Trump’s grift didn’t start in the White House. It started decades ago, with a fake university, failed enterprises, unpaid workers, and lawsuits galore, all conning Americans out of their hard-earned money.
Trump ran on a performance with a charisma that got people to love him and give him their money and votes, which landed him the presidency.
The irony is that they funded the man who is the system they claim to abhor — the elite, the celebrity, the man who stiffs workers and assaults women.
Trump’s only power is illusion; it’s not real. Very little of what he said to win their devotion was true, but that didn’t matter. He said what people wanted to hear. Who doesn’t want to hear something comforting?
He was a TV star who knew what to say, and now you have a man selling fake sneakers, fake wealth and fake patriotism. He’s the business genius who turned casinos into ghost towns, the patriot who dodged drafts and insulted veterans.
Trump has become a joke with no punchline. Guess what? You can’t grift a crowd that is walking out the door.
Rawn Swallow, Salt Lake City
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