Oh, sure. What's happened in Minnesota is the biggest, most recent example. He went into that situation believing that the very visible, "made for TV" show of force would be a political win for him. But once the TV coverage turned bad, and the politics flipped, he pulled Noem off the job and put Homan in, wound down the operation and cut his losses.

That wasn't intelligence. That was obvious. He didn't pull out when there were indications things were going badly. If he had done that, I might see your argument. No. He waited until it was really bad. The horses were already gone by the time he closed that barn door. That doesn't necessarily prove my case that he's a moron, but I don't think it proves yours that he is a "read people" genius, either. That's pulling your hand out of boiling water because you already have 2nd degree burns.

Forrest Gump would have realized Minneapolis was a disaster by the time the Felon took any action.

And, if I have my timelines correct, he was simultaneously saying ICE would be sent to other cities, even after the excrement show in MN, raising more statements of condemnation and resistance. Not very bright, IMO.

He's not a people-reader. He's a bully. And like all bullies, when you give them a bloody nose, they back off. MN was a bloody nose. He backed off.