Trump characteristically manipulates language, beginning his campaign by maligning Mexicans, but having it both ways in concluding "and some I believe, are good people." It would have the same truth value or lack thereof if it had been reversed: "Mexicans are good people, but some are bad. etc." In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony turns the crowd against Brutus by reminding it that "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. " Manipulative rhetorician , he might just as plausibly said have sald, " The good that men do lives after them; the evil is oft interred with their bones."
4
Trump's speech patterns such at the overuse indeterminate words may be a sign of incipient senility, according to this article by a neurologist:
https://www.statnews.com/2017/12/07/donald-trump-should-be-tested-for-br...
7
"It all fits into the illusion of competence Trump has built for himself, a fake it-is-how-you-make-it philosophy of advancement in which being studious is for stooges,..."
That so many cotton to this idiocy, is testament to their own nefarious nature; of wishing they-too could do what Trump does. I seriously doubt many believe ( at this point) he is an honest broker of "anything". They realize he lies- boasts of things he hasn't done and cannot accomplish. Most important, they do not mind they are the recipients of the ill-will administered by Trump & Co so long as those 'others' get a filthy finger in the eye- failing to realize their eyes are being gouged out.
7
My question: When and how will this Black Comedy end ?
4
Brilliant work, Mr Blow. Trump uses the same "Word Salad" code book to sell his devotees and to spin his critics.
When Trump Speak is not empty; it's divisive.
Time to blur-out Trump Speak.
FEMA, re-purpose your Emergency Alert Service (EAS) for our TV's. Drone out his voice and just run his blather as a transcript on the EAS ticker tape.
FCC, replace his malarkey using artificial intelligence.
Redact his quotes and leave a Trump Kernel.
For example: --- ---- Dems fault ---- ---- Dreamers [loved].
"Shoal River Middle School, give them a brief civics lesson."
nwfdailynews, 1 May 2018, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz gets [1st Amended] by 6th-grader.
3
I admit; I too swing back to Trump's Base- trying in earnest to comprehend the incomprehensible; the vulgar, the willing acceptance of poison. But, I believe we sane people are too mesmerized, and terror-ridden by the narrative of the Strength of that base. Quite simply- they...are...not.. the majority of Americans. The monster-under-the-bed turns into a mouse once the flashlight is turned on. The rest of us are the flashlight- and it is high time we use it.
17
Oh, god...
Anytime I check back in with the news, it comes as almost a surprise that Trump is still rattling on like an old, deranged circus calliope. I catch myself thinking, "Don't tell me HE'S still around!" I have slipped into an alternative universe by sheer force of will, in which he does not exist.
And, yet, there he is. For two more years. Two more years. Two more years.
8
Charles, I have given up. I no longer listen to trump. His lies and misuse of the beautiful English language we share as Americans-- can bring me to my knees in disbelief. Or to tears in heartbreak over what is happening to this nation.
7
These days, data has become so commonplace and easy to obtain, it is virtually worthless, whether it is right or wrong . . . or more of one or the other. Such is the downside of the electronic era - - which may turn out historically to be at least as significant as the era in which the printing press came into being.
The problem is that truth and facts are subsets of data. And when data/information can be had at no cost, there is virtually no way of refuting definitively what someone else chooses to believe.
Think of it: aside from universally accepted facts (the sun will rise in the east tomorrow morning), what can you establish to another who disagrees with you and has more things to say about it . . . more data to throw at your statements?
There was a song a while back about "What a fool believes." The times we live in now are just an extension of that, fueled by access to reinforcing information.
3
You nailed it Charles - it's 'Trumpspeak' - it's un-listenable to those who actually listen - he's versed in the non-committal jargon of NYC realtors. In his dodgy world of promises it's worthless, hollow rhetoric, Used-Car salesmen know it as a 'Tail-light warranty'. If he could get away with 'bada-bing bada-boom' - he probably would. But worse, Trump deludes himself if he thinks his delivery saves the day - it doesn't. Whoever convinced Trump he could be persuasive clearly has not listened to him speak. For me it's an aural ordeal to listen to him vocalize his circular rationales - which is why I choose to read what he says rather than listen to him.
6
I think the immeasurable time references are also used to assure the nonstop cable TV coverage will remain nonstop.How msnbc cowers for fear they will miss coverage of every second of his rants.
5
I also have a hard time listening to him, but reading his words is worse and makes the gibberish very apparent. It makes me more careful in what I say, however. I cringe when I hear myself say, "We'll see."
3
Trump's imprecision has been obvious since Day One. The wonder is that there have been so few consequences. "No one has ever seen anything like this before". Indeed!
4
Well, not too many people know that Trump may not be lying, but people are saying that, believe me, there is a huge amount of very, very smart things that are being said, like never before, so we'll have to wait and see.
10
I thought exactly the same thing. Something about hearing that strange, vague phrase "a period of time" for the umpteenth time. It means nothing!
6
"He abhors Muslims as much as the questioner and wants to reassure the questioner of such."
I think that gets it half-right about Trump's character. I think he wants to reassure his fans that he shares their hate, but I don't think Trump really cares one way or another about Muslims or Mexicans or "liberal elites". Trump's special gift is identifying the worst bigotries and then convincing gullible people who are filled with passionate resentments, that he shares those resentments, and gives voice to their anger.
A specialty of the world of Fox and other right-wing outlets is confirming their anecdotal notion that "other" people are getting a free ride. Even if he takes away his supporter's health care, as long as black people or immigrants also have their health care taken away and are hurt more, he will be cheered for giving voice to their resentments. Built into the formula, is the rightfully horrified liberal and the press reaction over his actions. Their (our) angst is a triumph for his angry supporters. And Trump world is once again reassured.
21
You're the best, Charles Blow. Long may you write.
18
Charles, you surprise me this time. Even as you admit there is nothing to unpack, you're still - from intellectual habit - trying to find some sense in Trump's language tics. They disguise his utter idiocy. Nothing more.
8
Soon after the 2016 election my son gave me a bound copy of eminent Princeton philosopher Harry Frankfort's scholarly essay "On Bull[excrement]." In it Dr. Frankfort distinguishes between lies and what he calls "bull[excrement]": Lies are untruths knowingly told by someone who wants to hide the truth. "Bull[excrement]" is communication that may or may not be true, told by someone who does not care one way or the other, since the purpose of the communication is not to convey either truth or untruth, but rather to convince the listener to "buy" whatever the speaker is "selling."
I cannot help but think of Frankfort's tome whenever Trump speaks. He reels off the Art of the Deal in spades, trying to convince his audience to buy his newest and greatest snake oil with generalizations, hyperbole and "everybody's talking about it." If this presidency is ever over, there will be cases of it stacked up all over America.
20
And, we can thank Putin for our first 'Russian' president or Degenerate-in-Chief according to former Director Clapper who I agree with completely.
6
Exactly!
3
It may indeed be hard to listen to Trump’s verbal legerdemain and not-so-artful dodges, but it’s also hard to hear a New York Times columnist use the phrase “like I,” as in:
“If you, like I, have a hard time listening to Trump speak...”
I’m no EB White, but I believe in this case “like” is a preposition used in service of a simile, and therefore requires the objective personal pronoun (“me”). Mr Blow might have escaped his dilemma by saying “like I DO,” and perhaps meant to suggest this, but alas...
8
As intelligent and insightful as this column is, the base cares not of virtually any and all protestations of incompetence, obfuscation, or any type of lying behavior. As a matter of fact, so intense is their hatred of the left that they actually might be salivating at our outrage about his antics. You see, no one has wanted to admit the all-too-obvious fact about the fact of this election: it was primarily an act of the grandest spite. THEY wanted the power back. THEY needed an Obama-basher and Hillary-hater in office. THEY wanted to diss the coastals, the Dems, Nancy Pelosi and the elites in the most vengeful way possible: elect a know-nothing, flame-throwing, chaos candidate who will give the base and their cohorts the power they lost back to them. They LOVE this president. He is their bully-in-chief. He proves that government is the problem, not the solution with his own ineptitude. If someone so inept can be president could government really be that important?
19
Great column. The semi-literate vague and weird use of language is important to point out, aside from all the lies. It sounds like he is saying something, but there is nothing to grab on to.
2
"If you, like I, have a hard time..." would be better phrased as, "If you, as I do, have a hard time..."
Phrased as it is, it sounds perilously close to the satirical line assigned to Marilyn Monroe's dumb-bunny character in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes":
"I girl like I..."
This close approach to inadvertent self-parody seems inappropriate in an otherwise well-written piece about the improper use of language.
1
One whose language skills are worse than Donald Trump's is unfortunately the one who Democrats presented as Donald Trump's opponent. "I Short Circuited" "put coal miners out of work" "wipe the server with a cloth" "basket of deplorables". And that is when she chose to say anything at all. Mostly she sat on her throne in the safe space of the donor class. And unfortunately Hillary Clinton is the candidate who Mr. Blow enthusiastically supported in spite of her known surface area for attack and diffidence towards campaigning. Equally unfortunate Mr. Blow's disdain for Bernie Sanders who would be president today as Donald Trump's pollster Fabrizio acknowledges
1
If I had to negotiate with a home improvement contractor who spoke in ambiguities,then shame on me. Many voters contracted with a weasel worded businessman with a scrunchy rep. Shame on them if they understand the problem at all.
4
The true sin of Trump operating as the titular face of our Nation is the fact that his actions, lies, debasements, bullying, etc makes it ok for many people to act accordingly. It is a “ if Trump does it, so can I”. These copycat acts of dissipation, debauchery and defilement are wrecking our National credo of liberty and freedom for all.
9
It is interesting when Trump's actual words appear in print. He is barely comprehensible when listening, but when those words are strung together, one gets a real understanding of why that is. It's gibberish.
7
Donald always leaves himself an "out", and that imprecision allows for that. He no longer gives real press conferences that allow for lengthy give and take, and he sure isn't about to grant interviews with serious (non Fox) journalists that might require him to actually explain his reasoning. (the last time he did that was with Lester Holt, and he knows where that led).
I used to feel embarrassment when Dubya would ad lib before a mic, but he looked positively intelligent in comparison to Donald. Now I just feel a deep sense of shame, and can't even watch live. The man is an empty suit who wouldn't have any coherent thoughts if not for the feedback loop that exists between him, right wing media and his advisors. He knows how to make cynical appeals to his base, and that's it.
5
trump has another language tic, an extension of his self-image. He uses superlatives extensively. "Greatest", "best", "most", "toughest", "worst", "smartest", "tremendous", and other extreme language like "fire and fury" and "I know more about...". Thoughtful people don't talk like this. It's aberrant behaviour. This is the four year old who knows everything, or the 14 year old who can't be bothered with what anyone else thinks.
His reliance on twitter exacerbates the problem. Its limited space lends itself to extremes, rather than nuance or explanation. He can't be edited, scripted, or even responded to in any constructive way. It's also a way to lob grenades over the transom without the risk of standing in front of people. Cowardice, in other words.
9
Charles, this is one of your better columns. If I was to take issue with anything, it would be your implication that Trump’s use of language “to disguise, distract and deceive” is done intentionally, with malice aforethought if you will. But I have seen nothing to date that leads me to believe he is very intelligent. His vocabulary is so small and his intellect so limited that he can’t find the words to express himself. I think the way he uses language, particularly the way he repeats so many of the phrases you mentioned, is indicative of a person who is just not very bright.
4
Strategic Ambiguity at its finest...
2
I never listen to the big bag of air- I change the channel when he’s on it, bloviating about important things that he’s given nary a thought about and will change tomorrow. He’s nauseating and not worth my, or the country’s, time. God help this wonderful country.
6
Good column - spot on. One thing you missed is the constant inclusion of the statements "Lots of people are saying" or "others are saying". To Trumputin - 2 people constitute "lots" - but most of this garbage is twitter rants that nobody can fully respond to - he knows that - so Twitter for him is a cowards way of lying. Bone spurs must result in a huuuuuge habit of lie formation. Vote!
2
As Charles says, it has become difficult to even listen to Trump. I find I can’t anymore. His (mis)use of language to obfuscate, his meaningless hyperbole and stock expressions are designed to continually reinforce his “base”. I really think the media should continue to report what he has said and done, but stop playing recordings of his voice. “Many people say they don’t want to hear it anymore.”
5
There is something (likely not understood or respected by Mr. Trump) called the Scientific Method. Wikipedia offers this reasonable definition: "The process of the scientific method involves making conjectures (hypotheses), deriving predictions from them as logical consequences, and then carrying out experiments or empirical observations based on those predictions." Mr. Blow explains, in his usual articulate manner, why Mr. Trump words his assertions so as to be incapable of empirical confirmation. Stated differently, Mr. Trump's assertion often have no content beyond their underling racist pandering.
2
Very thoughtful op-ed, Mr. Blow. Thanks.
Donald Trump is not interested in using language to articulate truth. The imprecision in his language works well for him in manipulatiting people, as has been the case in his protest regarding football players kneeling rather than standing when the National Anthem is played at NFL games.
He see this only in terms of respect for our flag and country--another exqmple of imprecision, but this time it is imprecision in understanding the message being commuicated by those protesting by kneeling. Of course, the irony in all this is that the one holding himself out as the champion of respect for flag and country comes from one who is a dradt-dodger.
4
Trump is a pathological liar. He may not know the difference between facts and falsehoods much of the time.
We need to stop obsessing about this immature behavior and simply work to overcome him.
That means fixing the rigged (gerrymandered and vote suppressing) voting system, and protecting the vote with paper ballots and risk-limiting-audits.
5
He's been a con man his whole life and depended on all the nuanced language ploys Charles mentions to avoid being called out on specifics. He's a Con Man, period. Nothing more, and he should not be treated by the press as anything beyond that.
3
Excellent summary of Trump's use of language. It is filler for what he doesn't know. 'We'll see' ; 'We'll see what happens' and all the other repetitive 'non-phrases' he uses are obvious cover-ups for his total ignorance and lack of knowledge and preparation. In the years before Trump happened upon us, if a fictional movie about a renegade president in The White House depicted similar events as we see them now, critics would call it a Black Comedy or Satire. Well now it's here, it's real, and it is a travesty.
2
"In the years before Trump happened upon us, if a fictional movie about a renegade president in The White House depicted similar events as we see them now, critics would call it a Black Comedy or Satire."
Mikeo26, you need to watch "Idiocracy," a film that comes close to what you describe above. The other film I would recommend is "Brazil," Terry Gilliam's superb contemporary take on Orwell's "1984."
Yes, Charles, people are saying Mueller will get the goods on Trump. We'll see what happens over time.
I only wish time moved faster, so we can actually expose this fraud!
1
As long as the NYT and other media outlets report on this entity as if it were a sentient, reasoning being rather than something more akin to a single celled organism which only knows self survival, we are doomed.
Most likely it will last its 4 year term. If it is defeated in the next election, either by a little or a lot, it will not go quietly. I am starting to get scared.
3
Everything Trump says is offensive and dangerous. But what gets me the angriest is his use of innuendo, "I'm not saying but some close associates say Obama planted a spy..." He is our modern day Joe McCarthy. But when he said it was a deep state conspiracy, I was convinced that he really is paranoid and starting to believe these lies. Bottom line, when he calls someone a derogatory name like "Crooked Hillary" it is a sign of how immature he is not just by saying that. But also by thinking that most people would buy it. They would if they were a sixth grader. I can live with that. But his smears show a president who is not only evil, but is also not wrapped too tight.
3
“You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
Mr. Blow, I am so revolted not by Trump's rhetoric as much as I am how little Americans seem to grasp reality. The people who believe every word Trump says must live on the planet of happy thoughts where lies and ambiguity feed their minds. As a retired educator, I feel that education has failed in the United States. So many people have absolutely no critical thinking skills.
3
Beyond his imprecision and deliberately warping facts, Trump is often just plain inaccurate. Listening to him is difficult in the first place, his lies and rhetoric I can dismiss (I would prefer to ignore except the press makes it impossible, almost giving it credence), but the inaccuracy makes me crazier. Take for example blaming Amazon for the post office deficit when in fact Amazon has helped create income for USPS. His statements were made prior to the fact checkers correcting this misinformation. After the facts were publicized he was deliberately lying as he continued to repeat his misrepresentation. It seems as though his ADD prevents him from getting the complete picture so he uses the part he remembers as useful for his purposes. It is hard to know if this is habit or deliberate or both. Either way, it is most annoying.
2
Not everyone necessarily agrees with Charles Blow that "truth is absolute." Take trials. Plaintiff (or Prosecution) and Defendant present two divergent and contradictory versions of "what happened." Both are arguably correct, as evinced by evidence, sworn testimony, etc. Yet the two versions cannot be reconciled, and the finder of fact (usually a jury) has to decide which version is more probable.
And in spite of all this, he was "elected" (actually, he wasn't, but the Electoral College made him President anyway).
18
Rudy Fleming
President Trump was ELECTED fair and square.
1
So right...let's wait and see what happens!
4
Well said. Listening to him speak makes me physically sick. How is it that his base does not see this? How much longer do we have to put up with it?
The guy is incompetent, devious, and a despicable human being. And the republican leaders who try to protect him at the expense of our country are just as bad. I pray that justice will be delivered soon. God help us.
41
You hit the nail on the head. All rational, responsible people in this country feel the same way. Indeed, God help us!
1
Frank
The President has done much for America.
Why do you say, "God help us?"
