden. As for the source of Biden’s supposed stupidity, well, it has to do with Trump’s sweeping global tariffs which, in an ironic twist of the knife, have been described as stupid by basically everyone with a functional understanding of the economy. Trump said Biden was “stupid” and “maybe corrupt” for allowing China to run up a massive trade surplus with the U.S. 

Trump: How do you get to be president and you’re stupid? pic.twitter.com/CcsghNRTpt

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 9, 2025

According to Trump, the former administration was wrong to not address the U.S.’ trade deficit with China, claiming his recent aggressive tariffs on the country — which drew swift rebuke from Chinese officials — were an attempt to counter the trade imbalance. “Biden allowed these people to get away with murder,” the president said, adding that “Biden allowed China to just take advantage of us.” When asked whether China was responsible for the imbalance, Trump instead shifted blame on Biden, accusing him of stupidity and proving he has never been in possession of a mirror. 

“I don’t blame China for what happened,” Trump said. “I blame the people sitting right at this desk… for being stupid, incompetent or not having courage.” Trump went as far as suggesting his tariffs on China should have been implemented even before Biden. “This should’ve been done years ago. This should’ve been done before Obama, in all fairness,” the president said. “I blame the people sitting at this desk more than I blame China.” In a case of the pot calling the kettle black (or in Trump’s case, orange) his rant then devolved into name-calling as he described his predecessors who let “China get away with what they got away with.”

“Our people here were stupid. They were stupid people. Maybe corrupt? I don’t know,” Trump said. “I don’t know how you can be that stupid. How do you get to be president and then you’re stupid?” Nothing says intelligence like repeating the same word five times, but part of me thinks the irony is totally lost on Trump, since he clearly hasn’t been reading the news lately.

Trump’s tariff policies were branded “very dumb” by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Truedeau, and in February, the president’s face appeared on the front page of Le Journal de Montréal with the word “stupid” printed in 350-point type. You need only to look at Trump’s typo-filled social media feeds to get a grasp of who the stupid one might be, and legions of observers chimed in to echo a similar sentiment.

Since he asked the question about how “you get to be president and you’re stupid,” social media users naturally offered their response. “We’re all currently wondering the same thing,” one user wrote on X, with another adding that they have “been wondering this since 2016 Donald.” 

The lack of self awareness when making this statement answers that question perfectly

— Substance (@__Substance__) April 9, 2025

Others said Trump’s comments prove “we’re past irony at this point,” or wrote simply that the president’s “lack of self awareness when making this statement answers that question perfectly.” It’s a wonder to me that no reporters in the room vocalized similar thoughts, but perhaps they didn’t hear Trump over all the stupidity in the room?