The Successor to P.T. Barnum

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

With the US Presidential election just over a month away and people in some states already voting, one would think that the two major party candidates for President of the United States would be laser-focused on world events and critical issues facing the future of our country and the planet.  One would think that, but one would be wrong.   Yes, Kamala Harris is sharing her visions of a better and brighter future, and delivering plans for getting there.  She is conducting a traditional political campaign.  

Donald Trump's campaign has a traditional structure, even though the elderly felon maintains a markedly lighter schedule than the more dynamic Ms. Harris.  Trump's messaging, however, differs from Harris's in that while hers is clear and direct, his is steeped in incoherence and he routinely drifts into strange ramblings about weird things like fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter or sharks and batteries.    Recently Trump has spent an inordinate amount of time repeating a lie about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating cats and dogs, and accusing his opponent of lying about having a part-time job at a McDonald's while she was in college forty years ago.   The economy, global strife, health care, education, housing, and the welfare of the nation are not things that capture Donald Trump's interest.

Not only is Donald Trump wasting what should be valuable campaign time trying to entertain his supporters with his stream-of-consciousness musings, he is also using his prominent political perch to promote an oddball collection of merchandise for his own financial benefit.  In the middle of a very close and contentious presidential campaign, Donald Trump, the Republican nominee as well as a former President of the United States, is hawking souvenir memorabilia of questionable value.

The grift is on - by a person who claims to be a billionaire.  That same person also happens to have had four bankruptcies and a conviction for financial fraud.

In the good old days before Trump was President, he and some partners had a degree-mill scam going called "Trump University," a supposed school of higher learning that taught the fundamentals of real estate for a tuition fee - and then sent each paid-up "graduate" a diploma.  When the business opened in 2005 Trump told reporters that he "hoped to create a legacy as an educator by imparting lots of knowledge" through his program.  He didn't.   The company folded in 2010, and a subsequent class-action lawsuit resulted in the business having to fork over $25 million to former students as well as money to the state of New York.

Recently Donald Trump has been involved in a spate of businesses which have the appearance of being dodgy.  I have already commented in this space on "Trump Trading Cards" which I referred to as "imaginary" trading cards because they are mostly digital and have no physical presence.  Trump is out with another set of these highly profitable (for him) cards.  They feature pictures of him in various guises and sell for $99 each.  If a person buys fifteen of the digital (imaginary) cards, they get one physical (real) card that comes with a supposed very small piece of the suit that Trump wore on the night he debated President Biden last June - something he says others refer to as his "knock-out" suit.  Trump said that five random physical cards will also be personally autographed by him.  (So, for a mere $1,500 a lucky buyer would get one actual card, a small rectangle of a suit material, and the possibility of a Trump autograph!)  There is a far more expensive option that apparently leads to an invitation to an actual dinner at Mar-a-lago.  (Of course, it could wind up being a pile of Big Macs!)

Last month Trump announced the sale of Trump commerative coins at just $100 each, and Trump "Victory" cologne with the signature scent of strength and success encased in a gold bottle for a mere $119.00.  Last February he began peddling Trump "Never Surrender" golden sneakers at the bargain price of $399 per pair, and the next month he endorsed, for a fee, the "God Bless the USA Bible," priced at only $59.99!  Now he is promoting Trump watches, some of which sell for as much as $100,000, and his family is entering into a cryptocurrency sales business which Trump has already promoted.

When it comes to business acumen and ethical standards, Donald Trump is more aligned with PT Barnum than he is with Bill Gates or Warren Buffett.

But, as Barnum used to say, "there's a sucker born every minute," and as Pa Rock says now, "most of them appear to be Trump supporters."

We live in undignified times.