Trump is our drunk uncle. He has been elevated to president, but he talks like the man sitting on the bar stool at the end of the bar. He knows everything, but he knows nothing. We have chosen a fool to be our president.
56
Jeremy Mott
We have heard from many fools on the left who constantly try to destroy the President. They think only of themselves, not at all of the damage they are doing to this country.
Trump never had one scintilla of developed skill or natural talent at communication. He speaks in a kind of shorthand unless reading verbatim from a teleprompter, skipping over anything faintly resembling context, and it’s a serious challenge to even understand him. That written, though, I’ve known a number of senior executives who were as bad and, so long as an important part of their jobs wasn’t communicating effectively to boards, stakeholders and others, the ones I’ve known still were effective. Remember that he built a multi-billion-dollar company that he ran like a small business, and he never was forced to develop those skills. Yet just enough people in just the right places still wanted him as our president.
His biggest problem is that he talks (and tweets) far too much, instead of letting his people communicate 98% of what he wants to say. Presumably, they would be a lot better at it, and he would appear far more presidential.
But I have no sympathy for Charles, who has found yet one more thing to despise about Donald Trump to occupy his rare free moment when he’s not consumed with hating the man. All this was painfully well-known about Trump long before he strode a world stage. But he ran, won, and IS our president.
So … what’s next on the Blow tick-list of things to despise Trump for? Inward-turning big toes? A tendency to foul, MacDonald’s-induced bathrooms that can’t be used by others for three hours? The raccoon-eyes? Inquiring minds want to know.
Richard L. writes, "But I have no sympathy for Charles, who has found yet one more thing to despise about Donald Trump to occupy his rare free moment when he’s not consumed with hating the man. All this was painfully well-known about Trump long before he strode a world stage."
What a shock! You have no sympathy for Charles who points out Trump's painfully poor communication skills in a job where communication is paramount. Your comments beg the question...how can you complain about Charles when you exactly the same?
5
When five young men, mostly Hispanic, were arrested for the crime of sexual assaulting a female joker in Central Park, Trump placed ads in New York papers calling for the restoration of the death penalty for these "animals." Despite the fact that the real assailant was in police custody at the very time the five were undergoing intensive examination, no DNA analysis of the victim's clothing was undertaken. The five young men were convicted and spent years in jail, only to be freed when the assailant confessed to the crime and DNA analysis confirmed his story. The police and prosecutorial misconduct cost the taxpayers of New York $41 million dollars. When Trump was confronted with the obvious official misconduct and his own hasty misjudgment, did he apologize for his egregious error? Hardly, in fact he doubled down in defense of the authorities, as if they were innocent bystanders. Why is it deranged of someone to ask of Trump
that he admit that he was not only mistaken but that his judgment was morally flawed? Doesn't this episode tell us that as a human being, Trump's lack of empathy for five innocent men whose lives were stunted by years of imprisonment, disqualifies him for the office he holds? It seems that for his admirers, there is nothing he can do which meets their debased level moral approbation.
4
Richard Luettegen
The President is doing a great job.
Your post does not include any praise for President Trump.
1
How about “who knows” and “everybody thinks so” ?
“ Everybody thinks” that he deserves Nobel Price.
“Who knows” that healthcare is that complicated.
13
Insightful analysis, bitterly true, and utterly meaningless.
It's the perception of what is conveyed with the words, not the words themselves that matter here: "It is instead the emotion that registers."
6
How I wish that the Trump worshipers would put down their glasses of orange Kool Ade and imagine what it would be like to have this guy for a boss, a doctor, or a sweetheart. "Can I get a raise this year?" "We'll see what happens." "Is the tumor malignant?" "I'm going to look at it after a period of time." "Will you marry me?" "I'll let you know in two weeks." We might as well have an Eight Ball in the White House.
34
It is decidedly so.
8
Very good literary analysis Mr. Blow. I enjoyed reading it. Many people are saying that maybe Mr. Trump will abandon these devices, and many other things, many disturbing things, from way back, over a period of time. A short period. That would be a very great thing. Everyone will be pleased. And pleasantly surprised. We'll have to see what happens. We'll see. By golly, I think I'm getting the hang of it!
21
Let's face it, Charles, Trump is just not that smart. He isn't schooled in issues, cannot to commit to anything that doesn't enrich his business and when the topic of discussion isn't about him, he's at a loss for words.
If you are not specific there is no commitment to an idea or the truth. As is known by many people, Trump has no ideas that don't emanate from Fox News. He lacks imagination except for conspiracies.
The glass is always half empty in Trumpworld.
A man with no inner life or imagination for the greater good simply cannot be precise. There is nothing to support it.
And that is precisely why he has failed in business, in marriage and in this administration.
The best people are saying it. The world is seeing it and wonders when did we lose our collective minds.
The swamp grows deeper and more rancid. That at least is precision.
101
Talking about Trump talking is just another hop down the disorienting rabbit hole he wants us all to stay stuck in. While he speaks his weird one-sided language that only Sarah Huckabee Sanders seems to be able to decipher, we hear not a sound about any new federal legislation to actually help our fellow Americans, only about programs and treaties and legislation and other good protections that are going away. We are living in the upside down world.
11
"It can’t. Trump uses language not to divulge but to disguise, distract and deceive. Or at least that’s what people are saying."
Many people. Many people are saying.
10
Everyone says I should be given the Nobel peace prize.
Who is that 'everyone' , Mr. President?
12
Why oh why does someone not publish the fact that he is a lousy deal maker. He took his father's fortune..millions and went bankrupt not once but 5 times. Hello, this guy couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.
Not only am I sick and tired of seeing his face every day but many of us outside the U.S are tired. This may not be the most intelligent reply but it is the TRUTH. Let's hope the world rises up and calls his bluff.
18
David
It would be nice if Canadian, David, would list, if he knows, all the accomplishments of the President for the United States. If he does not know about all the great things the President has done, perhaps he should remain silent.
How about he's ignorant of any policy or law or rules or regulations or diplomacy or any of the other norms expected of a person who makes it to the WH and all his word salad is him trying to cover up his ignorance. Apparently he is also unable to learn anything normally required by an American president. So he babbles.
14
Extraordinarily accurate & precise, Mr. Blow. This analysis is as exquisite as it is timely: Bravo, Mr. Blow!
You have perfectly captured the huckster that is, and always has been, Trump. Flash, bravado, swagger, hollow razzle-dazzle (check out the B'way musical Chicago song, pref Orbach), are the essence of Trump, virtually by his own admission when he declared his proficiency, in Art of the Deal, at "Truthful Hyperbole."
But Trump doesn't do this sort of thing in a vacuum. He's an adherent of increasingly popular post-truth preagmatism, the belief that statements or remarks aren't valid based on correspondence or fidelity to some objective reality, but their ability to achieve desired consequences. It's a tradition in America going back to writers like James who spoke of a statement's "cash value" in this sense, a crudeness that fittingly matches Trump. But it goes back thousands of years to the sophists Socrates squared off against in Athens.
This behavior though is also part and parcel of a notion of "charismatic authority"/authoritarianism that places all trust in a strongman to be sheepishly followed & trusted not because what he says is true, but because he's brashly forceful/assertive enough to remold reality to his own imagination, like Hitler tried to do. In entrepreneurship, maybe somewhat innocuous; he convinced the populace to let him try in the White House. Unfortunately, it's how he got elected, & what he got elected *for*.
It's a national tragedy.
16
Will Trump try for a spot as a writer for the NYT after his wondrously glorious brilliant presidency and more importantly what will your editors say? Perhaps FOX news would be the better venue where he could mug for the cameras, make angry faces and say nothing, but he will say it soon.
2
Just Rpbert
Perhaps you need to do a little research via Google, and find out exactly what the President has done for you and the rest of the Left.
Whenever I hear the Don. I turn him off. His words are meaningless. He lies and has third grade vocabulary He makes me yearn for Obama.
17
So, how does he get away with all this "doublespeak"? Obama could hardly sneeze without major criticism. Why does no one point out Paul Ryan and the other Repubs who go along with this outrageous, dangerous behavior of Trump ? This "my team" is always right vs "those others" will be the end of our democracy & possibly our lives.
18
And what do his supporters say? He 'tells it like it is'. Many people live in a very, very confused state of mind.
24
Some would say this is a sign of anomic aphasia while others simply incompetence. Either way, it does not bode well. Words matter; proper nouns help.
19
Excellent column Charles, and George Orwell is cheering your sentiments from the grave!
22
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for this column and others like it. Please, please never let up on this imbecile degenerate - our democracy is weakening by the moment. And once we're rid of the pestilence, please consider next taking on the question of how and why America has become a nation of dim bulbs and willfully ignorant, venal dupes that support a grifter like Trump. The latter is by far the bigger problem.
34
It's cognitive dissonance.
2
What? You don't mean it! Trump uses language NOT to divulge but to disguise, distract and deceive? Very nice sentence, thank you. Who would have thought it? But now what?
Charles Blow, all this has been very painfully obvious from the start of the 2016 campaign to now. Your column has no effect on Trumpites, and the anti Trumps know it all too well.
Your NYT column might include some politicians who are contrasting examples, positive role models. That would be more constructive, than just bashing our worst president, over and over, while the comments join in and we all feel good.
Who are some politicians who use language to convey truth, to enlighten, to promote understanding of the issues, to clarify, not disguise? Who have some sense of public duty, instead of only trying to feed their ego? What are their ideas and how do they express them?
Charles Blow---what do you think of Stacy Abrams, widely admired, very impressive, the 1st black woman to win the Democratic nomination in GA, the deep South? Her win was a big event on the media. See her Cspan videos. How would you judge her language and ideas, in contrast to our Propagandist In Chief?
Contrast!
6
Too bad his base won't read this: like him the abhor the written word.
5
Listening to the president try to use the English language is indeed painful. However, I do not believe much of the President's imprecision is intentional. I think he is basicially inarticulate.
13
He is intentional as his desire is to sow doubt and a particular narrative. If it were only impercision he would correct his language. Instead he repeats it over and over again. Doubles down on it when corrected. This is the language of dictators.
2
Elevating LIES!
How much longer must we tolerate trump?
4
Charles correctly points out Trump’s “use of language that muddles to the point of meaninglessness, language that rejects exactitude, language that elevates imprecision”. The destruction of rational discourse depends upon destruction of language and reliance upon the base impulses of the reptilian brain in place of logic and fact.
Too bad, but it’s working!
8
As Thomas Pynchon put it -- "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers."
23
So is the right question, "Why did you hire criminals to work for you?"
4
Not only does he spew this stuff, he does so in an environment where it is hard to challenge him. So Sanders has to field those questions, which has become comical.
12
Reading the letter he crafted and sent to Kim Jung Un today is a good example of what is being analyzed here. It also demonstrates that Trump does not bother to rely on experts within the administration for such correspondence. Of course, experts in this administration are a threatened species.
10
Very true and, let's note, he's in SALES. That's his background. Big-shot wheel-and-deal-but-don't-commit-to-anything sales. He has been doing it his entire life. It's ground into his DNA. Apparently, it has worked. He learned, from habit, that he can continue to live as recklessly as he wants, as long as he's not squeamish about who he does business with. Why read, write, or articulate anything when you can have attorneys clean-up the documents on the back-end, if/when any of the big talk comes to fruition?
Normally, nobody would care. It's his life, and his deal. However, the great salesman has out-sold himself: he actually became President of the United States.
So he goes with what he knows: he keeps selling-away, but not committing. Gauging the customer's enthusiasm as a guide to his next step (e.g. the rallies, the approval ratings). He's clueless as to policy matters, history, management, empathy...you name it. He doesn't care. That stuff is for quiet bookish types.
OK, so being ignorant is not a crime (not in the legal, go-to-jail, sense). But he's President. Now what does he do?
He seeks counsel from what's familiar to him: right-wing radio media personalities, and those of similar ilk.
Now, the right-wing media types have never held elected office either, and have never borne accountability for the consequences of what they say. Their job is to entertain; to get the audience stirred-up; and to tune-in next time.
...and so here we are...
100
"People are saying," "a lot of people think." These should be added to the linguistic subterfuge employed by Trump.
11
How does this compare to the average person?
1
Trump is the President, not an average person. His words, or non-words, provide policy, direction, etc.
12
He's a below average person. He has no direction.
Ed, if you can define “average person” in this context, and also “this,” you might get an answer. Probably not a meaningful answer, though.
2
One characteristic of Trump's that appeals to many is how much of his behavior , his language, conveys his eligibility to do does whatever he wants to do, without restraint. One of the ways we identify with mobsters is with their attempts to live a life without the constraint of laws or rules. This gives anyone maximum behavior potential and is certainly a primitive motivation. But we learn early that there is constraint, from our parents, our friends, teachers and others who serve as social critics and help us to understand the nature of the world.
Truth is not absolute as Mr. Blow contends and people disagree about what is the case all the time. But we are able to check ourselves if we are off base or not as we self regulate and our communities which consist of social critics who help members to come to a determination of what is the case, and comply with the standards of the community.We disagree frequently, but we discuss, argue, debate,negotiate and appeal to trusted sources to work toward a shared notion of what is the case.
To some degree Trump is an anarchist, always attempting to avoid constraint. It is no wonder that so many social critics from the press and to the rest of us try so hard and so often to hold him to community standards- like the constitution.
4
Truth is not absolute?? Really, maybe in Trump's world.
1
Thank you Charles. Precise description of how a con-man works. Why are so many still buying it??!!
34
Donald Trump is smart. Despite a rhetorical style that I find irritating (to say the least), he is an effective communicator. We should acknowledge his brilliance in this arena. However, we should also acknowledge that Mr. Trump has limited acumen for policy details, and that his character is plainly poor. We should not confuse the ability to persuade with the ability to govern or to lead a nation to greatness.
4
A lot of people are saying things like this. I was told Trump has done illegal stuff, but we'll see. That I can tell you.
16
While I agree, today during an interview Trump was very clear.
Responding to the new NFL "ruling" regarding posture during the National Anthem, Trump stated that those NFL players who do not stand during the anthem "maybe they shouldn't be in this country".
So America can now claim an openly racist President "like we've never seen before".
All the words out of his mouth are ignorant, manipulative word salad. I can not wait for this disgusting "man" to go.
34
Trump is just filling the air with random words--he's afraid to stop and think. Any radio or TV person knows the awful meaning of the term "dead air". It's silence--but it's also when Trump is speaking.
8
This piece is excellent. Yet I believe that Trump comes from a long line of grifters. The first Trump who emigrated from Germany ended up owning a brothel in San Francisco. I think, sadly, that little don is essentially repeating the language of obfuscation that he grew up with. Imagine being a small child and living with this kind of vagueness and hypocrisy every day.
He's just copying his corrupt father. It's one thing to be a neglected child and quite another to be a neglected and abused nation.
8
I agree completely. His imprecision gives him a way out in the future and helps prevent him from being pinned down on anything. But I wonder whether it is so strategic. Could it be that he says "really, really bad people" and his other moronic phrases because he is losing his mental acuity? Are these vaguenesses a way of covering up a diminished memory or cognitive function?
77
I can't believe that Trump has the intelligence to be officially Machiavellian. I agree that strategy may not enter into the equation; I tend to believe that his language patterns are just the result of a lazy, undeveloped mind. Perhaps the cognitive function was never operating on full speed a,yway. Of course I'm biased, and maybe not as informed as his disciples, because I ritualistically start chanting "la la la la la la la…" as soon as he starts speaking.
18
Well written, Mr. Blow. You gave words to what I always felt about this mendacious person. To be a shameless liar is one thing, but what makes Trump world-class (in the English-speaking world) are his carefully-chosen words, crafted to beguile and deceive, to distract and confound, and insidious in their effect of misleading simple people who are taken in by their bling.
Educated people who observe this stratagem are often at a loss to know even where to begin to counter any given sentence of Trump's: do you pick apart his meaningless words prior to focusing on his actions, or do you just jump straight to his actions? - because if you focused on his words, it would take up so much time on TV/radio, or space in print that there would no oxygen left for anything else.
You are right, this man is a murderer of the English language besides being a murderer of decency.
21
In so doing, he becomes predictable. He is predictably a bully and a coward, the latter manifesting itself in bluster, threats and then retreat. As a card carrying coward he can be counted on to back track his treats. World leaders have begun to figure him out and act accordingly. Here at home we should also realize that Trump avoids a fight, unless it is someone else who will be hurt.
6
Trump's gobbledygook rhetoric is the lifeblood of the conspiracy theories that populate the minds of the uneducated.
22
Dear Leader doesn't speak. He takes nebulous things and strings them together. Of course he doesn't want to be precise. That would show he is lying. Of course he uses no numbers. He knows none as fact. He doesn't read, doesn't speak, and doesn't write. Whew, that says a lot about our leader doesn't it?!
11
Mr. Blow has been one of the best Trump alarmists, but I'm afraid even he is being way too gentle in his warnings. Trump has been working day and night since day one to undermine and discredit the very foundations of our democracy. His love of absolute power is only matched by his love of himself. Many people have predicted Trump will devise his own " Reichstag fire", to install Marshall law, or some type of police state, and I fear they are correct.
11
People are saying this is a very insightful column, Mr. Blow is a very great writer, and many other things. We'll see what happens.
