US3 min(s) read
A man dubbed the "world's most intelligent man" has revealed what he thinks about Donald Trump's intelligence after addressing a major conspiracy theory about the president.
Chris Langan rose to fame after a 20/20 investigation found that his IQ was between 195 and 210 - putting him among those with some of the highest reported IQ scores in the world.
Langan, who grew up in poverty, attended Reed College and Montana State University before dropping out and taking on different jobs, such as cowboy, construction worker, firefighter, fitness trainer, and bouncer.
He eventually settled into life as a horse rancher and spent years developing his own "theory of everything," known as the Cognition-Theoretic Model of the Universe, or CTMU.
Langan appeared on CTMU Radio in 2024, where he spoke about Trump and a theory about the 80-year-old president's reading ability that went viral during the 2016 election.
At the time, online users and comedians suggested Trump couldn't read or struggled with reading.
They pointed to the spelling mistakes in his X posts and his reported preference for television over books and lengthy briefing documents.
The theory gained further attention through late-night comedy. In a 2016 segment of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the show highlighted the Republican candidate's aversion to lengthy briefings and his comments that staff sometimes wrote tweets based on what he told them to post.
The segment also referenced claims that Trump had not read a book in 20 years, as well as Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson's claim that he refused to read scripts when he guest-hosted the show.
Langan strongly rejected the suggestion that the two-time president lacked intelligence and said his assessment was partly based on having met Trump personally.
"Back when people were saying 'Trump can't read' 'look at the way he hesitates... he's got trouble with the teleprompt' I actually stood up, and I said no, I said 'I've met Donald Trump, and I think his IQ is probably equal to that of the average Harvard Professor,'" he said.
The interviewer responded "really," before Langan continued: "He is competent, he's a good businessman... and therefore could be good for the country, and I wanted people to understand that."
The host then asked Langan: "How did [Trump] ever get elected?"
Langan responded: "Trump is not as easily controlled as some of them are."
He went on to give his view on why Trump's message connected with voters, saying: "He stood up there, and he spoke his mind. He's got good instincts in that respect, because what he said resonates with what is in the minds of a lot of American citizens."
According to the world's intelligent man, the president's message reflected many Americans' concerns about stronger borders and fewer migrants entering the country.
"Trump actually did a good job of enunciating that that's how he got elected," he concluded.
