Persuasion

[MadMojoMonkey]

Does Donald Trump really have an IQ of 156 in the 99.9 percentile?

I seriously doubt it.

It's hard to say, though because he actively hides his intelligence in public appearances. Rather, he expresses his intelligence by flawlessly executing a thoroughly constructed charismatic brand which sells like hotcakes and has earned him a legitimate run for the US Presidency.

He doesn't seem (text book) intelligent, but it's no accident to have such a sculpted image, and so many supporting fans.

***
I mean... I test in just below genius on various IQ tests. ~135 +/- 5 ... He doesn't seem significantly smarter than me... to me. I have totally different skills, though. He gets people. People confuse me. I get logic and evidence-based reasoning... he doesn't seem to be so good at that.

An excellent reader of people can make good business decisions, not because they understand the market, but because they can understand the personalities at play and what those personalities believe and desire.
I can think of worse qualities in a political leader. As long as the passionate people he's surrounded by are intelligent, he can find a way through the morass of emotions and come to the same decision as someone detailing the morass of data.

To be clear... I don't think Trump is actually qualified, but in theory, I can imagine a person who is a good leader, yet not really logically sound of mind. If the people he takes his queues from are logical, that may be enough.

[chemist]

he actively hides his intelligence in public appearances.

He certainly does.

If the people he takes his queues from are logical, that may be enough.

I get the feeling though that he is only interested in taking queues from himself.

[wufwugy]

I get the feeling though that he is only interested in taking queues from himself.

I get the sentiment. I really do. I thought it once too, but I don't think it's true any longer. Trump has changed messages and styles so many times based on other peoples' advice. He did different things under his different campaign managers. Word on the street is that he didn't want Pence as VP (Christie was his choice), but his family and advisers convinced him of Pence.