5
I saw Trump on the hill with a telescope. Too, I saw his duck; but then look at the dog with one eye. However, I realize; Trump appeals to the people. Is this good or bad? Yes! In the news he said, “In 1999, there were 2000 accidents and in 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006.” I’ve heard he has married friends and much more. But we all know; visiting relatives can be boring, flying planes can be dangerous, kids make nutritious snacks, milk drinkers are turning to powder, and the mouse saw the cat on the mat with the hat, to name a few. I need to go; I’d like to watch a movie with my friend. Can anyone recommend me a friend?
1
Another maddening rhetorical habit of Trump's is saying -- usually to the press -- "and you know it, too" (in his post-Charlottesville rmarks) or "you're calling it that, too" (about "spygate"). It's a way of trying to implicate the press in his outrageous claims.
9
and the scary thing is that this rhetoric is working on many people, in his base.
7
I don't agree, as some posters do, that Trump's verbal lack of precision is a sign of loss of mental agility. I don't believe that he was ever mentally agile. He's actually learned to use this imprecise language in order to avoid making statements such as the ones that have come back to bite him--my personal Viet Nam, would date her myself, pro choice, grab 'em by the.... Lately it seems he's saying, "we'll see" more often. It's meaninglessness makes me picture a cartoon of Trump as Alfred E. Neumann saying, "we'll see."
2
Trump's language is characterized by a total absence of facts, and by generalities which are indeed meaningless. It is the perfect ploy of a con man, a scam artist who has made a career of speaking with lies and half truths to an audience which is clueless and willing to accept that his insipid statements have some relevance. The real issue is that he is incapable of a fact based analysis of anything, since he reads nothing, and knows nothing. A President we can all be proud of !
3
We're going to be thinking about this. Sometime. Possibly next week. It might be a good thought. It might not. Some people tell us it is. Some people say it's not.
There might be people who like vagueness. Or not. We'll see.
Build a Wall. Lock her up. Drain the Swamp. We probably prefer vague Trump. If we have to prefer him. We might not have to.
Where's our Nobel Prize?
3
This is to a great degree learned behavior from a grifter businessman who knew going in he was not going to pay his subcontractors. This is in part, the language of much of the real estate business, even the honest sector.
The word salad which makes no sense is pretty much appropriate for the now sizable portion of the population in the U.S. who are in large part without a compass unless it's supplied by electronic media. Reagan started it, Trump is bringing it to full fruition.
10
Charles Blow, you have been a beacon of truth in this post truth era. However this piece is indeed one of your best. I had to read some parts aloud. With their precision and clarity, your words provide a tonic to the very malady of language that you address. Well done.
45
The best column you have ever written Charles Blow!
Some university should award you a degree in epistemology and logic for this.
The awful awfulness of Trump's "mind" is the first thing that I noticed about him.
11
As always, Mr. Blow wastes a column pointing out what the whole world, besides trumps avid followers, already knows: trump is a liar and a cheat. What is needed, desperately needed, by the majority of American people, is a progressive agenda to replace the wishy-washy, placating of the wealthy in the Democratic party agenda.
We don't have an effective health-care system ! We need a minimum wage, not 7$ an hour but 15$ ! We need free college tuition for students in state colleges ! We have to curtail the runaway policies of the banking system in the US !
Say something meaningful, Mr. Blow !
8
HRC had a fairly liberal agenda given the realities facing a Democratic POTUS in the leg. Did you knock on a thousand doors? Did you explain to your neighbor that ACA eliminated pre-existing conditions and the mandate shared risk? Could eventually lower prices? Did you vote for higher taxes to support free tuition? The fault is in our health insurance system, not health care.
Do something meaningful. Or not. Whatever.
5
Sorry JFP, you are missing something very important. Too many Americans today lack the ability to call out Trump's rhetorical crimes and thereby end up swallowing the vile emotions he is purveying. Yes, we do need to hear a positive agenda for change, but we also need more VOTERS to recognize this pernicious use of language to manipulate them. Unfortunately, most of the voters who cannot recognize these concepts do not read the NYT.
6
"The wealthy in the Democratic party agenda." Really? Because this administration is not selling out the average Joe or the truly poor? Last I checked it was Trump and the GOP dismantling the ACA piece by piece. Corporations aren't using their windfall to drive up prices on their on stock instead of improving the condition of their workers? Low interest college loans have not been passed off to institutions who will charge more interest? Have you missed the news of banks haven taken in the greatest profits in years? The previous administration passed regulations to prevent banking institutions from taking advantage of consumers after the housing crisis. How is this placating the wealthy?
well, Finally a detailed and informative description of Sophistry. A big mistake is to think Trump is stupid. He has the intelligence and ferocity of a carnivore,sort of like a wolverine. He consciously and deliberately uses language and confusion as tools. He feeds on gullibility and the natural expectations of people to expect that what they are being told is so.
When will we be willing to act on the fact that individuals like Trump, Hitler, and Caligula, Who, ("achieved feats of waste and carnage during his four-year reign (A.D. 37-41) unmatched even by his infamous nephew Nero" Wikipedia,) are insane and need to be removed by Law. In just one year and a few months Trump has already done more damage to Government of for and by the People than we can really get our head around. If he gets 4 years...VOTE PEOPLE.
17
So, a fifth grade class elects the class dunce as president... As a joke, to poke someone else in the eye, just for grins - and finds out that this is why you never want to do that sort of thing in real life. Snap shot 2016... So many fifth graders in the worst fifty years of their lives - and voting! Oh, my... Is it too soon to say, "What a deplorable situation - made possible by so many deplorable people?" Guess not. Not really. Being said all over the place. Everybody knows it.
7
Would that I could send Mr. Blow yet another barrel of ink and pound of pixels!
I, too, have followed Trump's astonishing verbal productions --I won't dignify them as 'statements' or certainly as 'policies' -- with mounting horror.
The feints, tics, and tropes [think "wine-dark seas" or "rosy fingers of the dawn", but by a semi-literate crook] that Trump produces have the intent of completely divorcing word from fact, or word from verifiability; they are a tale of plausible deniability told by an idiot.
Their deepest substrate is Trump's rock-bottom philosophical position: solipsism.
"I, alone, exist." When facts don't exist, when verifiability doesn't exist, when the world doesn't exist, the only thing that matters is Trump.
It is this position to which he implacably drives the world. When he kills millions in a nuclear war, that won't matter, because he, alone, exists.
6
Trump is a liar and a con man and has been all his life, but I don't think that's at the heart of what's going on.
Trump's mental acuity is declining. Twenty years ago he could speak in full sentences and with relative coherence. Now he simply can't. Dementia, alzheimer's, cognitive impairment, perhaps.
Yet another reason he is unfit to serve.
14
So what's new? IMO, he has major psychological problems that are on display to the world. A part of this is his masterful manipulation of people and an ability to express himself while saying nothing meaningful. What I want to understand is why in the 21st century in a fairly well educated country, millions of people fall for this type of person? For me this is scarier. Over the years we hear about other countries electing or being unable to remove leaders who are like him. We struggle to understand how Hitler was able to take over Germany and the west continued to tolerate his aggression way, way too long.
Yet in the good ole US of A, many people in this country still support his type of leadership. Boy do we need to figure out what why our culture is so broken-- fixation on guns, xenophobia, religious, ethnic and racial intolerance, continued efforts to subvert SCOTUS decisions (Roe v Wade and others), and now our would be strongman being supported by so-called Christians. No doubt Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, et al would be appalled.
20
I cant look at the man, let alone listen to his drivel.
24
Donald Trump may be an ignorant man on a wide range of subjects, and he may have a very short attention span, but he is not a stupid man.
Trump has a problem with linear thinking – at least when the line begins to curve.
Donald Trump can foresee how his lie or exaggeration will affect him personally in the very short run by making him appear tough, courageous and a man of vision. Trump cannot, however, follow in a linear fashion how his imprecision will soon curve around and come back to bite him.
That’s one of the reasons why the Trump lies steadily become more frequent and more grandiose.
50
What worries me is that this type of communication is going to be copied by others who see Trump as being successful with it.
10
There's also "A lot of people don't know..." which actually means HE only just learned something. For example, "A lot of people don't know Abraham Lincoln was a Republican." Really, Donald? Anyone who didn't fall asleep in American History or who watched Ken Burns' Civil War miniseries knows Lincoln was a Republican.
14
Well done Charles! You remain on of the sharpest critics of this amazing example of the "empty suit"! Trump is not prepared to be on the world stage. He is used to operating in the grey areas of real estate, not international diplomacy. His tactics are juvenile and one can only hope there are enough check and balances left in the US to keep us form the fate we all fear! However, watching the sycophants in the GOP operate these days doesn't give me much hope they will do anything to protect Democracy or the United States from this man's inability to operate. Tax cuts seem to be the rallying cry. IF they have money for their political PACs, they will allow anything to happen. Pure lust for power at the expense of everyone and everything else! SAD!
11
We have elected a 'successful businessman' who has filed bankruptcy at least six times including a New Jersey casino.
What ever happened to the release of his tax return after the election?
We did not elect a President, but he plays one on TV. Thanks to Mr. Blow for helping me understand.
7
Thank you, Mr. Blow. Please keep exposing the truth.
8
Okay, Trump is a jerk, Trump is a liar, Trump is a hater and a very angry person.
1) Do illegal immigrants drive down wages for low-skill, low-education US citizens? Should we do something about that? Yes or no?
2) Should entrance to advanced placement classes, our top universities and our most demanding jobs be based on merit or skin color?
Yell, scream, and throw stuff all you want; but until liberals directly address those two issues, Trump will remain attractive to a large segment of this country.
Are you asking questions or making statements? Neither documented nor undocumented immigrants drive down wages. Should we do something about something you believe? No, no reason to do so. Should there be a "level playing field" when adjudging qualifications for opportunity? I think so, but this is a social justice issue, not just a racial one. However, since Mr. Trump uses easy cues, such as skin color, country of origin and bean consumption, as the basis for his statements, I can understand your attraction to his ready "answers" to your "questions."
8
Even if we thought it was okay to burden liberals with the task of solving social issues before we could justify removing Trump from office, those aren't the issues I would pick. Trump supporters have never been more than a minority of the electorate anyway; the fact that he's President is what makes him dangerous, not the breadth of his support.
3
Michael H: Using your reasoning, we could ask the following questions of post WWI Germany:
1) Was there runaway inflation in the German state that rendered nearly valueless the German mark?
2) Was there a problem with unemployment and a conviction that the country had been treated unfairly by the winners of WWI?
Well then, the sure cure for those certainly had to be Adolf Hitler. There was no other way of addressing those situations than to ramp up a war machine, blame the Jews, and become responsible for the deaths of 60 million people.
You see, there are other, better ways of addressing immigration than Trump's pet wall, and better ways to carry out almost every duty of the presidency. But as long as we have Trump encouraging and driving the ugliest aspects of human nature, bringing out the worst among the dissatisfied, and proposing mean-spirited "solutions" to harm those he scapegoats for our problems, then we are not headed toward a successful future for America that we can take pride in, now are we?
Listening to Trump is a fool's errand. Quit listening to him a focus on what is actually happening to America under his administration. What is happening is terrifying. I never listen to Trump. I don't care what he is saying. I assume if his lips are moving, he is lying. And I am almost always right.
17
Thank you for helping me stay sane, Charles Blow. I love this piece.
8
No one does the con any better than trump, just ask his many followers over a period of time.
3
It is not only another way to lie, but it is also a blatant manifestation of how ignorant he is as to the very issues of which he speaks. This man has no sense of history and political science, yet alone the English language. All the vague utterances dripping from his mouth are rooted in the fact that he was not instructed well enough, or he was not listening to his aides or other partners in the art of deception, spins, and lies. He went off script. Yes, he is the quintessential liar and Spin-Chief. However, his words and entire make-up are based on an emotional IQ of a grammar school bully leaving no room for intelligent ideas, civility, and wisdom. Simply put he is a dangerous buffoon.
11
Um, in an otherwise strong criticism of Trump's syntax, you might want to reconsider "like I."
2
I have stopped listening to trump, or watching his hateful face on my TV. It is easier to read about him. But, even then, I find myself incredulous that this country is being led--or, not--by such a simpleton appointed reluctantly by the electoral college.
7
Actually, of course, "a Lot of People are saying" that Trump lies. In this case, "a lot of people" means anyone who actually listens to what he says and then looks at the world around them. Mr. Blow deserves a place in history and in our hearts for steadfastly calling out liars, braggarts, bullies, and nasty little people masquerading as statesmen. People are Saying he deserves at the least a Pulitzer for so doing.
7
Thank you again mr. Blow for your enlightening analysis of the deceitful , improvised and cajoling verbal expressions of the occupant of the Oval Office .
Only a fragmented , ignorant and arrogant mind can give birth to such an anomalous presidential language .
But it appears to be fine with his electorate , often seen applauding with enthusiasm all this vernacular nonsense.
It’s a pity that “ his people “ will never read your articles, I believe it would be too much for them to just read , forget about understanding.
The imprecision of Trump's speaking is now legendary. It is the subject of all sorts of memes. "We'll know soon." "Some people are saying."
And yet, it is instructive to contrast these verbal deflections with the instances he speaks very plainly.
Take, for example, his slurs against ethnic minorities. Mexicans are "rapists" and brown-skinned people are "animals". Immigrants from Norway are favored but America shouldn't accept people from nations described by Trump in a manner unfit for this paper. Neo-Nazis and KKK are some very fine people.
Or take, for example, his slurs against women -- about their appearance ("blood was coming from her whatever") or sexual assault ("grab 'em by the ...").
These graphic statements stand in stark contrast to his vague deflections. Trump uses the latter when he wants to cover up his unlawful conduct. His expressions of the former show his true self -- his true beliefs.
But we need to remember one thing -- his rabid base (some forty percent of this nation) does not care at all that he lies -- or the language that he uses to lie. They're not being hoodwinked. They know he lies. And they love it every time he does so. Trump lies now, not only because he is afraid of truth, of the consequences of his actions, but also because his base wants him to. And so far, he hasn't paid a price for doing so -- far from it, his lies have paid off quite well for him. But those of us who despise this man will very much pay the price for his lies.
5
Correct! The fact that Trump lies is not refuted. The real problem is, why do so many Americans not care? What is at the bottom of his approval by his base?
3
I remember when Trump was accusing Barack Obama of not being born in the US. Trump would say he had "people looking into this and it's incredible what they are finding."
Trump has always been adept at throwing the bull, and when he was just a real estate developer from Queens his rants would be relegated to Page Six.
But now, with 51 million twitter followers his imprecise use of language is very troubling indeed. But more troubling to my mind is the fact that there are millions of Americans out there who believe what he says.
Are these people blind or just uninformed? Are they ignorant or just hateful of the liberal media?
These same individuals hated Barack Obama. November cannot come fast enough. Yup. We'll see what happens.
4
Trump's speeches are those of a fourth grade bully. You can hear them every day on any elementary school playground. Fortunately, fourth graders dan't have the authority to start a war or drop a nuclear bomb. Trump does.
3
I have stopped listening to that man. When his voice comes over
the radio, I turn the radio off or to another station. I do the same when i am watching the news on the TV. Sad! Seriously, the really sad part is his acolyte Netanyahu could get into a war with Iran and Trump could do nothing to stop him.
3
Thanks for this column. I love the nuances of the living English language and Donnie's degradation of it has been bothering me for two weeks. Incidentally, many, many people are suggesting that you deserve a pulitzer for this column. The best people.
4
Trump constantly strings two sentences together: "People are saying" followed by "Everyone is saying." His mind immediately edits from a rumor he constructs in his imagination to "fact" coming from that same imagination.
2
When this is all over, it will be Charles Blow I remember as the relentless force of reason over the outrage that is the Trump administration.
Charles, you are a champion!
4
It's called blowing smoke. The real question is how such a man became President. How did he even make it to candidacy? That's the biggest charge against the FBI, the CIA and the Justice Department.
Trump became the Republican candidate, because the GOP had no bench; he was the least bad. He was elected due to the corrupted Electoral College with enough votes from gerrymandered voting districts to squeak out a "win". He lost the popular vote by more than 3M. He has no mandate; his Cabinet is comprised of self-interested plutocrats who use this tool to enrich themselves, and to sign terrible legislation in favor of themselves and their rich cronies. The EPA took decades to enact in order to ensure clean air and water; the current EPA is headed and staffed by those who wish to establish mining on public lands, among other things. Mining interests have taken over the Agencies in those States where miners are at risk from unventilated mines lacking quick access to escape a collapse. Mountain top mining has resulted in piles of barely secured sludge hovering over the poor communities below. Unqualified judges are being appointed to Superior Courts; a corporate shill, Gorsuch, is now sitting on the SC where he rules in favor of corporate interests. Bush was right when he said that elections have consequences. The unemployed in the heartland have plenty of time to think about that while they contemplate their shuttered factories.
1
Trump was the Republican candidate in part because there was no real bench, but also because the Republican Party had for years consistently put party ahead of country, and would ac pet anyone who would get them a judge on the SC and tax cuts. But now that Trump has delivered, the party still sticks with him. Is it still party over country?
Whatever, when you vote, remember for anyone running as an R belongs to the party that brought us Trump.
A lot of people are saying that Trump is unfit to be president, but we'll see about that, in no more than two weeks. Believe me!
2
"...ironically, the very thing that this projectionist accuses the “fake news” of doing." More TPS (Trump Projection Syndrome). If he is accusing someone of something you can be certain that he is guilty of that very thing. The examples are too numerous to count.
