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'Good', 'bad', 'stupid' - on the campaign trail, Donald Trump speaks like a nine-year-old

And it seems that it’s quite deliberate. Trump’s rhetoric consistently comprises the most basic language to make what he says as understandable as possible for voters.

GOP 2016 Trump Charlie Neibergall / PA Charlie Neibergall / PA / PA

GOOD. BAD. STUPID. When it comes to his choice of words, Donald Trump keeps it simple.

So simple, in fact, that even a nine-year-old can get what the outspoken Republican White House hopeful is saying.

That’s according to a test developed for the US Navy that assesses the complexity of an English text by looking at sentence length and counting syllables.

When this Flesch-Kincaid method is applied to the opening and closing statements made during the last Republican debate, the GOP frontrunner takes the cake for poorest vocabulary among the nine contenders who faced off in Las Vegas on 15 December.

It reveals that a mere 7% of the words used by Trump in a minute and a half had more than three syllables, meaning that even children as young as nine or ten would have been able to understand him.

Trump caused astonishment this week by appearing to coin an obscene neologism – ‘schlonged’, derived from a Yiddish term for penis – to disparage his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton.

GOP 2016Trump Optics AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

But the billionaire businessman typically favors basic, brief words such as ‘good’, ‘bad’, and ‘great’ for getting his point across on the campaign trail.

“If I’m elected president, we will win again. We will win a lot. And we’re going to have a great, great country, greater than ever before,” Trump promised at the end of the debate.

The tycoon sums up his foreign policy in equally simple terms, for instance describing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a “bad guy, very bad guy”.

Elaborate speeches deceptive?

“Donald Trump tries to reassure his audience by appealing to our elementary political instinct,” said Peter Lawler, a political science professor at Berry College and author of a book on American political rhetoric.

“He uses simple, repetitive words,” he told AFP.

“Some part of the population associates simplicity in rhetoric to honesty,” added Matthew Baum, a communications professor at Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government.

They think that elaborate speeches are too deceptive.

The 69-year-old tycoon often employs the term ‘stupid’ to describe his rivals and the current government.

GOP Trump 2016 Carlos Osorio / PA Carlos Osorio / PA / PA

“We are being run by stupid people. I used to say incompetent. But stupid is really, you know, is the next stage,” he said earlier this month.

The real estate magnate’s campaign trail bombast – including extraordinary comments that stunned many observers – appears to have done him no harm in the polls as he solidifies the frontrunner status he has maintained since late July.

A new national CNN/ORC poll of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters has Trump leading with 39% support, more than twice that of his nearest competitor Senator Ted Cruz on 18%.

So how do Trump’s Republican rivals measure up when it comes to their lexicon?

The others…

The estimated age necessary for understanding the statements of other candidates at the last primary debate fluctuated between 11 years for senator Rand Paul and 15 years for fellow lawmaker Ted Cruz or retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

GOP 2016 Carson Ben Carson AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The share of words with more than three syllables in the statements of the other participants was 14% on average, double that for Trump.

Cruz used 24% of ‘complex’ words, while former Florida governor Jeb Bush used 15%.

“The other candidates study a lot before the debates, and their answers seem scripted,” Lawler said.

Trump says whatever he has in mind. But in my opinion he does that on purpose, he knows what he is doing.

The leader of the Republican pack used such simplistic rhetoric during the debate to touch on the so-called Islamic State group’s use of the internet.

“We should be able to penetrate the Internet and find out exactly where Isis is and everything about Isis,” he said, using an alternate acronym for the extremists.

And we can do that if we use our good people.

Lawler said it didn’t seem to matter to some potential voters that Trump lacks insight in some fields.

“There are some subjects where he has no knowledge at all, but people don’t seem to care,” he said.

© – AFP, 2015

Read: These are the winners and losers of 2015

Read: Super-gonorrhoea is a thing in England and it could become untreatable

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    Mute Ken Collins
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:38 AM

    Their defence of this slaughter is actually a joke in this day and age… We have to kill them to see what they eat and how old they are. Laughable from one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world.

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    Mute OneTrueVoice
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:02 PM

    Hindus are still upset that we’re still experimenting on cattle to figure out how tasty the perfect steak is.

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    Mute Mursh
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:51 AM

    They’ve established that the leading cause of death is a harpoon to the head.

