It appears the secret to Trump's surprising success in the polls is actually simple - "know your audience." Given that, as we noted previously [3], Americans have never been dumber; whether by design or accident, Trump speaks at a fifth grade level - using short sentences and simple words.
[4]
Cruz, he of the Tea Party appeal and Harvard Law degree, clocked in at a more sophisticated 10th-grade reading level equivalent. The rest of the field can be found clustered around the seventh-grade level, roughly the same as some President George W. Bush speeches and even several by President Barack Obama.
Source: Bloomberg