2
Trump's deliberate use of and reliance on catch phrases of grandiose but indeterminate language has lowered the dignity of the office of the President to a level the likes of which the world has never seen before.
5
Just as Bernie Madoff cheated investors out of $billions, Trump is cheating all Americans by incrementally destroying our Constitutional rights. Both men seem possessed of a PhD in lying. Mr. Blow has described in excruciating detail how Trump uses language to successfully distort truth/reality to advance his personal power and wealth. The country over which he presides is not his concern--he's just not that into it.
5
We come back to the fundamental problem our nation faces: the Republican Party has abandoned democracy and taken over the government through a distorted electoral process financed by their mega-donors and aided and abetted by the Russians. Putin sleeps well every night that Trump occupies the Oval Office and the Koch brothers and their like are saving billions and billions in tax cuts.
The Republican Party has lost its way at the expense of the American people. The Trump Clown Show is merely a reminder of the political danger we face daily.
5
The sentence "Truth is absolute" is spot on. To put it another way, there are no true facts, there are only facts. If there were true facts, then there would have to be false (or alternative) facts. A fact is true in and of itself.
But Mr. Blow says this better and more succinctly than I.
3
It's 1984 without the guile.
1
Unfortunately this language or lack there of and its affect on the masses speaks speaks volumes of a certain cross section of this counties electorate who see intelligence, articulateness, empirical knowledge and science as suspect or as elitism. This cross section lives in fear of others who are different from them and/or they fear losing their status. A status which by the way is absolutely meaningless in this country today. This cross section would rather live in a homogeneous society held together by ignorance and superstition. This cross section of the electorate is desperate, grasping at straws and have hooked their wagons on to what they see as the last great white hope. Just like those gullible, god fearing folks back in the day who desperately purchased the magic elixir from the traveling snake oil salesman, who convinced them that it would make all their troubles disappear
3
"I love the poorly educated!" Trump fans wear glasses with distorted lenses. They see Trump as a "winner," a billionaire businessman surrounded by everything golden. Not real gold, mind you, but that doesn't really matter. If you believe someone to be brilliant, then all the words out of their mouth are pearls of wisdom. With his lies and imprecise language, he has prepared his base to doubt every fact that Mueller will present. They truly believe the conspiracy theories, the witch hunt rhetoric, the talk of fake news. They think Trump is the only guy in Washington who tells it like it is. Our country is the shooting victim on
Fifth Avenue and it's bleeding out. But Trump alone can save us. These are truly frightening times.
92
If Trump really is a billionaire, why would he borrow 250M from Russian oligarchs in London? That huge loan will be on his tax returns; let's see those tax returns in perpetual audit. He is not a billionaire; he is in debt; he has failing real estate ventures in Manhattan and FL. He is not a successful businessman; he inherited a real estate fortune and lost it. His casino venture was a failure, the loss now carried forward for 13 years of tax fraud. The GOP succeeded in foisting this failure on a democratic Republic in order to benefit and pay back their donors. Democrats need to register their voters and get them to the polls. We don't have another FDR; however, we do have the numbers to win despite all the GOP attempts to close polling places.
25
Of course, Linda, you're right. The Trump aficionados bought into the image presented on "The Apprentice." They didn't realize that reality shows have little to do with reality. Practically everything Trump touches devolves. Even his fan base, some of whom are starting to realize they've been conned, are sticking to their guns. It's too embarrassing to admit they fell for a flim-flam artist.
Just an excellent, thoughtful essay, Charles. Language is such a powerful tool that we are prone to missing its power when it is wielded in such inartful ways as by Trump. But whether or not he knows what he does--and there is no evidence that he is a student of political communication or linguistics, and even less evidence that he could be such--Trump speaks in ways that keep his base at home and that mask his ignorance. There is a certain brilliance to that, however accidental it is.
27
C.S. Lewis had this to say about language: "Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn't mean anything else." As a person of deep faith and ethical convictions, Lewis was careful to follow his own advice.
Mr. Trump, on the other hand, uses sentences that deliberately obfuscate meaning. And, on the rare occasion when he makes something approaching a declarative statement, he nearly always contradicts it, often immediately after uttering it.
This is perfidious behavior. And he is the President of the United States.
24
All true, and yet Trump rarely seems to be called on this rhetoric in real time. The few times that I have seen this happen, when the press tries to pin him down for clarification, Trump becomes notably angry and flustered. We need to see much more of this. Perhaps we don't because of Trump's appalling performance during his now infamous first press conference when the press attempted to force him to clarify his statements. Trump has the option to shut off the press entirely, so I understand the dance between access and alienating Trump, but it enables Trump rather than informs us as to who and what he really is.
22
That's all nicely observed, and the effect of Trump's imprecision is certainly as you say.
As for the cause, I'm not sure it's entirely a design to "disguise, distract, and deceive." I'm inclined to think it's largely desperation. Donald Trump went and got himself elected president, naturally found himself in over his head, and now must tread water for all he's worth. Well, for a good deal more than that, but it's just a figure of speech.
You'll have noticed that Trump often follows "We'll see what happens" by walking away from the microphones. If there's anything he wants to do more than disguise, distract, and deceive, it's duck out. He's a glib talker who doesn't know what to say.
41
Or it is the result of mental deficiency.
3
I agree. Trump's just a blithering idiot with a 50 word vocabulary.
5
This is the most brilliant and necessary article I've read in months. A must read. Sadly, the people that need to read this the most never will.
86
All true, and important to point out. But it does not matter to his so-called "base"--which is base enough--nor to the cadre of evangelicals, who don't care about what he actually says or for that matter actually does, so long as he allows those around him to carry out reactionary social policies. It's been said again and again that Trump is like the old guy at the end of the bar, or your crazy uncle every Thanksgiving, but whether thanks to the Russians or thanks to Comey, for now he is the president, and until/unless the Democrats take the House in November, he has little to worry about. Alas.
18
If we survive Trump's presidency (big emphasis on IF), it will be, in large part, due to Charles Blow. I'd like to add -- and others like him -- but, sadly, there have not been nearly enough others.
Mr. Blow understands and articulates better than anyone the shameless con man that Trump is. Thankfully, Trump will gone one day. And, historians will question why so few others, particularly and especially congressional Republicans, didn't call out a Trump with the same fervor as Mr. Blow.
143
Historians have questioned the McCarthy Hearings chaired by a drunken alcoholic who destroyed the lives of decent teachers and others. Is the answer the same: anti-Communism manipulated by those in power.
2
And yet his approval rating with his base remains in the 80's. What does this say about their receptiveness to his empty, meaningless rhetoric?
Well, for one thing, it says that somewhere in there is a kernel of thought they can attach and cling to. In a way, the language Trump uses is one of the most effective dog whistles ever created. It communicates a certainty that the way things are now, is not the way things should be. And that the way things will become under his leadership, is the way they should have been all along.
Make America Great Again. Immigrants. Muslims. Black athletes. Women. Dreamers. China. Putin. Collusion. The Justice Department. The FBI. Comey. Sessions. Roy Moore. James Clapper. Planned Parenthood. North Korea. Obamacare. The Nobel Peace Prize. The Wall.
Are there any of these where we do not clearly understand his position, despite his unclear language, his empty phrasing? It is the difference between critical thinking, which leads to deeper understanding, and mere acceptance of that which provides immediate relief to a perceived oppression or wrongness. It does not matter if Trump can clearly elucidate when The Wall will be built, who will pay for it, or what it will accomplish. It only matters that he says it matters. The rest is left to the imagination,and the imagination of his supporters says it will keep out the rapists, bring back their jobs, make us safe.
The Art of The Con, as practiced by The Great Ambiguator.
39
Excellent opinion Mr. Blow! Thank you for continuing to shine a bright light on Trump's deception and cons.
24
He's really not that clever. It's in plain sight for everyone to see that our dear leader is dumber than a post. The painful fact is, lots of people love his unintelligible sexist, racist rants.
In spite our fears that he and his fellow travelers might prevail, the odds are that the majority of us will soon flush him and his selfish, destructive world view down the toilet bowl where this horrid man and other waste products belong. We will soon be ending our dark-age nightmare if we are motivated to enmasse cast our ballots to reject this ridiculous buffoon.
24
Thank you Mr. Charles M. Blow for your precise analysis of imprecise language.
26
Trump lies! As soon as you accept that as truth, nothing he says really matters. The real problem is the 30% of Americans who are too stupid, lazy or willfully in denial to realize he lies every time he opens his mouth.
20
...or profiting by the policies he has enabled!
1
I grew up in NYC with guys like Trump- there is something we would say to a guy like Trump when he’d be boasting and acting like an idiot but it can’t be printed here. The NYT is much too nice to him.
Behind Trump’s words there is a great deal of brutality disguised as “ off the cuff” and naivety. Beware. He.Knows. Exactly.What.He’s.Saying.
27
It makes him sound like an idiot to most. But then minimal critical thinking that renders this obvious isn't a strength in his followers.
14
Trump may be a lying, racist, boastful, fat bully like Charles claims every week; but I have hard time seeing how Trump's 'imprecision' is any different from every other politician out there.
3
I am guessing you're overlooking, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman[, Ms. Lewinsky]"! And we all know how that turned out, right? Or this one: "It depends upon what your definition of [sex] is."
I am guessing you're overlooking former President Bill Clinton's lies to a federal grand jury. Alas, my most favorite fairytale of this century comes from former President Barack Obama's infamous "If you like your health plan, you can keep it . . . if you like the doctor you have, you can keep your doctor too." And we all know how that turned out, right?
But you're right, Mr. Blow, Mr. Trump is the only cardinal liar to occupy the Oval Office.
3
If you cannot distinguish between a lie to avoid embarrassment, a promise that could not be kept, and a lie to evade the law then you may not appreciate the words “hypocrisy,” “conspiracy theory,” “critical thought”, and “cognitive dissonance.” Now multiply that one lie times 3000 and measure the scale of the difference.
4
Whataboutism is feeble defense for Trump, the most mendacious president in American history. Sadly, it never loses it's allure to the faithful. Perhaps it's all they have.
3
President Obama was telling us what he was proposing in his health care plan. The fact that the miserable repulsive republicans weakened it lays at their feet, not his.
3
One of your best columns, Charles.
23
I have a hard time listening to Trump speak, so I don’t. I have also avoided using his name and the word “president” in the same phrase. Trump may be a snotty little rich kid from Queens, but he’s also a playground bully, garden variety. As a middle class survivor of the playgrounds of Queens, I have seen his ilk many times. His language isn’t an attempt to lie. It’s a reflection that, at any moment he has no idea what he’s actually talking about. Even Charles, who said after the election that he would devote every column to fighting Trump, and has, to his great credit, gives Trump too much credit. I never paid the slightest attention to what Trump said, and never tried to interpret him. In the words of Simple Jack, trying to understand Trump “hurts my brain.”
If I had a pulpit - or a column - I might move my focus from Trump, who is an unrepentant bully (which includes sexist, racist, etc), and talk about how we can move the chunk of lug headed supporters he panders to towards recognition of his silliness. The problem here is no longer Trump. It’s your idiot brother-in-law, who lives in Kentucky, or wherever. Let’s stop preaching to the choir and figure out how to wake up our fellow citizens so that in 2020we can be rid of this embarrassment.
33
Listen guys, I despise Trump as much as any sane person. But enough is enough. My today’s email from NYT Opinion lists six stories - four of them on Trump. Like Michelle Wolf said, “You guys are obsessed with Trump. Did you used to date him? Because you pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him.” There are a lot of really important things out there, and Trump is NOT one of them. Every time he opens his mouth, he’s lying, so why bother reporting on every stupid thing he says/does? His base - and apparently the country - doesn’t care that he is a sociopath with an IQ below Celcius room temperature, so use the “ink” on something else. The media (who, btw, put him in the White House) have been reporting on him non-stop since before the election. Give it a rest, will you, please?
9
Well, I for one, am glad the New York Times continues to call out the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world every time he lies, every time he evades the law. To me, that would be what any decent, respectable news organization should do.
2
No rest until he's out of the white house and hopefully,in prison, where he belongs.
3
“There are a lot of really important things out there, and Trump is NOT one of them.“
If only this was were true. Unfortunately, 62 million Americans elevated his status beyond what it should be. He’s the president of the United States, sad to say. Therefore, what he says and does is important, even if the man himself isn’t.
Thank you Chalres for another outstanding evaluation/critique of the moron/idiot that some people call president. Indeed, the facts developed by our intelligence agencies demonstrate that, but for Russia's interference in the election, Hillary Clinton would be President and not the Russian puppet.
Finally, it should be clear to every reasonable person (excluding, by definition, every Trump supporter) that Trump acts guilty of this treasonous conduct because he is guilty of it.
13
Spot on. The analogies with 1930's nazi propaganda is stunning, but Donald Trump and his enablers in a way represents something even more sinister, which is combined and magnified by the role played by social media and mass media outlets such as Fox News, radical right and Christian fundamentalist hate-mongering and conspiracy peddling talk show radio which are managing combined to destroy the meaning of facts, data, scientific evidence.
Again, while Trump is a charlatan, trickster, hate- and fear mongerer with a bloated ego it is important to turn the light on the nearly half of the American electorate who voted for him and would vote for him again even after being exposed for more than a year to this blizzard of lies, scandals and incompetence.
18
Sadly Charles, are absolutely right on this score, as usual. The man is the biggest blowhard ever to hold the office. Equally as sad is that unless people get off their duffs in November and vote, we will b hearing this nonsense for a "much longer period of time."
Most of us know what and who he is, but we need to convince the rest of us of that. "That's what a lot of people are saying."
9
Is it the communication style of a successful cult leader? Are his supporters from a group susceptible to his narcissistic manipulation? The most mind twisting phenomenon of the Trump reign, is how can so many hear, embrace and spit back his distortions and lies?
10
Thank you, Charles Blow, for calling attention to this critically important component of Trump's active brainwashing of his so-called "base."
Brainwashing, by the way, is a science -- an abuse of psychiatric expertise. Guess where it was perfected to an art form? Correct: in Russia...
Trump rambles; he is occasionally full-on incoherent; yet he exhibits cunning in throwing in certain phrases while the cameras are on him. One such key phrase is "They're animals!" used as a reference to darker-skinned Spanish-speaking people. Next thing you know, we have people questioning the legitimacy of anyone walking around in the USA while speaking Spanish.
And there are many other Trump signature brainwashing phrases. "Lock her up!" is probably the most famous one. The cumulative effect is insidious. TV producers who choose to play these snippets on loop are helping keep his "base" aligned with their fuehrer. The day he calls for suspending our Constitutional protections in the name of "saving our America First vision" is the day Trump sets his feet firmly on the path of some abominable 'final solution.' To make sure that day never arrives, we have to challenge the brainwashing & dissect the hate speech now: while there may still be time to stave off a national catastrophe.
11
When I hear Trump speak, or simply see him, all I see and hear is repulsiveness and repugnance; a very hate filled man, an evil man. He actually makes me nauseous. What has this country come to, when it chooses a reprobate like Donald Trump? The country I love is being destroyed by this horribly ignorant man and the like mined people that follow him. It's indeed, a very sad day for the United States.
19
It ain't rocket science no matter how much you try and overanalyze it, Mr. Blow. He's a huckster. Nothing more, nothing less. Every one knows that; and enough accept it that the endless bloviating you and others in a guilty and complicit media waste on it will make no difference until you all suggest something to do about it. Sigh...
7
This helpful article is the best description of Trump's daily obfuscating verbiage I've read.
oz.
7
Which begs the question then, why does the NYT and others continuously repeat what he says over and over again every single time ? The constant repetition of nonsense only aggravates the situation. Simply report facts and actual events, is that so hard ?
6
In a period of time, in about two weeks, many people are saying, many fine people, that I am going to make an announcement about the criminal deep state that I call “spygate” that has a nest of spies spying on me that is the biggest scandal since the fbi pardon of crooked Hillary’s emails. It’s big, folks, so big that I’m hereby ordering Nunes and Gowdy to break into the top secret files to blow up the fake scandal against me. Many people say that the nutjob Comey has been spying on me over a period of time based on some fake dossier, but I did the world a big favor in firing that nutjob so that the pressure is off. Oh, and forgetabout the meeting in Singapore, I’m too busy cleaning out the swamp that has become a sink hole in my backyard.
8
Trump uses pointless language as a diversion to try to hide the fact that he is ignorant of the customs and laws of the country and its government and is too lazy to learn.
5
Charles--for the first eight years of the 21st century America had to put up with a president who was fluent in authentic frontier gibberish. During her ill-fated runs for president Hillary Clinton couldn't give a speech without frequently pausing to clear her throat as she went "ahhh...ahhh" again and again. So take Donald Trump's speech patterns in. stride. Just keep in mind that in Queens we tawk funny
3
Trump uses language like the NY con-man land developer he is. From the NYT in 1976: "When asked whether he thought Mr. Trump had any shortcomings, the architect replied: “He's extremely aggressive when he sells, maybe to the point of overselling. Like, he'll say the convention center is the biggest in the world, when it really isn't. He'll exaggerate for the purpose of making a sale.”"
7
Many people are saying it Charles, over long periods of time...
1
«What is truth?»
—Pontius Pilatus
«Oh say, what is truth? ‘Tis the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce,
And priceless the value of truth will be when
The proud monarch’s costliest diadem
Is counted but dross and refuse.»
