Conspiracy Theory Says Trump Can't Read, Which Would Explain A Lot

There's a conspiracy theory President Donald Trump can't read, which would actually explain a lot.

Well, it wouldn't explain his incessant tweeting (unless he's dictating them to someone, but that's unlikely), but it would explain his ignorance on a wide array of topics (for example, the fact that he might believe Frederick Douglass is still alive).

In general, conspiracy theories should not be trusted -- they offer broad and typically insulting or damaging conclusions based on small, tenuous pieces of evidence.

Of course, Trump spent years perpetuating a racist conspiracy theory about America's first black president (and no, it was not started by Hillary Clinton), and has continued to spread the myth the US is plagued by mass voter fraud in order to avoid admitting he lost the popular vote.

So given that, we can at least examine the case being made regarding the president's literacy and you can draw your own conclusions.

Not to mention, given that he has apparently signed executive orders without reading them, we should all be concerned about his relationship with words -- in spite of his claims he has "the best words."

The theory about Trump's literacy, or lack thereof, was put forward by "The David Pakman Show."

Using a Canadian document that explains how to determine if someone has low literacy, Pakman offers examples of when Trump met the criteria.

Pakman highlights several times in which Trump appears to struggle with reading things aloud.

There's also the fact that Trump has struggled to spell in his tweets.

We all misspell things here and there, but Trump has done it more than once.

You might recall he recently tweeted "unpresidented," when he intended to say "unprecedented."

Here's the video of Pakman:

This is not the first time someone has questioned Trump's literacy.

Samantha Bee did a few months back as well.

Although, she was less serious about the idea, and was really making a larger point about the dubious nature of conspiracy theories (and Trump's attachment to them).

Still, as noted above, conspiracy theories are not to be trusted, and it's extremely unlikely Trump is actually unable to read.

This conversation highlights how dangerous it is to take claims at face value without examining them further.

Skepticism is a sign of intelligence. Stay curious, and if you doubt something, definitely dig deeper.

In short, never stop asking questions.

Citations: There's a worrying conspiracy theory that Donald Trump 'can barely read' (Indy 100)