So, here's the thing. I know he doesn't know exactly what he's doing and should not be President. That clearly doesn't matter to a ton of the people in the USA (for some reason).
You don't make deals like he did without having some level of intelligence and some level of manipulation. Trump got the New York to grant him tax abatements on not just one deal but three major deals. That's a HUGE thing and he basically tricked them into it or pressured them. That takes some knowhow and also some drive, which is not something a lot of stupid people have. They have aimless drive. His drive is clear and decisive. He only does what he thinks (key word here, thinks) people want. He is a shill but at the same time, he knows it (I believe) and is manipulating folks along the way. Why do you think he basically never stop campaigning? He's trying to sway voters and it fucking works for him. He has that power to make you feel like he's correct even when he's not. Now, obviously there are people who see through this. It doesn't take away from his intelligence, it takes away from the voters intelligence. Trump is not stupid. The voters are fucking stupid. I mean, come on guys. Yes his casino lost money. Do you even know why? He pumped WAAAAAYYYY too much money into it and it was an all around bad deal. However, he was able to bail on most of the debt, if not ALL of it. He never paid the GC's or subs (that I know of) for the Taj Mahal (or however the fuck you spell that), he sold stocks in excessive of a billion dollars to pay the debts for it and he basically walked away. How did that hurt him? Failures are a part of any business. I see that as a speed bump. Nothing more.
Here's the real reason why he's smart. He has been thinking about running for President for a LONG time and toyed with it in the late 90's and early 2000's. He waited until there was an opportunity to snipe it away. He knew it was going to happen, he just had to wait. The dude has always talked about being President too and he got it. How many among us can say the same or even say we have any inkling of what it takes to manipulate your way to the top? That's cunning, sneaking, back handed....etc. business that got him there. That does not mean he's stupid. It means that regardless of who is around him, the man has a brain in his head and he may not look like he's using it right but everything he does seems to serve a purpose that directly benefits him or his buddies. I don't buy the "he's a moron" thing on any level and never will. He acts like a moron but he is not. He's a cold calculated bastard who knows what evils he's enforcing and the consequence but doesn't care. That's different than being stupid. That's being a sociopath, which I honestly think he may be. He seems to lack real human compassion and empathy, so it would make sense. Like he doesn't know how to be loving at all but he can smile when he's told to.
The DNC needs to find someone better than Biden. There's way too many things I dislike about Obama and Hillary and I think Biden will be just like them. However...I guess given the choice, I'd vote for Biden over Trump.