—John Jaques
«There's a sucker born every minute.»
—P.T. Barnum
«Wait and see.»
—Benito Mussolini
5
All very and sadly true. Trump is also purposefully imprecise when conflating immigration, legal and illegal, and gang activity. Did he mean the MS-13 gang members when he used the term “animals”, or was he referring to illegal immigrants? It’s all mixed up, so that you hear what you chose to hear: Trump apologists (including, sadly, a NYT opinion columnist) chose to hear it as a justified insult to the gang. Latino immigrants heard it loud and clear as an insult to all.
7
Trump goes right to the gut with his weasel words. Their very ambiguity allows his listeners to hear what they want to hear. It's all part of the post-truth, post-reality world we find ourselves in these days.
Charles P. Pierce summed it up years ago in his book "Idiot America":
The three Great Premises of Idiot America:
· Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units
· Anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough
· Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it.
https://www.amazon.com/Idiot-America-Stupidity-Became-Virtue/dp/0767926153
It's a shame more people didn't read it.
I see a report that Arizona is removing the word "evolution" from its school text books. Stupid is the new smart. Don't get left behind in the race to the bottom.
8
Well, Mr. Blow, It seem to be working for him with his base, who seem to understand his language.
5
An excellent analysis, Mr Blow.
It’s finally dawned on me why I have such trouble figuring out just what Trump said.
His skills at imprecision work perfectly with a dumbed-down America who reject facts and analytical thinking .
9
We know that Mr Trump lies. This is not new information. Focusing on Trump's speech and how he lies isn't going to defeat him. Doing so actually causes his defenders to dig in their heels and refuse to listen to reason.
If you want to defeat Trump you must start educating people on why his policies are so bad for them. People tend to care about what's in it for them so educating them on how specific policies will hurt them personally will do more to defeat Trump than personal attacks ever will.
Many of us are starting to suffer from Trump fatigue. We can't afford to tune out because we're sick of him but articles like this one can lead us to do just that. The truth defeated Hitler and it will ultimately defeat Trump also.
7
We all know that President Trump can be imprecise, and can exaggerate. No big revelation. And, like other politicians, he often presents only one side of the argument.
In my opinion, the NYT is equally guilty of presenting only one side of the argument. Sometimes, the slanted reporting is downright silly, for example suggesting President Trump should be grateful for the FBI spying on his campaign.
Please look in the mirror, and then ask whether you honestly present both sides of political and economic issues. I think you already know the answer.
1
Great article, Mr. Blow! What is so amazing is how many people voted for him, even after hearing him speak. When he speaks, he says nothing, just a bunch of gibberish.
Obama was an inspirational speaker and now I can't even stand listening to Trump - ever!
9
The times does the opposite. Using very precise language to obscure facts. The FBI had extrajudicial secret electronic surveillance in place on senior trump campaign advisors according to this paper. Technically they didn't wire tap the President. They also had a secret paid informant, definately not a spy.
The facts aren't obscured by the NYT. The government didn't "have surveillance in place' on campaign officials, they had it on Russians, and picked up conversations they had with campaign officials. There's a big difference there. There is also a big difference between having an informant reach out to campaign officials who are under valid suspicion for espionage and Trump's unsupported claim that a spy was "embedded" in his campaign.
5
This sort of incomprehensible, imprecise language became quite prevalent when Sarah Palin rose to national attention. Just think back on the "string-of-unconscious" nonsense that poured from her mouth. The scary thing was, and is, lots of Americans speak the the same way she does: sloppy language translates to sloppy thinking.
And now, today, the leader of the free world is also incapable of speaking in full, logical, thoughtful sentences. He speaks more like the class clown than an adult.
My dear friends, we are surrounded by imbeciles. The problem is, they are running things, people actually put them in charge of important stuff. This is truly scary!
9
Incompetent harsh ideologists running important things? Amen. American manufacturers suffered throughout eight long years of Gina McCarthy's EPA.
Time to read your Orwell. Try "1984" there Big Brother's aim was to destroy all language and to erase history to replace it with the new party line. The object was that the masses would be controlled if they had not language to conspire with. So we have Trump Doublethink and Newthink and Newspeak, all lies, lies, lies. In the future people will not say Orwellian but Trumpian or however that translates from the Russian or Chinese.
6
To a journalist, especially one like Charles Blow, who plies his trade in the most precise communication possible, I'd like to suggest one more Trump dodge. It is the use of the passive voice which again does not bear attribution. Blow includes one in this column, "a lot of information has just been learned, and a lot of information may be learned over the next coming period of time." What information? Learned by whom? Of what import is it? I hear my sixth grade teacher saying over and over, "Active voice, please!"
9
Calling out Trump for his imprecision is spot on, but it also is too kind. He is a compulsive liar, and his routine lack of specificity is an increasingly tiresome dodge designed to hide his troubling lack of familiarity with facts. Simply put, he is not interested in facts, and unwilling to put in the time and effort necessary to master them.
Trump is far more comfortable trading in unfounded epithets and unsubstantiated charges calculated to arouse anger, resentment and a distrust of everything from the federal government to one's neighbors. The truth is his enemy, and he has all but declared war on it.
Let's face it. Trump is a malicious slacker. And that's a fact.
8
I, too, cannot stand listening to 45. When I hear that voice, I feel my IQ going down. That is why I don't actually listen to him. I read the transcripts - of course, doing that is a lesson in futility - trying to make some sense of his ramblings.
He has to be the most willfully ignorant person to ever occupy the White House.
The sad and scary thing is, there are millions of people who think he has and continues to do a good job. Even after 45 (I REFUSE to use his name) is gone - these people will still be out there. The problem is: What do we do with them? They who accept gibberish as fine speech? Nonsense as foreign policy? Lies as truth? Focus on the minutia and ignore the greed and corruption by the people that they helped elect?
11
"Trump uses language not to divulge but to disguise, distract and deceive. Or at least that’s what people are saying."
Exactly. But people vote for candidates that most resemble themselves. The Trump base sees him as their mirror image. They are either exactly like him or they want to be like him. And they represent 40% of the population! Imagine a country with 40% of the population consisting of liars, prevaricators, and dissemblers. People who hate the truth...people who hate democracy. Where...oh where is that country headed?
America...we have a problem, and Trump is just the tip of the ice berg. To pretend that once we are rid of Trump everything will be hunky-dory is to stick our heads in the sand.
Vote. Vote out all republicans. Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good. Don't believe for a second that democrats are the same as republicans...they are not.
9
Now, how do we stop it?
8
Great piece Blow, but very likely to fall on many deaf ears and made up minds.
How do you account for the fact that a massive number of Americans are utterly clueless about Trump’s incessant flimflam and serial mendacity?
5
Charles, people are saying this was a really good column! (definitely up there in the spirit of “be best”) I guess we’ll see what happens in a period of time whether that is true. Or maybe even very soon? Or perhaps in two weeks........
4
"This imprecision is simply another way to lie."
Precisely.
6
Very astute. But there is one observation that is implied but not stated about Trump and his Trumpisms: his words and phrases are not the product of stupidity, but rather are intentionally crafted and time tested. His years as a grifter real estate mogul and faux businessman have taught him the con artists creed: truth is in the ear of the listening mark. His imprecise language is intended to induce the listener to fill in the blanks with their biases.
Trump knows the audience he is playing to and how they will interpret his blathering. Trump may sound like a dummy, but some people think he is smart. We'll see, sooner or later.
3
Very true. I would add he also knows no one will ever call him out on it to his face.
Thank you Mr Blow. May you continue to elevate your precision on the inadequacy of this POTUS and his shamelessness. Fight on for the world is holding it's breath.
4
This analysis is spot-on. Maybe Trump really is an evil genius. Or maybe he's just evil.
6
Trump strips the truth out of language. He rips the meaning from words.
2
To borrow a baseball term: the tools of ignorance.
3
George Orwell famously wrote, in his classic essay ‘Politics and the English Language,’ “Political language...is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Just yesterday, when asked if he had proof that President Obama had planted a spy in his campaign, Trump said, “Just look at the basics....” What in the world does that mean? Today we learn that Trump and his staff intentionally pepper his tweets with typos, misspellings and grammatical quirks and errors to make him seem “more authentic” to his base. If the truth shall set you free, Trump’s average of more than half a dozen lies a day and other rhetorical obfuscations and linguistic muddying are the stock-in-trade of this loathsome banana republic despot.
229
Mr. Blow, it's a matter of pitch, like the current "Yanni vs. Laurel" internet trope. You and I hear a master dissembler, a facile faker who lies every time he opens his mouth.
His "base" hears an unambiguous expression of their anger and frustration, distrust of 'the other', and fear of that which they do not understand or cannot control. We hear weasel words, they hear someone "telling it like it is". Sad, very sad.
198
Randomonium writes, "We hear weasel words, they hear someone "telling it like it is". "
No. The Trump base hears someone telling it like they wish it was. Or telling the same con that they like to use. They like the con...they like the con because they are con artists too. At their core, they are no different than Trump and that is why they voted for him. They were not fooled by Trump...stop deluding yourself about them.
10
rumpleSS - The phrase "telling it like it is" was in quotes because that's exactly what I've heard them say about him, not what I believe.
I don't think the majority of his base is anything like him, but they are taken in and entertained by his angry, demeaning, negative tropes about immigrants, Democrats, China, the FBI, Obama, Comey, Hillary, etc. He encourages them to voice their most unworthy fears and prejudices, and they are pleased and grateful to let fly.
Just look at the 75% of church-going evangelical Christians who support him. Are they really anything like Trump? I think not.
Saying things like "People are saying ..." or "Things will happen very soon ..." or "in a period of time" is a helluva lot simpler than saying "I don't know." Trump +hates+ to appear not in control of a situation or ignorant of what is going on or simply incompetent ... which he and his sorry administration certainly is.
The way all this makes sense: He never intended to become President (as Wolff's book has already stated) and instead planned to build Trump Brand 3.0: TrumpTV, with Bannon and Miller and whoever else he could collect to attack HRC, liberals, and anyone else he and his minions hated, taken directly from the likes of Alex Jones's listeners.
And with the election in his past, and a somewhat honorable HRC as President who would never attack her own vanquished opponent, all of the incredibly incompetent fumbling for "dirt" and influence would've never come up in an FBI or DOJ investigation. 'Twould have been enough to report that he'd actively reached out to Russia / UAE / who knows who else for funds, but it wouldn't have mattered much ... because he +lost+.
Trump is a Useful Idiot who is a genius at only one thing: Telling the people in front of him right. now. what they want to hear. I for one can't wait until he shows his face in Chicagoland because I hope to be arrested protesting as my badge of honor.
In the meantime, we are deconstructing his followers, starting with Peter Roskam in IL06. Blue wave forward!
6
Imprecision and laughable hyperbole may be more than just calculated or lazy. They may also cover
-impoverished thought
-impoverished speech
-a weak sense of self, and
-a lack of "agency".
These can be signs of psychological disorder or psychopathy.
7
There are multiple reasons for Trump's imprecise, meaningless use of language, several of which Mr. Blow explains. I would also suggest that he simply has a limited vocabulary and understanding of grammar and syntax. Both reading and writing develop language skills, but he does not read anything beyond a one-page brief and does not write anything beyond a 280-character tweet. His language skills appear to have stopped developing decades ago leaving him with an inadequate repertoire of words. Combine that with his attempts to CYA at all times and the result is a president who says absolutely nothing every day. What is laughable is listening to Sarah Huckabee Sanders say repeatedly in press briefings, "The president has made it very clear..." Or not.
8
By some fluke in our electoral system, a liar, swindler and cheat was elected to the office of president. It's well past time the media began using the word "lies" instead of "untruths" or "alternative facts" when describing the pronouncements of this man. Kudos to Mr. Blow. Any chance you could enlighten us as to the circumstances of his enrollment in a military academy as a teenager?
5
Thanks for a terrific analysis of the book(encyclopedia?) of verbal tricks this Fake President cynically employs to purposefully avoid committing himself to facts, while providing manufactured drama and abundant wiggle room to accommodate future events. I have come to realize that Trump-speak is nothing more than the artful verbiage of a "world class" Con Man, which is who he fundamentally is.
He has had a lifetime to perfect his conning delivery in his various businesses, whether in dubious marketing, branding, or selling ventures. Trump University? This language just rolls off his tongue, now as a President, as naturally as a baby's "momma, momma". Michael Bloomberg hit the proverbial nail on the head when he succinctly cast Trump as a New York con man. For our purposes as citizens, organize everything this person says around that accurate construct. Everything.
6
I will take Trump's phrase "we'll see what happens" over his other speech behaviors any day.
1
Has Trump really elevated imprecision? I don't think so especially since I watched him plead with Russia to release HRC's email and within hours the emails appear. Trump's language about the Republican's tax reform were spot on. Trump stated "a lot of really smart,... wealthy people know that slashing taxes on the wealthy hasn't worked". What could be more precise than that statement right before he signed the Republican's largest corporate tax/1% give away in US history? And of course Trump's crude sexual statements about his daughter. Every woman who has been abused understood those statements were precisely the way their abusers talked. What Trump has done in many cases is elevated the precision of confessing to crimes/unethical/immoral behavior to a public level and a constant din. So when Trump talks about being President forever "we'll have to give that a shot someday", you better believe Trump is being precise.
5
At his last press conference, Obama commented in reference to Trump's bluster about all the great things he was going to fix;
"Reality has a way of biting back ."
That was imprecise but probably true - especially of the reality of the election of the man. The biting continues, as Mr Blow points out.
1
Of course he didn't invent any of this, though for him it's an absolute principle of (mis)communication, not an occasional rhetorical device. But to me the most egregious phrase is "people are saying" in its various forms. Because that one, specifically, is not his coinage: it is an absolute STAPLE of political journalism, a way for lazy pundits to insert opinions for which they are never required to adduce even a shred of evidentiary backing in order to frame a topic into whatever pre-fabricated narrative suits their need, whether there's any factual basis for it or not. And there usually isn't. Trump may thrive in that soil more virulently than any politician of our time, but the political media and their own forms of intellectual laziness (bothsiderism!) have done more than their share to prepare it for him.
I'm reminded of that old movie "Money Pit" with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. Whenever they ask a contractor how long something will take, the answer is always two weeks. I don't think I need to explain the joke.
I agree though. I physically cannot tolerate listening to Trump speak. Even when comedians do impersonations, I literally cringe. Trying to read Trump's tweets is even worse. I feel as though his tweets are permanently damaging my eyesight. I wish news articles would stop posting full images of Trump's tweet bubbles. They are a public health risk.
The entire display is offensive to my mind. The beauty of the English language is lexical diversity. Grammatically, English is a relative mess. You'll want to try German if order and precision are your thing. However, English allows for such an immense combination of meanings that you can actually convey more than just meaning in a single sentence.
For example:
"We cross our bridges as we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and the presumption that once our eyes watered."
-Tom Stoppard
Trump renders all this meaningless. He is the butcher of language. Politics aside, I find Trump infuriating for this reason alone.
6
Loved your post and share the feeling.
Please let's not give him credit for strategic verbal acuity or rhetorical skill in spouting these vague, meaningless, and infuriating constructions. No doubt he's been doing this since grade school and by virtue of wealth and power managed to keep climbing over the backs of the bullied, bought off, demeaned and bewildered. That this man holds a bachelors degree in anything is amazing to everyone but him, who learned very early on that standards were for little people. He drools gold.
6
Political speech doesn't aim to inform or clarify, but to raise issues and score points. Studied vagueness is to be expected from a politician - most of them are lawyers after all. Trump offends the ears of professional observers because he obfuscates without using the currently fashionable euphemisms. The real problem with Trump is not imprecision, but the outright lies and the dark intentions behind those lies.
2
The only possible outcome from this horror that gives me any hope at all is that this country has a reawakening and forever remembers this period as when we almost allowed an unqualified, corrupt conman to completely remake our country into his own warped vision of "great". It's a long shot, but it's all we have now.
5
I appreciate the analysis of the way Trump talks. I refuse to listen to him for that reason. Of course, he differs from many other politicians past and present only in degree.
That is not exactly news. The question is why he gets away with it, and with absolutely everything else, with Robert Mueller and Stormy Daniels and her lawyer alone taking the role of opposition. Just a few years ago, lying was considered an offensive. "You lie!" shouted Representative Joe Wilson (R) of South Carolina at President Obama.
Now both parties say nothing in the face of someone who tells nothing but lies.
That is news. The explanation of that would really be news.
4
I haven't read such an hilarious, while truthful, article, in a long time. It depicts a caricature of a man, unable to distinguish, by force of repetition, what's true and what is not, to his own detriment and condemnation. I freely confess you brought out, sadly, a joyful "schadenfreude" in me, by witnessing the undoing of a charlatan's standing. At least, that's 'what they are saying'.
3
Trump is a amoral real estate salesman. He is only interested in the sale regardless of the outcome for the buyer or for anyone else. He has the basic principles of a George Costanza, who delivered the saving grace of every cheap salesman with 'it isn't a lie if you believe it'. For Trump, belief in any principle except his own profit lasts "over the last long period time". For a child like himself, that is only until the next cookie.
2
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, otherwise intelligent people defend Trump and his outrages in the name of whatever policy they like.
So-called Christians have chosen Trump over Jesus. (John 8:44) People who want their tax cuts have them, and the fossil fuel industry is in deregulatory purgatory.
