I went looking for verification this is real. This is the first time I am actually questioning Snopes reporting on something they have supposedly investigated because the references seem to jump all over without actually answering any questions and without providing any source references. Sad they may be afraid of the fascist too...
Did Trump say, 'Smart people don't like me'? What we know
Trump critics are sharing a video of him supposedly making the statement. But it's missing context, according to the Instagram user who posted it.
- A video shared across social media platforms appeared to show U.S. President Donald Trump saying, "Smart people don't like me."
- The video appeared to be authentic. We found no evidence of digital manipulation. It appeared to have originated from a Sept. 14 Instagram post by Republican strategist Nicole Kiprilov documenting a gala the previous day at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
- However, the video did not show what Trump said before the "smart people" remark. In other words, the context in which he made the statement was unclear.
- When we reached out to Kiprilov about the video, she said Trump was sharing a quote from a conversation he had with someone else, and that he was not referring to himself.
- The White House did not respond to our request for more information by the time of publication.
In September 2025, social media users shared posts claiming U.S. President Donald Trump said, "Smart people don't like me."
Many posts included a video clip that appeared to show Trump speaking into a microphone, "Smart people don't like me, you know? And they don't like what we talk about."
One X post (archived) sharing the purported clip had received more than 9 million views as of this writing:
Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett also shared (archived) the video on X, writing, "I agree! Soooo does MAGA know what this means he thinks of them?"
The same clip circulated across other social media platforms, including Facebook and Reddit (archived here and here). Multiple Snopes readers searched our website and emailed us to ask whether the quote and video clip were authentic.
The video appeared to have originated from a Sept. 14 Instagram post (archived) by
In the video clip, Trump says the "smart people" quote before talking about the man in custody in connection with the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
While the video appeared to be authentic — that is, there was no evidence of digital manipulation — social media users shared it out of context,
This was a comment about a conversation the President was quoting,
from a conversation with someone else, not a comment that the President was making about himself. I also do not consent to the use of my video to be used out of context in any capacity.
It was unclear who Trump was supposedly quoting since the clip left out his previous remarks. Kiprilov declined to answer further questions about the video clip on the record.
Snopes also contacted the White House for additional context on Trump's comments. We will update this story should we receive a response.
What we know about the video
Kiprilov's post included several photos, with the in-question video on the second slide. She wrote as a caption, in part:
Beautiful evening tonight at the Hope Through Education gala at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey. What a phenomenal cause to bring us all together during tough times. In the wise words of Emma Watters tonight, Charlie Kirk would be so proud of us and would want us to keep fighting.
The video begins with Trump saying, "Smart people don't like me," prompting laughter. Here is our transcript of Trump's remarks in the clip:
Smart people don't like me, you know? And they don't like what we talk about.
But he's become radicalized. So many things have been learned about him so quickly. He's become totally radicalized and crazy. And it must have been traumatic because the parents are conservative people. [They're] supposed to be very nice people, living in Utah and the father turns in the son. Boy, that's a tough deal.
I actually asked somebody in the FBI, "How often does that happen where — knowing even the guilt — that a father will turn in or parents will turn in the son?" And he said, "Almost never."
Trump was apparently referencing reports about Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Kirk's assassination, confessing to his father. (Federal law enforcement sources told CBS News that Robinson's
The rumor about Trump supposedly saying "smart people don't like me" is not the first its kind. We previously debunked a widely circulated claim that Trump once called Republicans the "dumbest group of voters."
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