Not Sure Anyone Was Convinced

Did you miss Trump’s Town Hall, the one sponsored by ABC? If so, not to worry. You didn’t miss a thing.

You know how some actors don’t act but simply perform, and the performance never varies. What they are in one production, they are in another. Well, that’s what we got in Trump’s Town Hall last night.

The difference is with actors, you know it’s not real so there’s entertainment value. With the President, it worries.

Accept in this case, his performance was reassuring. If his intention was to win a few votes by presenting a different version of Trump, it didn’t work. The performance was too predictable to change voter sentiment.

I admit, there were a few fleeting moments when he seemed to affect a bit of concern, but they didn’t last long. He quickly reverted to his usual mannerisms: dismissal, deflection, condescend, talk past and talk over anyone sharing significant facts.

And there was nothing new. He repeated the same narratives with a few new twists sprinkled, of course, with how great he is and how many people endorse him. If it wasn’t for misinformation and self-flattery he’d have nothing to say at all.

His performance demonstrated no significant change and that’s both good and bad. It’s good because I can’t see how any undecideds were drawn in. It’s bad because if he wins, we can expect the same chaos in the next four years. If anything, we can expect it to get worse. There won’t be another reelection to induce moderation.

I agree. All politicians lie. And to a point, that is understandable. It’s impossible to answer general questions about policies with full disclosure. It’s like trying to explain why the sun shines to a two-year-old. Some details will be left out, others distorted. You can’t give a short answer to what is a sunspot without expecting an endless number of why’s.

Trump, however, takes lying to an all-new level. He’s bald-faced. There’s no holding back. It’s automatic.

Of course, we know that. It happens so frequently it’s become the norm. Whatever fact reaches public attention is mitigated, not with adjustment, but with a complete rewrite.

I’ll share a few facts but before I do, I need to ask – how is it so many people can trust and defend a man who contorts the truth with such abandon? This is a character issue. Bad character can’t be counted on to make the best decisions at crucial moments. The only thing is in this case, the whole country will pay the price.

We expect five-year-olds to ignore good advice, barge into trouble, and throw tantrums. We expect more from the President.

The Facts

Now for a few Trump sound bites.

• Everybody owns stocks.

That was Trump’s response when pressed on why the economic recovery was benefiting mostly wealthy Americans who invest in stocks. His response wasn’t an answer but it was typical Trump. Dismissal. Don’t bother answering the question, just lie, ignore, redirect.

The truth is only about half of all Americans participate directly in the stock market and the ones who invest through retirement funds are woefully underprepared for retirement.

The complaint, by the way, is not that there are ultra-wealthy people or that those people are getting more wealthy. Personally, I think it’s great that wealth can be amassed!

Party on!

No one disapproves.

May more individuals join the club.

The question is can the President introduce policies that stimulate the economy from the bottom up. It’s easy to feed the top but that approach, long term, is self-defeating. It’s like building up muscles in your right arm while ignoring the left. [Read more…] about Trump’s Town Hall More Of The Same