We the People ought to put a check on Trumpism in November. Send him home in 2020.
5
Well done Charles. Trumps speech is nothing but a collection of meaningless assertions interspersed with categorically false superlatives, designed to obfuscate rather than than inform, activate emotion rather than intellect, and conceal a monumental ignorance of all things consequential.
2
It's worth noting that the vague, scrambled, word-salad rhetorical approach you're describing is typical of a number of rightwing politicians: George W Bush, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, others. I honestly can't think of a major politician on the left side of the spectrum who does this--it has become almost a trademark of the right wing, part of the brand. It certainly has less to do with conveying information than signaling tribal membership, a way of indicating an undercurrent of shared ideas that can not be explicitly spoken but that "everybody knows."
The language of the id.
21
First: It wasn't me
Second: Ok. It was me, but there is an explanation.
Third: Ok. Not a good explanation, but so what.
4
Trump is the Pontius Pilate of presidents.
"Things" may or may not passive-aggressively happen. Stay tuned, because this is the highest rated cliffhanger of a reality show that, to use his words, "the world has ever seen."
"People" are saying, because his regime is defined as the pulpy pages of a checkout gossip mag.
I just read that a judge has ruled Trump can no longer ban people from his Twitter account. I also read that his staff largely ghost-writes his tweets, deliberately misspelling words and using CAPs and too many !!!!s so as to make him a Deplorable in good standing, a very stable genius whose base, he perceives, is slightly less intellekchul than he is. And the media gobble it all up., as he merely pretends to despise them.
And the feeling is utterly mutual. Michelle Wolf was right when she told the D.C. press that "you guys love Trump." And well they should: the ratings and revenues of the consolidated corporate media are through the roof. #Resistance, Inc. is a very lucrative franchise, for professional Trumpers and anti-Trumpers alike.
The only losers are the bottom 90% of the US population, not to mention close to 100% of the world's population.
Trump might lie like the day-glo orange rug on the top of his head, but whenever he brays "Winning!!!!" he is very sadly speaking Mammon's honest truth.
He's been the poster boy of our two-tiered justice system for all 70-odd years of his existence. Poor people go to jail. Trump pays a fine and signs an NDO.
28
I am currently studying the writings of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., for a novel I'm writing. It is intriguing to imagine the conversation that Rev. King might try to have with The Donald. For Rev. King, words had meaning; they were his meat and drink. Rev. King, of course, would see through Trump's obfuscation within seconds, and he would also be aggrieved to learn how many, many people are swayed by the orange man's rhetoric. Over the past long period of time (it seems longer than it probably is), I have made the decision not to engage any further with Trump's supporters about their politics, even those people whom I love. It would be a fool's errand to converse with them about Trump, for they are truly beyond the reach of reason. The only solution is to VOTE in November. The sooner that Trump's hold on power is lessened, the better for our sanity and the sake of democracy.
34
Back in 1964, Theodor Adorno wrote a book called "The Jargon of Authenticity" that should be required reading in the Age of Trump. Adorno's essential point is that frauds and demagogues use a simple verbal trick: employ language in such a a loose and shaggy way that only the personality of the speaker can hold it together and make it coherent. Each auditor creates meaning in the image of the speaker's power.
This is the Trump Effect, as it was Sarah Palin's before him. Each Trump sentence, loaded with half-truths, lies, and distortions, is an advertisement for his brand -- for Trump himself. The way out of the trap is not to listen. Or to listen skillfully.
36
I’d love to see how “Trump’s use of indeterminate language” would go over with a grand jury...folks look, lots of people, the most ever, I mean a lot, have said these are the biggest, the very biggest, the very, very, greatest, the most beautiful lies ever...
14
Mr Blow - while I appreciate your passionate resistance to a dangerous buffoon of a president, I'm afraid you are playing into the con.
While you are focused on how bad the man in the oval office is, you merely draw attention to his act, and make him the center of attention. Meanwhile, the republicans in congress and the many horrible people in his cabinet are dismantling all the good things that government has done for working people over the past several decades.
Any chance you could divert your attention to the damage being done in the shadows, instead of talking about the clown in the spotlight who is doing all he can to keep you from seeing what's really important?
22
I'm beginning to believe that Trump HAS read a book - Orwell's 1984.
63
Bush used to do this twisted language dance , as well. It drove us all nuts, but sometimes, through gritted teeth, you had to admit it was also funny. Sometimes. Trump is not funny. Ever.
17
Trump is 'like we've never seen before'. He has no shame and is utterly contemptuous of anybody or anything that might hold him accountable for his words and actions, including the laws of the United States. Since he is our chief executive, and is supposed to be the premier law abiding citizen and show honor and respect for our laws and our law enforcement, it is much more damaging. For him to continue to denigrate and demean our law enforcement agencies and our laws, can only lead to his base and fans doing the same, which carried to the extreme leads to anarchy and these folks are armed. The amount of anger and fear that Trump (our so-called president), is eliciting can only prompt violence and bloodshed. Putin would be proud of his puppet for showing such disregard for the democracy he leads to seek to destroy it in such a manner. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning is coming. Please God help good leaders to do all they can, while they can, before it is too late.
14
It's amazing it hasn't happened before this, but all he really needs is a session with a person acquainted with the art of fisticuffs. There, I think they'll print this version.....hopefully.
1
Trump is the ultimate con-man. He grifts. He gaslights. He diverts. If caught in a lie by a reporter, he blames it on people told him. He loves to lie and to obfuscate, it's a get. He wins.
He constantly manipulates the press into using his terminology. Trump wants us to use the term..spy-gate when Trump had numerous felons on his campaign interacting with foreign nationals. Trump's team was money laundering Russian monies thru Cyprus banks.
Trump and company appear to be involved and perhaps guilty of multiple crimes:
bank fraud
money laundering
tax evasion
bribery
perjury..
This is the high crimes and misdemeanors President..and what we have is Tower-Gate. Corruption on many levels and an endless path to the bottom boasting of bigotry, adultery and sins against humanity.
19
The republican congress has made itself culpable by turning a blind eye and not upholding their sworn oaths of office. It is scary and infuriating that they refuse to impeach this cretin. What will it take? A private email server?
2
Give the guy a break. He’s working with a vocabulary of about 100 words (includes pronouns & prepositions).
6
"The Elevation of Imprecision" = The Death of Democracy. We have been warned repeatedly that It's a basic technique of despots to render truth moot, allowing them to run roughshod over delicacies like our national self-narratives -- "government of, by and for the people" or any of the other idealistic identity-defining narratives our country was built on -- and, essentially, to destroy truth itself to clear the way for malicious, defective tyrant-wannabes.
One of the defining faults of the human mind is its ability to lie. In many cases its effects are tempered and benign. But coupled with venal narcissism, unquenchable greed, absolute sophistry and a void where conscience resides in normal humans, Trump has all the tools of our own Caligula.
9
There is noting new about this. Read Orwell's "Politics and the English Language", written 70 years ago. He satirized politicians' evasive language in the "New-speak" in 1984.
5
Let's just coin a new word for this use of language: Trumpspeak. Yes, this is an obvious allusion to the Newspeak of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," but like Newspeak, Trumpspeak is an intentional use of language to bury the truth through obfuscation, dissembly, and distraction. Whataboutism, "Fake News," "Witch Hunt," and just about every incendiary tweet he shoots out into information space is all a method to bury any evidence or facts that get in the way of his grab for power. Facts, evidence, and knowledge are power, and Trump doesn't want you to have any.
12
Remember "In your heart, you know he's right"? That was over 50 years ago.
So what has changed? It is no longer fringe. Given the thrust of your piece, Mr. Blow, I will not categorically state that 60 some odd million people in the USA prefer to be spoken to the way Trump speaks them. Let's just say I know a few who do. And if I - a white male - had the opportunity to present this piece to them (an opportunity far more likely than yours to do the same thing), why I am so certain that the response would be "In my heart, I know he's right", perhaps followed by an invitation - at gun point - to get out of the house?
Fox News, its co-conspirators and its forerunners. 50 years of it. That's why I am so certain.
Have no doubts: Trump's sloppy speak will persist, incubated and sustained by those with money and means, even when Trump is gone. We may find a modicum of satisfaction when the obfuscater is removed from the front pages, but (I will stick my neck out) millions of his minions will skulk and mumble and ever-anticipate the next coming.
7
“Trump uses language not to divulge but to disguise, distract and deceive.”
By the time my son was 3, he had already figured out what it meant when I said, “We’ll see what happens” or “Maybe. We’ll talk about it later”.
7
Trump has been compared to a stand-up comic who is constantly throwing out new stuff and refining it (or abandoning it) depending on audience reaction. Words and phrases don't have literal, dictionary meaning for him; they have emotional impact. Being imprecise isn't a problem; in fact, being precise would be. He's just throwing out trash talk and hitting buttons for his base. The rest of it, vagueness, doesn't matter. At least, that's what a lot of people are saying.
5
If you feel no pain, nothing stops you from fighting. Your either the victor or you are dead. If you feel no shame, the same is true of verbal battling.
Trump is like a beast who lacks the ability to feel pain. He fights on, and nothing really scares him because he can't hear the logic or reason that would wound a normal person. Hurt him and it just makes him mad, but he can't feel the shame that would lead a normal person to retreat.
Trump's style of speaking and writing are not evidence of intent to deceive or obfuscate. While that is the effect, I doubt that Trump is consciously aware that he is doing so. His style was probably the natural result of his discovering or being taught (by his father?) that if you simply never acknowledge the validity of an opposing point, if you just never stop talking, eventually the opposition gives up in frustration… and you win. He is working completely by reflex, following the pattern of behavior that sustained him throughout his life.
It is important to understand why Trumps rhetoric is so insanely effective, but it is equally important to not give him credit for having conscious control of his skill. Therein may lie the key to his downfall.
3
There is no question that this is how Trump operates and has most likely all his life. The only question is why is it that not until now has anybody called him out on it?
Trump 'word salad' has been a mainstay. It has served him well and it has been particularly effective at salving his lemming followers.
Based on his comments and tweets one could easily assume Trump is likely the most ignorant leader of any major power on this planet.
Calling attention to this tactic is way past due, highly appropriate and deeply appreciated. Though a lot of people are saying it will not matter.
4
Trump may not not be speaking with precision, but the actions of his administration are very precise in targeting for demolition all the policies of Obama's presidency -- environment, energy, civil rights, gay rights, immigration, voting rights, diplomacy, etc. Truly a tragedy for our country.
11
Another brilliant analysis of the manner in which this president presents himself. Does he bluster and babble purposefully and with intent or is this truly all that the man can manage to utter? It is almost ceasing to matter, because he is doing what he and his team want him to do - confusing his listeners and exhausting all of us. It is left to the journalists and those who comment to help make sense of Donald Trump's statements and plans - if indeed there can ever be any clarity. How much longer can this go on and why must it be endured?
119
Another radiant piece by Mr. Blow. It would make a great topic for discussion in a rhetoric class at one of those "liberal" universities Trump and right-wing media have instructed Americans to hate. Sadly, however, it is far too nuanced and/or difficult to understand for the vast majority of Trump supporters. Nonetheless, keep 'em comin', Charles.
6
Surprise! Trump is a politician. He speaks in a messy vernacular but is no less cagey than Obama, Bill Clinton, and others when they cautiously parse their words so that what they say depends on the meaning of the word "is."
The media itself is equally culpable when day after day we see stories couched in vague and conditional terms, such as "Mueller could be looking at xxxxx, according to sources who have knowledge of his thinking." This speculation passes for a "news" story.
Only Trump is accused of " lying" while the others aren't even thought to be obfuscating.
Trump is not a politician. He is a bully and a con man pretending to be a politician. Yes, other people dissemble and lie, spin tales, and take the money of fools, like Alex Jones. People misspeak now and then, like Bush. America is full of hucksters.
But no public figure in my memory has just gibbered the way Trump does. He mostly tweets and speaks words only tenuously linked by grammatical structure, and totally devoid of logic or meaning. Where ordinary liars lie in sentences, Trump has somehow managed the art of lying using just strings of words and gestures. It is fascinating - and horrifying at the same time.
Why his word salad appeals to anyone is a wonder, unless his very incoherence is the thing that satisfies the emotional needs of a group that also cannot coherently express itself. When you have been screaming inside for at least 8 years because there is a black president, ain't it grand to scream out loud? All sound and fury, signifying nothing, but portending disaster for the US.
1
The country is full of bloviators like Trump, always was, always will be. It's in our defective national DNA. Once in a great while a beneficial mutation comes along. We are way overdue.
4
My first thought on reading this was to wonder if Trump could have understood any of it if he tried to read it or had it read slowly to him.
My next thought was "What a ridiculous thing to wonder."
7
Trump uses vague, open-ended phrases to fool some listeners (and his base) and bring them into his alternate reality. The power of suggestion resonates with some. Trump is tricking some listeners into believing that they have drawn there own conclusions. Trump is happy as long as those conclusions match his. And let's not forget, many listeners are happy to join a crowd, or a mob, or whatever it is that makes up Team Trump.
1
As the pressure of the Mueller investigation mounts Trump's ability to speak coherently deteriorates. He has always lied, exaggerated, and been grandiose but his ability to form and express a coherent thought has significantly declined. Also, his habit of repeating the same phrase over and over again in a sentence has also increased.
To think that he might hold a summit with Kim Jong-un and be unable to form and express coherent thoughts using precise language is chilling. We can only hope that the meeting does not take place.
Trump often sits with his arms hugging himself when he talks. He looks like a man unraveling verbally while he tries to hold himself together. If he was not so despicable he would be pathetic. If he was not our president it would not be so frightening.
7
All patriotic Americans should read or re-read 1984. When Trump was elected, I had to wait 6 weeks to get a copy of this book because it was back on the Best Seller list. We are sliding dangerously close to the "state" in which this novel lies. The media is manufactured and anyone who contradicts the alternate facts are traitors. Don't think. Just accept.
I am most scared of outrage-fatigue. As this President and a GOP Congress dismantle hundreds of years of progress and democracy, it daily they daily assault us with another barrage of what would be nonsense if it wasn't the fuel that drives this administration.
When I think of 1984, I think of gray, depression and lack of sunlight. When I think of 2018, I think of Rome burning, new fires erupting every day, and the charred cinders of the "Shining City" on the Hill.
2
Charles, a great service to the world would be if you could get an intern to not just count these imprecisions, but catalogue them and then hand them to White House correspondents to raise questions about at the next press briefing. I.e. "you said there would be Big News soon, is it soon yet?" The problem is by not following through on this usage it gets reinforced. Please, the Emperor has no clothes!
4
It seems that a lot of Trump's rhetoric regarding unnamed armies of people who agree with him have evolved from the old Fox dodge of 'Some people say" while never identifying what people. When he states that "Everyone knows there was no collusion with Russia" this should be interpreted as every one of the voices in Trump's skull.
6
Trump has maybe 10 stock phrases that he rearranges in various combinations to say ... nothing at all. Listening to him is beyond frustrating. He is well practiced at concealing his lack of understanding of complex ideas, and he is unable to express them. The result is policy by tweet. Trump knows that repeating lies results in people believing whatever they hear if they hear it often. He reads his crowds, finds the rhythm they respond to, toys with their emotions, and keeps them loyal. Extraordinary.
102
Good article. It fascinating because I do it and I hear so many others say it more than I can remember, "Let's see what happens.". Not really sure it's lying, but it's more of a swirly philosophy. Kind of like a hurricane that drifts around searching for more energy.
4
Trump weaponizes rhetorical flourishes that are essential in some cases to create time and space. When pressed for details when plans or information is not yet ready, handy phrases are things like "people close to the situation have said" or "we will be releasing something soon". How many people have heard a New Yorker, when asked "when", hear the answer "10 minutes".
Rather than create time and space for normal process, Trump creates fear and animus.
2
These are not "rhetorical flourishes." These are revelations of an underlying ignorance so deep and abiding that words cannot find it.
4
Sorry. But ask a New Yorker "when" and the answer is "in a minute"... not 10.
2
Is it possible that Trump just not have a great command of the English language, as most of us don't. We rely on simple explanations, words we understand and know that those we are speaking too, understand those same same words, those same statements. We also have a way of avoiding commitment by being precise.
The people whom Trump appeals to understand what he is saying.
But they probably do not care if it is precise, only that it is emotionally appealing. Trump understands that he needs to keep it simple Trump uses overheated rhetoric to appeal to lot of emotions.
Something that some elites and academics cannot do. They spend time on esoteric ideas, explaining them in obtuse language.
Perhaps the fact that Trump is imprecise does not matter to his base. Only that he speaks their language.
All of that said, we need someone who can beat Trump at his own game. Someone who appeals to our better angels, our common sense, and our belief in our Democracy. And they can do it with common language and common sense ideas and precision.
we just have to really listen and then vote in enough numbers that the Electoral College won't matter.
7
We had one for eight years. But it was not long enough to eradicate the systematic injustice in our beloved nation.
2
Speaking without precision is a power technique. It causes insecurity in those dependent on the meaning of the speaker. The hearers' insecurity is the intended outcome. That is how the speaker gains power. Imprecise language also serves to avoid responsibility and accountability for the speaker. This avoidance also is an intended effect of imprecise speech. You never find linguistic imprecision of that kind in responsible, empathic and accountable leaders. I have seen that time and time again in coaching processes. The precision of the language leaders use is almost a lithmus test of the type of their leadership.
