Donald Trump: Being smart is dumb, ignorance is good

On Sunday,Barack Obamadelivered a stirring commencement speech to the graduating seniors of Rutgers University in which he condemned the toxic “anti-intellectualism” that has taken hold during the current presidential campaign. “Class of 2016, let me be as clear as I can be: in politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue,” the outgoing presidentopined. “It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not keeping it real or telling it like it is. That’s not challenging political correctness, that’s just not knowing what you’re talking about.”

Donald Trump,correctly interpreting these remarks to be about him, fired back at Obama the only way he knows how: by proudly taking the polar opposite position, in defense of stupidity.

"In politics, and in life, ignorance is not a virtue." This is a primary reason that President Obama is the worst president in U.S. history!

Sure! With statements like “ignorance is not a virtue,” it’s no wonder the United States is such a mess. Place your faith in Donald Trump, a Wharton transfer student who, according to Donald Trump, is actually“like, a really smart person,”to put an end to all that. Trump, after all,loves “the poorly educated”! Time to Make America Less Smart Again.

This all brings to mindStephen Colbert’s2006 mockery ofGeorge W. Bush: “We’re not brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We’re not members of thefactinista. We go straight from the gut, right sir? That’s where the truth lies, right down here in the gut.” It’s hard to see how Colbert could dream up a joke as thoroughly dystopian as Trump’s tweet.

Donald Trump’s Mansions and Saddam Hussein’s Palaces Are Basically the Same

The Grand Staircase.Photo by: Vanity Fair

In comparing the palatial estates of Donald Trump and Saddam Hussein, what better place to start than magnificent stairways. Every demagogue needs one; it’s part of the essential decor package, imperative for Making an Entrance, issuing grand pronouncements, or in the inevitable Hollywood biopic, raining indiscriminate hellfire down upon disloyal minions from a gold-plated AK-47, staving off a palace coup.

On the top:The “foyer” of the Donald’s former manse in Greenwich, Connecticut.

On the bottom:A “double-revolution staircase,” constructed of white marble with a mother-of-pearl overlay, in one of the three reception palaces at Saddam Hussein’s presidential compound in his hometown of Tikrit. (Note the third, uppermost staircase, which is the architectural equivalent of Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel explaining that his guitar amplifiers are superior, because “these go to 11.”)

The Gold and The Beige.Photo by: WireImage/Polaris

It’s the perfect palate for a photo op, whether you’re entertaining a beauty queen, glowering at a diplomat, or feigning interest in a reporter. The wall sconces, candelabra, and chandeliers are the perfect lighting sources to set the mood to match your mood—from the soft glow of seduction to the white-hot glare of merciless intimidation.

On the top:A cozy seating area in the Donald’s Mar-a-Lago Club, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Bottom:A sitting room in one of Saddam’s Baghdad palaces. During the U.S.-led occupation, the palace was converted into a hotel for visiting dignitaries.

Programmed to Receive. Photo byGetty Images

Every potentate needs a formal reception area to fill with supplicants, family retainers, and hordes of “yes” men. Right? Of course! Yes, sir! Let’s build a wall!

On the top:Reception hall at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, set for Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding to model Vanessa Haydon in November 2005.

On the bottom:The elaborate circular conference table at one of Saddam’s palaces in Tikrit.

A Grand Entranceway.Photo byGetty Imagess

On the top:The Donald strikes a pose in the atrium of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, 1999. It is currently the site of most of Trump’s remote TV interviews.

On the bottom:The central rotunda of Saddam’s Al Faw palace (also known as the Water Palace), in Baghdad. The 62-room palace was built in the early 1990s to commemorate Hussein’s victory over the Iranians in the Al-Faw Peninsula, in 1988, and eventually became the headquarters for coalition forces in Iraq.

Someplace to chill out and relax. Photo byAP

A fondness for classic architectural references. Photo byGetty Images

On the top:The Trump Taj Mahal resort and casino complex, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Opened in 1990, bankrupt in 2014, sold to billionaire Carl Icahn in 2015.

On the bottom:Saddam Hussein’s Al-Shaheed Monument, Baghdad. Opened in 1983, to honor Iraqi soldiers who died during the eight-year Iraq-Iran war, 1980–1988.

CHANDELIER MADNESS!

On the left:Trump celebrates his March 1, 2016, primary victories at his Mar-a-Lago Club, in Palm Beach. To the left of The Donald is New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

On the right:A U.S. soldier negotiates the main stairwell inside Saddam Hussein’s Radwaniyah Palace, Baghdad, 2003.

Left, by John Moore/Getty Images; right, by Max Becherer/Polaris.

And so to bed. Photo byReuters

On the top:A penthouse bedroom at the Trump Taj Mahal, in Atlantic City, 2007.

On the bottom:A U.S. soldier in Saddam’s former bedroom in the Al-Faw palace in Baghdad, 2011.

(VANITYFAIR)