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    Mute Ben Redline
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:58 AM

    Japan have been whale hunting since the early 1900′s how much research do these fcukers need? and don’t get me started on the Dolphin hunts absolutely disgusting.

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    Mute Sean Barry
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    Apr 15th 2015, 10:33 AM

    you should just mind your own business. Let other countries manage their own affairs and traditions

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    Mute cholly appleseed
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:33 PM

    Except Sean, Japan has no claim to the whales of the Antarctic.

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    Mute james r
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:36 AM

    horrific .. should be banned

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Apr 15th 2015, 9:28 AM

    It is banned, at least for commercial purposes. The Japanese claiming that this is for “research” is obviously an attempt to circumvent the ban on whale hunting.

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    Mute John Ryan
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    Apr 15th 2015, 6:01 PM

    The odd thing is that few in Japan actually eat it anymore. Its a bit like French people not really eating frogs legs and snails. In Japan whale meat is not very popular .

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:39 AM

    Who are these idiots trying to convince? Certainly not the world! Murderers all.

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    Mute john mccarthy
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:55 AM

    The sea shepherd and captain Paul Watson will be back in action soon. I am always very humbled to know that these people are so dedicated to the conservation of Whales and the lengths they will selflessly go to, to protect them.

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    Mute Justin Credible
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:37 AM

    Whale Wars is one of the worst tv shows ever made, the whole logic behind the show is flawed. Its all about TV ratings, and not too much about saving whales. They have put peoples lives at risk, and spent a lot of money to save tens of whales, when that money could be spent on a legal team to change the laws on “research killings”, which would save thousands of whales over the decades. The Faroe Island episode was the worst one, as their whaling is actually sustainable, yet it made for good TV for people that believe everything they are fed.

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    Mute brian boru
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:39 AM

    Faroe Islands whaling is an aberration and the fact that the eu allows it continue is a shocking reality.

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    Mute Live Long
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:41 AM

    Just because its sustainable doesn’t make it right, fox hunting is sustainable but that’s not an excuse for this savagery. Have you ever seen the whale hunts on the Faroe Islands? Stuff of nightmares.

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    Mute Justin Credible
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:56 AM

    Why is it an aberration, when its sustainable, and its one of their main sources of food? In the grand scale of things, its very small scale whaling, and is sustainable. The episode of whale wars in the Faroe Island made me agree with the Faroese people over Paul Watson. Yes I have seen the whale hunts on the Faroe Islands, I honestly wouldn’t comment on them unless I had. It not for someone with a weak stomach, however the same can be said about any meat factory. have a look at how chickens are killed!
    You can’t even begin to compare fox hunting to whaling. In modern hunts, its more about a day out with the horses and dogs, its actually rare that any foxes are killed, as they are nocturnal.

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    Mute Live Long
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    Apr 15th 2015, 9:07 AM

    Are you comparing the killing of mindless chickens to the killing of sentient beings like whales. Chickens get it easy compared to the whales who usually drown in their own blood. The islanders don’t need whale meat, they eat it as a delicacy, its just an out dated tradition that fulfils a bloodlust, that has no place in the modern world.

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    Mute Shane Carroll
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    Apr 15th 2015, 9:30 AM

    Hi Justin.
    You say “its actually rare that any foxes are killed, as they are nocturnal.” I regularly see foxes during the day on my walks in the countryside. Why would they be chasing them during the day if they thought there were none about?!!
    “its more about a day out with the horses and dogs,” Yes but with the intention of catching a fox and ripping it to shreds with packs of dogs. A questionable day out pursuit in our modern times.
    Are you not aware of the studies which link animal abuse and manic behavior??
    This is not hunting for food, it is killing for pleasure and i believe it should be banned along with any other activity which involves killing animals for pleasure.

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    Mute Justin Credible
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    Apr 15th 2015, 9:44 AM

    Chickens are also sentient. As are pigs, of which there are over 1.5 million in Ireland, their sole purpose is to be slaughtered and eaten. My points about Paul Watson, and National Geographic are valid though, the Faroese people kill a small number of non endangered whales every year. However, as they are slaughtered in a way that looks horrific to most people, it shocks people into supporting the Sea Shepherd, and males them look like heroes. However, while National Geographic and Paul Watson are spending money making a show against sustainable whaling, the Japanese are still killing endangered whales. If they really cared about saving those whales that need the most help, then that money would be spend on changing the laws, or banning meat from endangered whales in Japan. However, that wouldn’t make for an exciting tv show. Its not just whales that need help, the Japanese are killing thousands of sharks every year too for shark fin soup. Sharks are taken on board a boat, fins cut off, then thrown back alive with no fins to die. But as sharks are seen as “killers”, and not friendly like whales, most people don’t care, so it would be hard to fund a “shark wars” tv show. Whale wars in a nut shell, is and incredibly scripted piece of American garbage, giving the “facts” they want to give, while putting peoples lives at risk.

