Trump says he's a genius president, but study proves others were

Donald Trump has never been one to shy away from rating his own achievements, with the US president recently declaring himself to be “a genius” on Twitter.

Just last week, Mr Trump defended his mental capacity after US writer Michael Wolff claimed in a new book that top White House aides held fears for the stability of America’s leader.

“I went from very successful businessman to top TV star to President of the United States (on my first try),” Mr Trump tweeted over the weekend. “I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius… and a very stable genius at that!”

Yet, after the Washington Post dug up a study by a US psychologist that rated the intellect of past US presidents Mr Trump might have to change tacts with his Twitter vitriol.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/949618475877765120

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/949619270631256064

In 2006, Dean Simonton used a statistical algorithm to determine the smartest man to have held court at the White House.

Turns out it was the sixth president John Quincy Adams with an estimated IQ of between 165 and 175. A score above 140-145 is generally viewed as genius. As a comparison, the average individual scores about 100.

The Post reports Mr Simonton calculated Adams’ IQ from information collected from biographies by a pioneering intelligence researcher named Catharine Cox.

Mr Simonton then used Adams’ estimates and other presidents to create an “intelligence matrix” for other leaders - up until George W Bush’s reign.

The results showed Thomas Jefferson to be the second smartest president, with John F Kennedy the third. Bill Clinton was deemed the fourth most intelligent leader.

Interesting, Mr Simonton told The Post that nobody has investigated Obama and Trump’s intellect using the same methods.

“Unfortunately, given all of the attention recently attached to the incumbent’s intelligence, nobody has tried to follow up my 2006 study,” he said.

“(But) there’s something very striking about the incumbent’s insistence that he is both very stable and extremely intelligent. It comes across as very defensive, like he’s discussing aspects of his person about which he feels vulnerable.”