In classic carnival barker Trump 2024 no more bullshit, Donald Trump slammed Joe Biden and promised “judgment day” for political opponents in an address that set alarm bells ringing among defenders of democracy. Without citing any evidence, Mr Trump alleged that unelected bureaucrats were weaponising the executive branch against him and his supporters by carrying out “Stalinist show trials”. He promised to unleash his shock troops to destroy the administrative state and restore the balance of power to Congress and the people.
Normally, when politicians get caught saying things that aren’t true they walk back and recalibrate their statements or apologize for misleading voters. Hillary Clinton had to do this several times during the 2016 campaign over her emails and comments about Trump’s deplorables. But not Mr Trump, who has no problem continuing to spread his lies while the legal cases against him in Florida and Manhattan escalate.
Trump 2024: No More Bullshit Flag and Political Expression
This is what Frankfurt calls “bullshit” – a term I’ve coined to distinguish it from simple lying, which involves intentionally trying to mislead. A liar tries to make something false sound like a fact – say, claiming that there are “more indictments against me than Al Capone.” In contrast, Trump’s bullshitting is a form of self-aggrandizement and impression management. He wants his audience to believe that America used to be great, and that it will again. That’s not lying, but it’s also not true. If he really meant Carrier, then he flouted the maxims of Quantity (giving his audience too little information), Relation and Quality (adding a false premise to his claim) and Manner (avoid ambiguity and vagueness). It’s not just that he’s wrong, it’s that he doesn’t care.