Trump's ballot meltdown let slip what he really thinks of MAGA

“A lot of people don’t know ‘dumb’ has a ‘b’ in it, actually.”

Donald Trump, September 9, 2026, trying to explain his new nickname "brand" for Democrats, the "Dumocrats" to a MAGA crowd.

No, President Donald Trump, only extremely dumb people don't know that "dumb" has a "b" in it and, if we know anything about Donald Trump's past, it's that whenever he references "a lot of people don't know," or "a lot of people think," he's telling us what's going on in what passes for his mind. And he just keeps doing it.

In an attempt to get even more sympathy for that horrifically complicated Alaskan ballot, the one that specifically notes that Dan S. Sullivan is the "Registered Republican Incumbent," versus the Mary Petola "Registered Democrat, along with Daniel S. Sullivan (Blank), Trump insists that this distinction is not enough because most people in Alaska will have some trouble with it:

“You need about a 190 IQ to figure out the ballot. They put a ballot down where they’re talking about ‘incumbent’ Republican, and the other one. Most people don’t know in Alaska — and a lot of other states, too — what does incumbent mean? I don’t know what incumbent means.

One-Ninety?

The president of the United States, ladies and gentlemen, affirming that perhaps only blue-state people know what incumbent means because "our president" sure doesn't.

Perhaps it is great to note that this is the man who disapproved of magnetic catapults on aircraft carriers because he knew something their engineers didn't; dinghies like aircraft carriers get wet, and everyone knows magnets don't work when wet.

The ballot is a complete non-issue; it could not be clearer. And two things are also true. The Petola campaign did not commit a crime if they recruited another Daniel Sullivan to run in the race — which they deny. And it's most definitely true that Republicans have done the same type of recruitment.

In Washington's 2024 gubernatorial election, Republican activist Glen Morgan arranged for two additional men named Bob Ferguson to file against Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson. As per usual, if the Democrats did something shady, they are both behind the Republicans and only half as shady. Indeed, CNN published a story on the history of recruiting "same-name candidates."

*Hold up. None of this makes it any less stupid for the Petola campaign if it had any involvement in recruiting a second Dan Sullivan. First, it appears weak and scared. Additionally, even though this type of thing has been done before, it has never been done at this level, and never with the Donald Trump DOJ overlooking the elections and ready to prosecute anyone involved, up to and including Mary Petola, whether it's a hopeless case or not. It was not worth the distraction caused over a seat that may flip the Senate. Dumb.

Of course, the sine qua non in demonstrating that Trump believes his supporters are dumb (or knows?), if there is one, is the promise of a federal check — a naked attempt to buy support, a run that is at stage five in the carnival barker-worthy tour:

• February 2025 — $5,000 DOGE savings dividend, endorsed by Trump.
• November 9-10 2025 — At least $2,000 tariff revenue dividend.
• September 9, 2026 — $5,000 per adult citizen "Trump dividend," conditional on Republicans retaining both houses of Congress.
• October 2026 — Proposed Medicare payment of $90 for about 20 million enrollees.
• October 2026 — Proposed Affordable Care Act overcharge rebate of $500 for qualifying customers.

You will note that the AP was only able to document some payments made out in the last two promises, while also, of course, realizing that the $90 check won't even fill the tank, and the $500 one is unlikely to even pay a month's worth of insurance premiums. The first three promised checks, the ones for a more substantial amount, never materialized, of course.

Yes, one of the few truths Trump ever uttered was in affirming his love for the poorly educated, said in Nevada in 2016. It is a case of like loving like in so many ways. Trump only sees love in a reflection.

It's probably okay to generalize here that a lot of Trump voters graduated magna cum lame or, well, simply didn't graduate, and that fits Trump's style, who likely wouldn't have graduated without significant help, the type only money buys. But more importantly, Trump needs his followers to believe the stupid stuff that Trump himself needs to believe to keep himself comfortable. Think of it as self-medicating with unexamined factual self-assurance. He is a winner; he's handsome; all the women want him; he's been just so rich forever, and he's the best president ever, "believe me."

It leads to Trump truly, now, believing that he actually won in 2020- he's fundamentally incapable of not believing it, or it means he was a loser, a narcissistic injury from which no one comes back. Fortunately, his army of dangerous fools was there to attempt the coup that Trump so desperately needed to "win" on January 6th.

There are so many other things, telling Americans we obliterated Iran and yet needed to go to war because they were on the verge of having a nuclear bomb, that the economy is actually really good because "we" are making so much money- it goes from shooting someone on Fifth Ave. (A testament to the unthinking) to now stating, again, that the only way Democrats win is by cheating, even though we "wascally wabbits" simply can't be caught.

But here is the good news. Many of Trump's voters realize they're being played on the economy, which opens the door to wonder how else they've been conned, and it doesn't hurt that Trump's disinterest and belief in his superpowers (Dumb) kept him from listening to the people saying he needed to talk about the economy, pretend to care about health care, that gas prices might not come down, that the Iranian war should never have happened or been ended nearly immediately- all those things that his supporters were smart enough to know, or at least feel, but he was too stupid to ever address.

More good news. It won't get better any time soon. Trump only knows how to govern one way, and it doesn't involve deep appreciation of Jeffersonian democracy but sure does depend on people who are dumb, with or without the "b." But even they are getting smart to him.

Given that it appears that Trump voters are peeling away, so is Trump- less interested in them, more interested in helping his billionaire bros. That's a pretty toxic mix for a guy going into the magna lamest of terms.

Thank is stupid with two "p's."

Jason Miciak is a Raw Story Columnist, former editor at Occupy Democrats, author, attorney, consultant, and single parent girldad. Please follow on Bluesky, and he can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com