Long Andy Borowitz column about Trump’s math weakness.
Start is spoilered as long and maybe not new to you. Read if you wish, of just skip that part
spoilertext
Donald Trump’s firing of Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has been widely interpreted as a childish overreaction to disastrous job numbers. That’s true, up to a point, but I think his motivation went a good deal deeper. You see, Trump hates the very concept of numbers. Why? Because he sucks at math. Brutally.
In fact, math might be his worst school subject, and that includes geography (he thinks there is an African country called Nambia) and history (he thinks the British had airports during the Revolutionary War).
Since Trump has spent over half a century in the business world, you might expect him to be good with numbers; but since he had to file for bankruptcy six times, maybe not.
His staggering math stupidity revealed itself in worrisome fashion during an appearance in 2006 with his daughter, Ivanka, and son Don Jr., on Howard Stern’s radio show. After asking the younger Don whether he had attended Wharton, Stern issued this follow-up: “What’s seventeen times six?”
Stumped by this brainteaser, Don Jr. guessed 96 and 94, both incorrect. With Ivanka offering her brother no lifeline, it fell to Dad to save the day. He confidently answered “Eleven-twelve,” meaning 1,112. He was off by a mere 1,010. The correct answer is 102.
You read that right: when it comes to math, Trump is even stupider than Don Jr. But as Little Don’s former fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, would say, “THE WORST IS YET TO COME.”
After boasting, in 2020, “I know South Korea better than anybody,” Trump declared that Seoul had a population of 38 million, overshooting the correct answer by 28 million. His biggest math mistake, though, was one he made in his first budget, in 2017. That goof, which wasn’t exactly a rounding error, totaled $2 trillion.
In his second term in office, his math skills appear to have deteriorated—if such a thing is possible.
Speaking to members of Congress last month, Trump boasted, “This is something that nobody else can do. We’re gonna get the drug prices down. Not 30 or 40% which would be great, not 50 or 60, no. We’re gonna get ‘em down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%.”
That is, in fact, something that no one else can do—because it’s mathematically impossible. Let’s do a little calculation, shall we?
The price of a month’s worth of Ozempic is about $1000. 1500% of that would be $15,000. So if Trump reduced the cost by that amount, the makers of Ozempic would have to pay the customer $14,000.
Mathman
August 10, 2025, 6:27pm
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This guy gets it. The inline five was a beast.
I was just looking at a 1996 Volvo 850 r.series. buddy wants 10k for it and said no lowballers.
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Regarding bringing back the presidential fitness test…click to embiggen…
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I know both people involved. What’s a Pierogi got to with it?
There is a pierogi stand at a farmer’s market in Martha’s Vineyard. The owner thinks that Dershowitz is a douche and has been refusing to sell to him, so Dershowitz is suing.