13
And I used to think that GWB was a master at giving a speech and saying nothing. Trump trumps this...he says nothing and says nothing.
4
May I very respectfully disagree? This is a president speaking. A leader cannot say nothing. What leaders say is heard and interpreted. Leaving the field of interpretation wide open is a leadership technique and a power technique. It works in ways that are describable. Imprecise language, used by a leader, functions as failsafe against accountability.
1
"If you, like I, have a hard time listening to Trump speak, it may well be that you are trying to do so while applying accepted standards of honest discourse, believing that Trump’s language can withstand even the mildest unpacking.
It can’t. Trump uses language not to divulge but to disguise, distract and deceive. Or at least that’s what people are saying."
Count my wife and me as two of those people!
36
Since the campaign I have long wondered, given his touting of his genius, how he ever passed an English class. I want to see those grades and talk to the teachers who passed him.
Like tax filings, these records are certainly unobtainable .
He certainly learned the Art of Obfuscation, but he probably doesn’t understand the word.
Sad days for our country.
93
Anne says, "Since the campaign I have long wondered, given his touting of his genius, how he ever passed an English class". First know I abhor this man and always have (I grew up in NY). But he was much more articulate when a younger man. He is a fragment of his former evil self, but more dangerous than ever because he has no sense of how much mind he has lost.
Trump's language reflects both reduced cognition and arrested emotional intelligence in my opinion.
It is lacking in both form and content. No sequence and continuity to his narrative, paucity of vocabulary and use of nonspecific vocabulary, absolutely no use of abstract words or concepts, sentences reduced in length and complexity, more reflective of a very young child than an adult. He demonstrates no flexibility with language whatsoever.
Most egregious in my opinion, is the total lack of humor, which includes the ability to be self-deprecating.
His reading skills are also poor as can be observed by the choppy manner in which he reads a teleprompter. It's little wonder he often tosses the script away, to the delight of his crowd.
No, I don't agree with Comey that this is a bright man we're observing. He has the superficial intelligence of the sly con man--a primitive way of protecting himself from all the slights he perceived are directed toward him, and probably was his defense since childhood.
Yet he does communicate. I believe one way he does it is the shear bellicosity of his delivery much of the time. I can't listen to him for many reasons, but one of his most offensive traits is the facial grimacing he constantly engages in. It's reminiscent of the expressions on the face of Mussolini revealed in the archival WW II footage.
Somehow in holds his base in thrall. Many of them are perpetually aggrieved as well, and it must act as a very effective mirror.
135
Tragically, human beings are naturally drawn to demagogs.
6
I agree with you completely. It also seems to me that Trump (among his other limits) is dyslexic. He wants pictures or video instead of words--and no reading of more than minimal length. And no ability to hold a thought for more than a few minutes before veering off to another topic. At a time when we need subtlety, we have a kick in the teeth. This country is in big trouble.
17
No, not dyslexic. Just plain old crooked and intellectually challenged. He has been able to work out how to cheat people for a long time and enrich himself at other's expanse, without any remorse.
He is just a crook, like his father, not someone to feel sorry for for any affliction.
"Never you mind" "Let's wait and see" "Soon, Grasshopper, all will be divulged" "Ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies" suggestions for more stock phrases Trump can use.
7
Usually when Trump is vague it is because he is ignorant and unable to be precise. This is a sign of his incompetence not of a devious lie or coverup.
21
Since he has a history of cheating people, he is quite capable of lying and covering up. Try visiting the long-boarded-up trump casino in Atlantic City. It stands there as a symbol of what trump really is.
3
Once again you're shooting fish in a barrel. That isn't a strategy to remove Trump from power.
2
It's therapy until voting booths open in November
2
"Imprecision" isn't a strong enough noun for the president's Tweets and spoken words, Charles Blow. We're facing the downfall of truth in America. It's happening now, and we are all bearing witness to the death of democracy . How can a man whose language is meaningless be leading our country? His Illusions and delusions have pulled the wool over all of our eyes in the "short period of time" Trump has led America into the abyss. All we can do is hope that a big announcement about Trump's retirement "will happen soon", "very, very soon", in "two weeks". Whenever. Why does Trump sing his refrain of "we'll see what happens"? Imprecise language by our liar in chief "like we've never seen before" -- as he is fond of crowing -- is what's lying in wait down the road for all of us here and over there on this mortal coil. Wherever. His word salad is meaningless and we see it and loathe his "spit and hostility" deception.
23
"Trump attempts precise timing, he defaults to a perfunctory “two weeks.” Shady contractors have used "two weeks" as a waiting period since "fortnight" lost favor.
10
Thomas Jefferson talked about education as a way to inform the public and create a defense against tyranny. When I was in grade school, we studied propaganda and different means of attempting to shape public opinion. I can't understand why so many people in the U.S. can't see through Trump's lies, deceptions and vague talk. Didn't other people in the U.S. attend grade school?
79
I am 63 years old and I studied these things too. I suspect that these subjects have been eliminated to make room for engineering and business classes..
11
45 and his administration is what happens when critical thinking, logic, history, social studies English and composition are not taught or emphasized in schools.
Like Charlesbalpha, I am 63. I admit I am not the brightest bulb in the socket, but good grief - my 11 year old grandson has a better grasp of communications and the truth than what 45 has.
14
The English language is actually very precise since there are about 5 to 10 times more words in it than any other language.
Having said that, the media used many, many ''soft'' words to describe the man and his use of the English language leading up to his election victory and even months into this administration. The terms: '' falsehood or factually incorrect '' come to mind, instead of course, using the actual word '' lie '' .
Its easy to deduce why the man has this ''tic'' or why he goes from one end of the spectrum to the other often in the same sentence or breath. All of his adult life ( and earlier with his father ) he has been sued, threatened to sue or be sued, or has had to be under oath for depositions.
I would suspect that with the paranoia of all that, that one learns ( especially over a great and sustained time ) to ''hedge their bets'' linguistically.
Then there is of course his use of : '' I don't recall ''
6
I think you are on to something. I think the paranoia is real and deep seated, and the foundation for his mental illness.
If most of us ( dare I say "any of us") worked with someone like Donald Trump, he or she would be fired or seek help or take a leave of absence. Trump could only work at the Trump Organization otherwise he wold have been exposed. But in the US, you can get away with anything if you command money and media.
1
Vagueness in the name of advocating a cause is not new. To take a rather timely example, a pro-abortion reporter back in the 1980s said hopefully that she thought Ireland was about to "change or scrap" their abortion law. What they actually did was pass the Amendment 8 that they are arguing about now. Yes, that was a "change", so I guess she was telling the truth.
He's like the taxi driver that's late and when you call the company 'he's just around the corner'. You know he isn't but you hang on regardless. The difference being, Trumps 'just around the corner' never materializes.
11
Most of us are sick of "Let me make it clear..." of his predecessor. Trump is refreshing.
7
Well no one could accuse Trump of making much "clear," or making much sense, for that matter, beyond the level of racialized chest beating. I think you would have found a certain strain of political discourse in 1930s Berlin "refreshing" as well...
56
Yes, he's refreshing all right.
Like sewer water.
60
Drinking water is refreshing until you discover the tap you're drinking from is polluted and poisoned.
44
Destroying the credibility and legitimacy of our justice department and FBI is his goal and it’s a matter of his self interests and self preservation. Use of language and slogans are his tools, it’s that simple. Evil in the Oval Office.
14
I recall him claiming to have sent investigators off to Hawaii to investigate President Obama’s birth records and his vow to sue all the women who publicly claimed to have been sexually abused by him.
Whatever became of those lawsuits and the tax records he promised to release?
Dan Quayle said it best:
“What a terrible thing to have lost one's mind. Or not to have a mind at all. How true that is.”
11
. . . and, I've always wondered if he followed through on his promise to donate $1 million of his own monies to victims of Hurricane Harvey.
2
I wonder if it ever occurred to Mr. Blow that politicians with acceptable diction, manners, and deportment have been and are as capable of malfeasance, fraud, deception and criminality as Trump. History provides ample evidence. To discount, ignore the record and exist in the eternal present is not courageous truth to power but a retreat to a safe space.
2
brad writes, "I wonder if it ever occurred to Mr. Blow that politicians with acceptable diction, manners, and deportment have been and are as capable of malfeasance, fraud, deception and criminality as Trump."
I wonder if it has occurred to Brad that there is a profound difference for the country between someone who pretends to respect the truth and the rule of law while cheating on the sly...and someone who openly shows no respect for the truth or the rule of law. The electorate should demand the best and politicians should realize that malfeasance will not be tolerated. If the public demonstrates that it has no respect for the truth or the rule of law when it comes to choosing candidates...what can we expect from our future politicians? What can we expect for the direction of our country?
Take Harvey Weinstein. What if we acted like everybody does it so it's no big deal. What if we acted like it's fine for Bill Cosby to get away with whatever he can get away with. If you want a lawless society where power is the only thing that matters, move to Somalia. Please don't bring it here.
1
Trump does it for a reason.
1. It confuses his opponents and makes it harder to directly refute what he says.
2. It gets his message across “Mexicans are rapists”, “immigrants are animals” but then later he can back track and say I meant “some Mexicans” or “only gang members”.
3. It devalues argument by logic and facts. Trump does not want experts who use logic and facts around. He only values people who are loyal.
4. If he creates enough rhetorical confusion, he hopes that can become ‘reasonable doubt’ when he gets hauled into court.
19
"Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear. "
Albert Camus
10
If you applied the same standards you apply to Trump to your comrades in the mainstream media, you would find them all wanting as well.
I don't care that Trump is vulgar, full of bluster, and often says things that are provably wrong. I care that he's leading the country in a direction I like.
2
Actually, D.G., this is an accusation you should, in light of Charles' column, offer instances of. "You would find them all wanting as well" begs the questions of who and when. Please fill us in. We disagree about the direction of the country, but again that is a vague statement as well. I disapprove of the nationalism, the overt racism, the erratic foreign policy, the attacks on women's reproductive freedom, the nomination of judges who are supportive of all of the above. I can cite you examples of all of these. What exactly do you like?
1
So you are saying that as long as the country is headed "in a direction [you] like" - whatever that completely imprecise metric means - lower taxes for you personally? arrests of illegal immigrants along the AZ border? - Trump can continue to say things "that are provably wrong"?
Respectfully - you are +precisely+ what is wrong with our country, because we are all in this together. If you profit at anyone else's cost because of the Misogynist In Chief, then I certainly hope you can sleep at night.
I can't ... because the deconstruction of this proud Republic and its Constitution is more than I can bear.
2
In other words, Con-man Trump is quite simply, nothing but a con-man.
This past week, his decadent discourse has never been lower.
He has hijacked the oval office in order to attack truth and the rule of law. His con-game is over.
America will rebound, "soon."
15
Trump talks in promotional cycles, like TV ads.
The bigger the show, the earlier the commercials start.
One thing Trump excels in, is self promotion.
His entire administration stars in his current Reality show - Celebrity Apprentice White House. All of the drama, chaos, lies & threats are great for ratings. Doesn't Melania look good? And that Ivanka! Firing people is always a big draw, hence the constant turnover and tension -gone for good? Or will they return in the next episode? Keep 'em guessing.
Plot twists are another favorite device. Trump delights in being spontaneous. He loves improv, doesn't like a script. When Trump does stick to it, his delivery is flat and sullen. Facts are boring. No energy, but he'll do it if he has to. Then another rally to keep Trump happy, with clips on every newscast. Got to keep ratings up. Focus is on promotion. Read the room, say what thrills them. Who cares what he said before. As long as its good on camera.
Trump knows nothing of being a public servant or leading. All he cares about is how many times his name is mentioned during his daily Fox watching "Executive Time". The only briefings he pays attention to are the number of headlines and reviews. Don't forget - bad press is just as good as good press. The more outrageous Trump is, the more coverage he gets.
I'm waiting for the season finale with Mueller's reveal.
It will be huge!
Vote Democratic on Nov. 6th.
Changing Congress is how we begin to shutdown Trump's horror show.
24
Thanks Charles. I, like you, cannot stand listening to Trump talk. Now I understand why, it really is gibberish that I cannot make sense of and I am just a high school grad. The biggest lie he tells all the time is, "people are saying", it drives me nuts. What people?
14
Many of us are with you and either never were or are no longer are fooled by these vacuous statements. The rest are so hungry for days long past and a promised return to them that they continue to consume these empty statements up like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
If this behavior continues uncontrolled, we are all going to end up starved.
9
At least that's what some people have been saying over a period of time!
3
If only this Presidency was about facts and truth... Unfortunately it isn't - it is about emotion, primarily a combination of elation and fear. Elation that somehow this inheritor of massive wealth, often bankrupt, willfully ignorant, real estate developer is the "Real" President to about 30% of Americans.
Show me an historical dictator who was attached to truth and facts, who spoke clearly in definitive language. You won't find one. Yet, show me an historical dictator who manipulated the emotions of a portion of the population and stoked their fears and you will find them all.
It is all about power - something that Trump, and many others that Trump admires, desire above all else. That is what we have to fear as a nation when Trump calls on his followers to suspend The Constitution and "extend" his presidency (he's already setting that one up). Next up will be suspension of Congress and the Courts followed by marital law.
9
This is true and deserves some kind of reaction from the responsible news media. Maybe there could be a concurrent report of how many times Trump has said some of those phrases.
He also uses the technique of throwing in a weak qualifier to make it harder to say he's lying. Immigrants coming from Mexico are criminals, except some of the are very good people. The statement may not be a lie, but it's an attempt to deceive.
During the campaign Trump supporters advised taking their hero seriously but not literally. Now that he's president, by accident in my opinion, that's not good enough.
5
Mr. Blow, your point is well taken. The president is precise and on target about the Mueller investigation which he says has gone on for over a year and wasted the taxpayers’ money. If he is on the wrong side of the equation, he’ll know exactly how and when his unfair persecution began, just one arrow in a paranoid’s quiver.
The president is imprecise because he doesn’t know what he’s doing and can’t explain himself. Presidents Kennedy, Reagan and Obama had goals and knew how to implement them or at least discuss them in detail with their advisers and the press. Sarah H. Sanders embodies the president’s hazy and nebulous speech patterns by being evasive, elusive and indefinite. A favorite quote of hers is “the president hasn’t mentioned that yet…I’ll get back to you when I have more information”. Sanders, like her boss, strings along listeners with gibberish and gobbledygook, leaving their audiences as baffled and as uninformed as the president and his press secretary are. Winging it on the fly is not telling it like it is but his supporters don't seem to mind because they're as ignorant as he is.
7
How does this president still garner support at over 40%? "We'll see what happens' in November.
2
Always the philosopher, I believe he's following the advice of Niels Bohr/Jeremy Bernstein to "never speak more clearly than you think".
6
It is the way children speak. At first I thought he was pandering to his less educated base, but after a couple of years of listening to him, I suspect he really is that limited in language capacity and reasoning ability.
But so what? So many of his base really don't care about reason, they care about power, white power, and enjoy being captivated by the loud voice of a daddy figure. And don't forget, he is busy selling the seed corn (tax cuts that bankrupt America) to the very rich on Wall Street, so the investor class has every reason to let him get away with his imprecise language, after all, they hired him to do exactly what he is doing, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.
Can't really be precise about that.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
17
Trump generally talks like a young bully on the playground, anxious that others fear and respect him because he knows he is a hollow shell, devoid of substance. He is a squid blinding us with an ink blob as he darts away for cover after his latest gaffe.
If you watch old videos of Trump, you can see that he is capable of higher-level discourse; he eschews it because his linguistic legerdemain caters to his base, those who have weakened critical thinking skills are so are highly susceptible to ersatz quick and easy solutions to problems of great complexity.
Trump has spent a lifetime honing his skills as a deceptively persuasive con man. We need more columns like this one to help pull the curtain down, exposing him for the empty and desiccated husk he really is.
11
Clearly, Trump has never used a thesaurus and is desperately in need of one. His vocabulary is so limited that as he spreads his blather his choice of words forces him to make meaningless statements. Also, he seems to have an inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. We know not to believe anything he says until it actually happens because so many of his predictions are not based on facts. If anyone chooses to actually believe him one is choosing to be a fool him/herself. Of course there is a profound danger with having this type of person in charge of the largest nuclear armament in the world. If he voices a prediction for using the U.S. nuclear arsenal, we may have to believe him.
3
Many voters deliberately voted for Trump, yet America accidentally elected him. The mid-terms should help to repair that accident. We'll see what happens.
2
With all that meaningless, juvenile blabbering, his supporters trust and believe him. We are in deep deep trouble. Will the bar on the country's intelligence go lower? People are saying it will.
5
The Swiss, the Germans, are perhaps the most precise of all cultures today. Their punctuality, their efficiency, their respect for precision has given them the phrase, "like a Swiss watch". The rest of us, not Swiss, not German are prone to hemming and hawing through our days. Despite Trump's own German heritage, he perhaps inherits more of his mom's Scottish side: laid back attitude? She arrived in America as a domestic worker, from an impoverished part of Scotland. "She was raised in a Scottish Gaelic-speaking household with her second language being English, which she learned at the Tong School which she attended until the age of 13. Her father was a crofter, fisherman and compulsory officer (truancy officer). According to one profile, she was "brought up in an environment marked by isolation, privation and gloom."
