Trump Once Declared In A Victory Speech, 'We Won With The Poorly Educated. I Love The Poorly Educated' — Are They On His Side In 2024?

When Donald Trump celebrated his victory in the 2016 Nevada Republican presidential caucuses, it wasn't just the data but also his distinct declaration, "I love the poorly educated" that made headlines. 

The statement, a hallmark of Trump's outspoken style, resonated in an election cycle already marked by strong words. He elaborated, "We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated. We're the smartest people, we're the most loyal people."

Don't Miss: Until 2016 it was illegal for retail investors to invest in high-growth startups. Thanks to changes in federal law, this Kevin O’Leary-Backed Startup Lets You Become A Venture Capitalist With $100

By the break of dawn, the phrase "I LOVE THE POORLY EDUCATED" was trending. According to the analytics firm Zoomph, the sentiment was tweeted about 15 times per minute. Platforms like X, previously Twitter, saw diverse reactions.

For instance, Aaron Camp (@AaronApolloCamp) conveyed, "I am, by modern standards, poorly educated, and I think that Donald Trump is a threat to America." Similarly, Kat (@VTweddingPhoto) voiced, "This is an embarrassment. For the GOP and for us as Americans. The world is once again laughing."

Will McAvoy (@WillMcAvoyACN) posted, "‘I love the poorly educated.'" Donald, are you just looking at things in the room and saying that you love them?"

Trending: Operating a fully booked hotel is beyond stressful, but it's about to become much more efficient thanks to one startup. It amassed $5.5 million in its seed round, quintupled its customer base in nine months and is looking for investors.

Some felt Trump's comments were being misrepresented, emphasizing that he also celebrated the "highly educated." A tweet from Super Bowl Champs (@Josh_D_Manning) read, "To be fair with Trump, he said ‘I love the highly educated and the poorly educated.' Don't take it out of context."

In Nevada, Trump's appeal was broad. Entrance polls revealed he received 57% of support from voters with a high school education or less. On the contrary, his nearest competitor in this bracket Ted Cruz garnered only 20%. Trump's outreach was not just confined to this group. He also resonated with the more educated, obtaining 37% from post-graduate degree holders, with Marco Rubio closely following at 29%.

Read Next: The biggest disruption to smartphones in 15 years is here. See how this company is giving users an opportunity to make up to $1,200 per year.

The former president frequently mentions his educational background, boasting a bachelor's degree from the esteemed Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. But in his 1987 bestseller "The Art of the Deal," Trump penned, "Perhaps the most important thing I learned at Wharton was not to be overly impressed by academic credentials."

Fast forward to the current election cycle, and the educational divide in the GOP's voter base appears even more pronounced. The looming possibility of a face-off between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has thrown this disparity into stark relief. Recent polling data suggests that while Trump continues to resonate with voters without a four-year college degree, DeSantis seems to have a particular appeal to the college-educated segment of the Republican base.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll underscored this divergence. Among those without four-year college degrees, Trump led the pack with a nine-point advantage. Among degree-holders, DeSantis dominated with a commanding 34-point lead.

This educational chasm was further evidenced by a Monmouth University poll, which showed DeSantis leading by a vast 34-point margin among degree-holders and by a narrower five points among those without degrees.

Similar findings were reflected in a Marist College poll, which highlighted overwhelmingly positive views of both Trump and DeSantis among GOP-leaning voters without college degrees.

One silver lining for Trump is the shift toward the GOP of voters with less formal education. White voters without college degrees, who were once almost evenly divided between the two major parties in 2008, leaned toward the GOP by approximately 25 points by 2019, based on a Gallup survey. The share of white, college-educated voters in the GOP dropped to around 25% in 2019, according to Pew Research Center data.

Voter turnout tends to increase with education level, meaning these more educated individuals often have a greater presence in primaries. For instance, in 2016, a slight majority of GOP primary participants either held a college degree or engaged in postgraduate studies.