Jim Crawford: Truth, Trump and the Pinto

Published 4:21 pm Friday, April 28, 2017

Why do car buyers choose new cars over used cars? For many reasons, but, among those reasons, is the trust that new cars hold no hidden surprises, no expensive problems only discovered after purchase. Which explains the job of a used car salesperson…to sell every used car on the lot, great or terrible, but each with confidence and each by providing trust to the buyer.

If the dealership has a slightly used Ford Pinto with only 320,000 miles on it, and only one small fire connected to the Carfax history, the salesperson is compelled to do their very best to sell that car. Buyers may be told that the car had only one owner, a little old lady who only drove the Pinto to church on Sundays for 57 years. And, sadly, it was only her death that made her part with her beloved Pinto, a treasure to anyone fortunate enough to possess the now classic car.

Likewise, if you own a slightly unprofitable building in need of major repairs in a declining location with environmental lawsuits pending, the salesperson needs to overcome all of those objections to sell the terrific potential of that building. The trick is convincing the buyer that the building is actually the Greatest, the Best, the Most Wonderful building ever built. Sound familiar?

Donald Trump’s life, before his rise to the Presidency, has been selling the Pinto, the losing casino, and the horrific university named after himself. His success or failure, which remains hidden in his taxes, is why his focus is upon “winning.”

Winning to Trump is getting the sale, regardless of the details, some of which others call “the truth.” But does the President lie to win an election, to pass a bill, to justify tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? No…well maybe…yes, except is it even a lie when, like Trump, you don’t really believe there is truth anyway?

Consider the Trump promise to repeal and replace Obamacare on day one as President. Like all of Trump’s policies on issues, this one was shaped by audience responses at Trump’s rallies. Trump is exceptional in front of a large audience, feeding off of their energy, speaking without notes, and learning rally by rally which lines, which issues, brought the thousands to their feet. Those lines, the ones that people loved, like “Who will pay for the wall?” “Mexico,” shook the room with excitement. And that became the genesis for each and every Trump campaign promise.

Then came the “who knew it was so complicated” words from now-President Trump, followed by his claim that he never really said he would replace Obamacare on day one, anyhow. Never one prone to blush, the president delivered that lie, er, re-constructed truth, with all the conviction that the Pinto was a classic.

And candidate Trump promised his cheering, foot-stomping audiences, that the replacement for Obamacare would be wonderful, great, better, terrific, cheaper and everyone would be insured. Instead his Pinto healthcare replacement plan left a little, itty bitty, 24 MILLION more Americans without insurance while greatly reducing the coverage of those still insured. Still, ever the used car salesman, he cheerfully offered this to his base of hard-working Americans hoping just to catch a much needed economic break. And a break it would have been if passed, for analysis of the Trumpcare plan demonstrated that it was his base who would suffer the most had Trumpcare become law.
But, as always, Trump did not care about details like betraying his supporters, or lying about the plan, because what he sought then and seeks in everything he does, is to rack up a personal win. And it is personal. This president never takes blame, never acknowledges failure without granting it was the failure of others that bought about the failure of his Great Plans.

Hope you love all the Pinto’s coming your way.

Jim Crawford is a retired educator and political enthusiast living here in the Tri-State.