English was her "second language". Trump might have inherited her lack of fluency in English.
Besides, Trump is 71 years old, there is definitely a slowing down of speech, word vocabulary etc. Plus, we now know that half his tweets are written by his aides, posing to be Trump, deliberating mis spelling and making grammatical errors.
3
Yes, it is the emotion that registers, and the sensation it creates persists. Trump promises to do something, proclaims he has begun to do it, and moves on. When his promise proves false, his supporters remember the glow of satisfaction created by the promise. If any should question the failure to deliver, his claque has many excuses and many culprits: the media, fake news, the Democrats, Obama, Clinton, the Deep State... He is not the boss of the FBI and the DoJ... he is their victim.
1
The thing is, no matter what language Donald Trump uses and whatever comes out of his mouth, it's sure to be far from the truth.
Not only is his vocabulary limited, but whatever thoughts he might have is limited, which perhaps explains why he exisits in a parallel universe made up of his own "facts".
It's either that, or dementia.
But whatever it is, I've begun to tune it out, confident that it will only be more of the same.
1
Unfortunately. Charles there's nothing imprecise in deporting tens of thousands of immigrants many of them long-time residents with successful careers. There's nothing imprecise in denying health care to millions and thereby forcing others to pay even more for their policies. There's nothing imprecise in making an illegal "demand" that the FBI's classified information about the ongoing investigation into him be shared with his Congressional cronies and calling it "transparency." And, there's nothing imprecise about him forcing NFL owners to attempt to strip away their players 1st amendment right of "freedom of speech" by not being allowed to kneel during our national anthem that celebrates that very freedom. Such "imprecision" is everyday taking another chuck out of our democracy by a man who is an autocrat.
3
There is a second version of Trump who does not speak as imprecisely as the real-time Trump of the Blow article. This is the teleprompter Trump who can mouth the words written by others. The teleprompter Trump and the real-time Trump appear to be two different personalities with distinctly different vocabularies, different thought processes, and different approaches to making a point. The real-time Trump is a master of incoherent stream of consciousness that reveals he is a master of nothing. The teleprompter Trump can deliver a State of the Union speech. The real-time Trump would be a disaster if he ever tried it. The teleprompter Trump is not the Trump who actually runs the country. The teleprompter Trump morphs each time Trump shakes up his cadre of advisors. It is the real-time Trump who is in charge. It is this Trump who you have to believe when he speaks, but unfortunately you cannot understand what he says.
2
The result? Totalitarian infringements from Donald J. Trump's conspiracy fixations & evasive burying of truths.
Congress should be *instinctively* against these cynical attempts to confuse & deceive the American public.
Meanwhile, by its timidity the GOP feeds right into it:
Trump portrays himself as the victim of any & all agitprop melodramas. It's part of a shameless reality tv presidency.
Further, with his campaign clearly linked to Russian nationals helping him win the presidential election, the true victim is our American Democracy.
3
Mr. blow makes some interesting observations. When we held meetings, at work, reviewing a member of the staff's work, if the staff member uttered such a vague phrase as "in a period of time", she would quickly be asked if she could show the project schedule. Of course, none of the president's flunkies would be so bold as to ask that of him.
3
Imprecision isn't the only thing he's elevated.
Lies, personal and political attacks, dehumanization of minorities, government corruption, and the shredding of norms, decency and disregard for the rule of law are now "normal." And Trump does this with impunity because the GOP is complicit and with him every step of the way.
Every single Republican must be voted out of office if our country is to survive in any meaningful way. Masha Gessen has been writing about our slide into autocracy for some time. 2018 is the last chance we'll have to turn the tide. Vote Blue. The lives of your daughters and sons to live in a free country depend on it.
4
His statement in an interview that he bashes the media solely to plant doubt among his followers indicates to me that he's a lot more devious than I'd thought & that his lies & distortions are even more malignant: not just the bumbling of ineptitude but true "Ministry of Truth" agitprop. Mainstream media must keep pointing out the kinds of things your column is describing & I thank you for leading the pack.
9
This is an excellent analysis of DonThe Con's deliberate manipulation of language as a dog whistle and weapon. It serves his goal of undermining the norms of honesty and decency. His language sounds like a lot of empty bloat. But Trump is a master at messaging. He does not back up his claims with facts. He just repeats phrases over and over and makes them stick. And with the millions in his base, it seems to work.
5
As identified by George Lakoff (https://georgelakoff.com/2016/07/23/understanding-trump-2/), he uses the rhetoric of "strict father." The vagueness is part of that, a sort of "I'm handling it" "I've got this" "It will all work out, don't you worry." He even went so far as to refer to Mexico and Canada as "spoiled" when asked about NAFTA negotiations recently. His style of governing and speaking and living is one where questioning his authority or the basis for his claims is impudent. It kind of turns the whole point of America on its head, really.
3
We are living in a “fun” house version of America, where Trump distorts language and truth. What is worse is that he is getting away with it!
1
Yes, Charles, I, like you, have a hard time listening to the man speak. But one thing always comes out loud and clear. If Obama or the Democrats did it, want it, think it, have it, it's bad, very bad, the worst. But what he does (and some Republicans) is good, very good, great, the best!
4
A completely plausible alternative view would be that Trump uses imprecise language in order to get the public to 'think past the sale' and to 'be directionally correct even when factually incorrect'. The left just can't wrap their heads around those concepts (or refuses to believe that Trump could be that clever).
7
But most of us would prefer a US president that deals in facts, rather than directions. In other words, someone who is intellectually sound rather than emotionally triggered.
130
Even you are not that clever, let alone the President. So, no it's not completely plausible as a rational strategy. It's the language of a huckster conman.
43
Jack, reading your comment reminds me of the story of the man who falls off a ten-story building. As he falls passing each floor he is heard saying "Everything is great so far!" Good luck, sir!
42
Trump does not use language the way most of us do. Most of us use words to communicate, to express thoughts, ideas, and emotions, to point out facts about the world, to reason with others. Trump has no conception of this form of communication. For him, language is a tool to manipulate others, a bulldozer to move people around, a brick to throw at someone. The content of speech, its relationship with reality, its internal logic — all are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is whether right now, with this person, saying this thing will get him what he wants.
You can't really talk in terms of Trump's "lies," because he is operating in a world in which truth and meaning are not considerations at all. I suspect that he is bewildered when people accuse him of lying, that he takes it for granted that everyone understands that of course you say what you need to in the moment to get what you want.
This is why he always attacks people personally rather than responding on the issues. He doesn't understand the issues, he doesn't care about the issues, the issues are just someone else's attempt to to get their own way. He'll learn just enough about the issues to be able to say something vaguely relevant to dominate a discussion.. Everything is personally motivated. If he did actually shoot someone on 5th Avenue in broad daylight and then were charged with murder, it would obviously be because the prosecutor had a personal vendetta and was on a witch hunt.
320
This is a really smart comment and hopefully gets widely circulated. I would only add as a summary that it explains why Trump is deranged or mentally ill: his speech has become disconnected from meaning.
44
Excellent Comment!!
16
Dude, your comment is a bases-loaded homerun in the bottom of the 9th in the last games of the World Series.
As I read your uniquely astute evaluation of 45, scales fell from my eyes. And I've been, like many others, studying this guy since he announced his candidacy; you added missing pieces to his puzzle.
I hope you teach philosophy.
17
My fantasy is that the media stops covering Trump. I envision Trump leaving the White House for his helicopter and instead of a crowd of reporters shouting questions there is simply no one there. Trump lives for the attention. Ignoring him would be devastating. In that sense, the media is complicit. Without the media, Trump does not exist. Alas, that will never happen. TV ratings would collapse! I can only hope voters decide to "change the channel" in November.
32
The media must cover any president. The idea that its doing it for "ratings" is inane.
3
It does not need to cover 24/7 when there is nothing new to report from 3 hours or 1 day ago. Politics are now driven not by issues but by the hunger of media.
But Mark's fantasy will not come to be.
However, if at least those media outlets who oppose this Presidency could stop illustrating the articles again and again with mug shots of the PotUS would already be a help. We know how the gentleman looks.
I thought that as well.....that the press corps should just stop asking questions, since there are no real answers. But when you think about it, it gives everyone a chance to speculate about the various possible interpretations there could be to whatever it is he is not saying. So there are a lot of editorialists making money by trying to interpret the meaning of all this, on both sides. And while we sit around here discussing the various misuses of language by the deplorables, Trump bungles the business of our country with his vague notion of reality and his phony concern for, well.... anything.
I personally don't listen to him speak at all. Why bother? He's either lying or has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. He just makes stuff up, folks. And most of it is either vapid or vile. I prefer to spend my time working to make sure he's a short termer.
128
This says nothing new about trump. He bluffed his way through a (shady) business career and through an election campaign to get where he is now. trump succeeds by effectively abusing language.
And language is the only effective counter. It really beggars belief that in a society abounding with technical means of communication there have arisen no prominent voices in our politics and media skilled enough in the arts of language and rhetoric to demolish this charlatan. Oh, for the days of Churchill and FDR.
35
He tells his base what they want to hear. Or they hear what they want to hear. Or to evangelocals speaks in many tongues.
The one thing that I hear is a man purposely avoiding Truth. Truth cannot die.
Truths we know, Russia interfered in the 2016 election, Members of his campaign met with Russians and lied about it, he lied about the reason he fired Comey, the size of his crowd at inauguration, dshould I go on?
27
Precise language reveals, imprecise language conceals. Despite his reputation for unvarnished candor, Trump rarely reveals what he's really thinking, in part because he's seldom thinks in terms of a plan or policy other than for attacking the norms and institutions of restraint that might limit his lust for absolute authority.
64
"We’re going to be looking at a lot of different things.... a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there."
Those statements by President Imprecision may very well come back to haunt him. As they could also apply to the Special Council Mueller investigation!
19
But the fans in the bleachers are cheering wildly, Mr. Blow. Their thinking is as fuzzy as the president's rhetoric, the president knows it, and he is fully capable of twisting the imprecision to his political advantage. Like waffles slathered with maple syrup, the base just eats it up.
Facts may matter in an objective sense, but they hardly matter to a broad swath of voters for whom venomous sound bites fully satisfies their information needs for participation in their own democratic governance.
As for the humor of it all, there is none. This Administration is entirely devoid of the wit and irony required to produce anything remotely humorous. On those rare occasions when the president smiles, it is almost always at the expense of somebody or something else.
163
That's why Trump is a superb con man. This is Trump's talent, his skill, his forte. He is an ignoramous, there is no doubt. But he has mastered the skill of the con to such an extent that he is able to conceal his ignorance.
I would venture tho guess that he has been doing this his entire life. What he calls the art of the deal, is more correctly the art of the con.
Trump has managed to sucker nearly 40% of the nation. There can only be two explanations. One is that some of them want to believe in Trump so badly that they have turned him into some kind of savior who will restore them to a mythical socioeconomic utopia. Hasn't happened. Never will happen, but never underestimate the power of belief. That power drives people to commit extreme acts of violence. Supporting a demagog is is child's play for the belief master.
The other is that, unfortunately, many are just too weak in the mind to know better and swallow the con hook, line and sinker. They don't have the mental tools to decipher what is being done to them and our nation. They can't be reached. Only Fox News is allowed to enter their minds. That's why Trump and his minions constantly trash all legitimate media. So long as they are the only ones feeding the minds of their victims, they can remain in control.
Trump's victims often say that he talks like a real person. They think that makes him honest. This is also part of the con. He's like me! But he isn't.
324
In a way, Trump does talk like a "real person"--the average "real person" among his supporters, if you listen to him/her, doesn't make sense either.
68
Bruce writes, "Trump's victims often say that he talks like a real person. They think that makes him honest. This is also part of the con. He's like me! But he isn't."
Wrong. When a Trump supporters says that Trump talks like a real person, the standard they are using is...themselves. Trump talks like his base. That's why they voted for him. He is just like them.
Bruce...it's time for you and many others to face the truth. Trump is the tip of the iceberg. There are many millions in this country that are running their own con just like Trump. Stop believing they are being fooled by Trump...they aren't. They simply recognize a fellow traveler.
42
@rumpleSS
I think there's some truth to that. One of the greatest disappointments for me regarding Trump's ascent is that it has stripped the veneer off of so many people's public faces. He has made it okay to be racist, misogynist, untruthful, callous, and the number of people who have revealed these things in themselves is staggering. I don't think it's unreasonable to point out that Trump is just the poster child of our worst selves.
His rhetoric is in ambiguous language, which is what he is used to dealing with contractors. “If the project is not completed in a reasonable amount of time, litigation will follow.” Define reasonable.
20
We have a long history of politicians using the passive voice, to suggest that things just happened, were not done by them or anyone they favor.
Imprecise time has a long history too, as for example the Vietnam light at the end of the tunnel, or the Friedman Unit here at the NYT of six months for the Iraq War to come right.
Trump does these things, but he is doing the tried and true. He is not unique or first in any of this.
11
Yes, Mr. Thomason, we do have a long history of politicians who distort language to deceive the electorate. Trump, however, has converted this ploy into a routine strategy for communicating with the public. Among presidents, not even Richard Nixon corrupted rhetoric on the scale practiced by this man.
It is useful to point out that virtually all this president's shortcomings have precedents among earlier politicians. But it is very misleading to imply that Trump differs in no significant way from previous occupants of the Oval Office.
31
As the late Robin Williams pointed out, this has been a Republican communication specialty for a long time (not that Democrats are exempt from it).
I believe one of Robin's favorite Reagan quotes was "What would this country be without this great land of ours". (Do not parse that too closely.)
And, of course, there were all those George W. bon mots and misappropriations.
Imprecision is the enemy of truth. Which, for most of these people, is precisely the point.
58
Yes, things trump does have been done before. He just manages to combine all of them into himself.
It was back in the '70s that the late Spike Milligan put these words into the mouth of one of his characters:
".....you can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time, which is just long enough to be President of the United States....."
9
Thank you, Charles, for finally addressing this issue! I am a retired language teacher and am no longer able to listen to anything Trump communicates in speech or writing. He literally butchers language and renders all communication absolutely meaningless. Remembering the eloquence, precision, clarity, honesty and intelligence with which our previous president, Barack Obama, always spoke, makes me deeply nostalgic for those better days. I hope they come again, but I have my doubts that America will rise to the challenge.
357
Trump is even less eloquent that George W. Bush, which is really saying something. I was so relieved when Barack Obama was elected. A man who spoke using complete sentences was a breath of fresh air compared to Bush.
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"He uses imprecision as a way of making statements in which he parrots unknown and possibly nonexistent sourcing — ironically, the very thing that this projectionist accuses the “fake news” of doing."
This is demagoguery 101. It's also very similar to McCarthyism, prompting no less than Chris Matthews to sum up his program last night with these words: "I never thought I'd see a president willing to take down the entire country---institutions and all--to save himself from an investigation."
I found Matthews words not only spot on but chilling.
Trump is on a single-minded mission to preserve his presidency---his "legitimacy" as a duly elected leader in 2016-- against allegations of conspiracy with foreign powers to tilt the election his way.
These are serious charges, and when things get serious, Donald Trump ups the ante, not to mention his repeating ad nauseum that his campaign was infiltrated by one (or even two, the more the merrier!) spies.
I think the next few weeks will be critical to the future of the republic.
Watch what the president does, and listen to an escalation of the crazy talk that sounds like a political version of Tourette's Syndrome.
Wild claim. No reference or evidence. Always "the worst thing that has ever happened to the nation." But we're "going to get to the bottom of it." "I hope it didn't happen, but if it did, this is a worse conspiracy than Watergate."
Stop, pause repeat. Listen to the death-knell of democracy.
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ChristineMcM - I completely agree. Despite his lifelong obsession with wealth and social status, I think Trump has suddenly realized that he can't take it with him and that he is likely to be remembered as by far the worst, most corrupt president in American history.
He is desperate to somehow save his presidency and avoid the stigma that will become synonymous with the family name. Too bad, too late.
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And in regards to Matthew's comment, the whole Republican Party is going along with the charade.
So long as Congress is controlled by the most cowardly group of politicians in the history of the country -- maybe even the world -- Trump will be able to avoid accountability.
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The virtue of imprecision is that the audience can read into Trumps statements whatever they would like. It sounds like he is responding to your concerns--because you have imagined them in the "look into it" "people say." I think this is where his supporters are doing some wishful thinking. He does not outright say "I am cutting taxes to the point your medicaid, medicare, and social security will be in jeopardy." Instead, he says "we are looking into it," "some good things will happen." In other words, don't think too hard about this and just trust that I will have your back.
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Trump's speech is a non sequitur salad of made up "facts". It would be a comical riff if it weren't so full of malice and venom. He does not simply lie, he destroys any sense of reality.
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If only “Professor Irwin Corey” were here to translate for us.
7
The POTUS and ex-Mayor
Concocted a sly plot
For underneath that feral hair
The POTUS schemed a lot.
The FBIi had used a "spy"
To spy on Trump’s campaign
A Democratic Hill’ry guy
And biased in the main.
There was no evidence for it,
The story fabricated,
Not even one small grainy bit,
The duo was elated.
The Base of course swallowed it whole
Repubs took up the cry,
“It was a mean FBI mole
That fact they can’t deny.”
Confusion followed hard and fast
The Russian tale? A hoax,
The Mueller probe is over, past,
It’s one of Rudy’s jokes.
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You're the best, Larry!
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