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    Mute Justin Credible
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    Apr 15th 2015, 9:58 AM

    Shane Carroll, for the record, I don’t go on hunts, I have never even been on a horse! I do come from a farming background though. Yes, you will see foxes during the day time in the summer, but not that many, as they are nocturnal. To see them in the middle of the day is very rare, its usually early in the morning, or late in the evening when the nights are short in the summer. I don’t agree with fox hunting with dogs, but in most hunts, they its rare for them to even see a fox. As I mentioned, the modern hunt is a social event, people don’t go out with the idea of trying to kill as many foxes as they can. If you have ever seen a hunt, take note of the condition of the horses and hounds, they don’t really look like they have been abused. Also, how many people that have pets, will set rat/mouse traps, or poison? Foxes are not killed for pleasure either, its the same as killing mice/rats. If a fox gets into a chicken coop, thats the end of the chickens, also, in spring a new born lamb is a very easy target

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    Mute Shane Carroll
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    Apr 15th 2015, 10:17 AM

    Fair enough that is a good point in relation to farmers and i understand foxes can pose a threat to their livelyhoods.
    However their are other preventative measures and i don’t think that hunting a fox with hounds is a solution to this issue.
    A loose pack of hounds has the potential to do much more damage than a fox ever could!
    Also from the people i know involved in fox hunts, the majority of them have nothing to do with chicken or sheep farming.

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    Mute Justin Credible
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    Apr 15th 2015, 10:40 AM

    I agree, and the horses can do a lot of damage to land in too! A lot of farmers don’t want hunts on their land, for the reasons you mentioned. There is also the issue of liability if somebody gets injured on your land. You are right, most people on the hunts are mainly into horses, a lot wont have chickens or sheep. to be honest, I cant remember the last time I heard of a local hunt actually killing a fox. 30-40 years ago, it would have been different, as it was the main form of keeping the foxes numbers down. Lamping at night with a riffle accounts for the vast majority of foxes being killed now.

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    Mute Lamb
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    Apr 15th 2015, 11:11 AM

    I thought they rammed Sea Shepherd and broke it in 2? Was there another one?

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    Mute Jon Burkin
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:51 AM

    What’s wrong with us humans!

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:29 PM

    Selfish with the thinking and acting of a virus or cancer, greed, greed and more greed?

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    Mute justanothertaxpayer
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:34 AM

    1. Exactly how often do whales change their diet that 300+ of them need to be gutted every year for inspection?

    2. Just ban the sale of the whale meat from research. Just force the destruction of the carcass. They will stop spending money chasin, killing and processing them if there is no money in it

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    Mute mcos
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:59 AM

    Scientific research me arse!!!

    This is a worthwhile, but tough watch -

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P08ay4y-gE0

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    Mute Sean J. Troy
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:15 AM

    Japan has bought a lot of IWC votes with foreign aid packages. It’s very difficult to eradicate this problem by using official channels. But it needs to stop.

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    Mute Live Long
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:43 AM

    Its a total shambles, the Japanese cant even give the whale meat away in their own country, they make schools serve it for lunch just to keep a few whalers in a job.

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    Mute Siju Jose
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    Apr 15th 2015, 7:39 AM

    Hum

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    Mute r keane
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    Apr 15th 2015, 9:13 AM

    Good people, bad tastes – only way to really stop it is to embarrass them publicly

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    Mute Duchess d'Punk
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    Apr 15th 2015, 8:25 AM

    awful!

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Apr 15th 2015, 12:28 PM

    I thought it was because whale meat was a delicacy and the fat cats there love eating it, they eat it until all the whales became extinct?

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    Mute John Cross
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    Apr 15th 2015, 5:40 PM

    Easiest way to stop whaling is to run a campaign to stop buying Japanese products if they start whaling again

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