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Vail Daily letter: Trump’s idol: PT Barnum

Abraham Lincoln supposedly said that you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. It seems to me that Donald Trump is betting on the second of those propositions, at least to Nov. 9. He’s certainly fooled some people for a very long time.

He is clueless about how American democracy works. I’ve had the honor of working as an election judge in both Eagle and Garfield counties. The election process here, and throughout the country, is one of incredible integrity. Trump’s claims of massive voter fraud and a rigged system is utter nonsense (I’d use stronger language, but this is a family paper). I may not be happy when the Broncos lose a game, but I won’t insist that its “rigged” or that the officials are controlled by some evil entity that hates me. That’s just stupid, and so is Mr. Trump.

Trump also wants to know why Clinton didn’t do certain things, or allowed other things to happen over the past 30 years. He simply doesn’t understand how a democracy works. She was not in charge, like some tyrant. Unfortunately, tyranny is the only model Trump knows. You do as I say or you’re fired. Tyranny, intimidation and fear are classic models for corporate bosses like Trump. That’s not how America works. Democracy is messy, on purpose, and no, you don’t always win or get your way (try being a Democrat in Garfield County). That doesn’t mean it’s a rigged system.



I suspect that Trump isn’t a fan of Lincoln, someone who understood how America worked. Trump’s real idol is PT Barnum, a classic businessman, who supposedly said that a sucker is born every minute.

Ken Neubecker

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