Presidential speeches are getting dumber, The Week reported.

"The cult film Idiocracy (2006) imagines a future in which Americans' mental capacities have been degraded by generations of pop culture, junk food, and–how to put this delicately–unselective breeding. The result is that Joe Bauers, an ordinary 21st century man frozen in a cryogenic experiment, awakens to find himself the smartest person in the world.

After discovery by the authorities, Bauers is introduced to the public by "President of Uhmerica" Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho at the 2505 State of the Union address. Camacho's speech isn't fit to quote in a family publication. But it's a very funny satire of political rhetoric in a dumbed-down society," the authors noted.

So far, it's still not that bad. But new research from the University of Montana shows we're on the right track. Their analysis of presidential rhetoric over the past 50 years shows that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump use less complex language than their predecessors. Although the Montana scientists used a different measure of complexity, their result is consistent with other findings that show a decrease in the complexity of presidential speeches.

Trump and Biden are among the oldest presidents to have taken office, and may both be showing signs of cognitive decline. In most cases, however, their use of the language followed a long-term trend that included both Democrats and Republicans. Since the 1940s, presidential speeches have tended to hover around the level of high school comprehension.

"You can argue that's a good thing. The declining complexity of presidential rhetoric is correlated with an expanded electorate that can be addressed directly using broadcast media. The long, ornate speeches of the past weren't necessarily superior, either. We remember Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which contains fewer than 275 words (there are discrepancies between various manuscripts and contemporary newspaper accounts), better than the two-hour stemwinder by Massachusetts politician Edward Everett, that was the headline event of the day," the article noted.

However, there is a significant, if not unconditional, relationship between the complexity of language and the complexity of thought. Lincoln's example of profound simplicity does not justify the banality and vulgarity of later presidents.

In Idiocracy, Camacho punctuates his State of the Union with songs, dances, and blasts from an assault rifle. He may not be the smartest president, but at least he knows his audience.