Illustration by Michael DiMilo
By Geoff Carter
Seventy-five million and counting. This is the number of citizens who just voted to elect Donald Trump as our 47thpresident. Like P.T. Barnum once said, I guess there is a sucker born every minute. These guys gobbled up Trump’s bombastic rhetoric, hate speech, racist dogma, and false promises hook, line, and sinker. Just why is a mystery to me. I guess they didn’t remember his first term.
This was the guy who once promised to build a border wall that he would make Mexico pay for—a false promise; promised to eliminate the deficit in eight years—another false promise; promised to restore manufacturing jobs—yet another false promise (something Joe Biden was actually able to do during his administration). He also circulated an outrageous bald-faced lie about the 2020 election being stolen, a lie that culminated in the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Donald Trump does not keep promises. That’s one of the reasons we voted him out in 2020.
But now he is our president. Again. After all the lies, stupidity, anger, hate, deviousness, and abuse he spewed during the campaign, seventy-five million people thought he was a better choice to lead us than the eminently qualified Kamala Harris. What were they thinking?
What do these people think Trump will do for them? Cut their taxes? Nope. He might throw them some scraps, but most of his tax cuts will be reserved for the ultra-rich. He did that before, and he’ll do it again. After all, the Musks and Bezos of the world are his type of people. Will he protect or increase social benefits like Medicare or Social Security or bring down the cost of pharmaceuticals or childcare? No. He has proposed cutting these programs. Will he protect reproductive rights and safeguard the health of women? No. He has stated that he believes women who have abortions should be punished. He engineered the Supreme Court that overturned Roe -v- Wade.
Trump once called veterans who died for their country suckers and losers. Apparently, he thinks anyone who gives something away and gets little or nothing in return is a fool, a sucker, and a loser. Combat veterans, first responders, health workers, educators, volunteers are all idiots in his eyes. He doesn’t recognize generosity, courage, or sacrifice as noble qualities. He only recognizes greed and opportunism as admirable characteristics—which is why Elon Musk is now his right-hand man.
Trump has a reputation for stiffing contractors and others who work for him, so it’s not too much of a stretch to believe he thinks they’re suckers and losers, too. They trusted him. They did good work for him. Too bad. He probably feels the same way about his supporters, the seventy-five million who voted for him. He’s bamboozled them, he’s swindled them, and he’s hoodwinked them. He sold them the equivalent of swampland in Florida, a miracle cure for arthritis, or the Brooklyn Bridge. Why? Because they’re suckers. They trusted him. They love him. They voted for him. Too bad. He’ll stiff them, too.
The sad thing is that this didn’t have to happen. The suckers were so enthralled and entranced by this charlatan that they didn’t bother to look behind the curtain. The truth behind the Trump façade was there for anyone to see. He’s a fake. Lifting the curtain to reveal this “wizard” working the magic would have been the easiest thing in the world, but the snake charmer, with his lilting singsong voice had them hypnotized. Listen to me, it said, not the news. Don’t read that nasty mainstream media. Listen to me. Me. Me.
Say what else you’d like about him—and I could say plenty–Trump is a master marketer who is particularly adept at selling his brand (this is besides being a felon, a cheat, a liar, and a predator.) He’s sold everything from steaks to tacky sneakers to trading cards to watches, and he’s still at it. His greatest sale was convincing seven-three million people in this country that he’s great man, a world leader, and a visionary. He has sold seventy-five million voters—the great American suckers—President Donald Trump. And their choice has made losers of us all.
He suckered them. Again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Shame on us. All of us.