The election now upon us is, among other things, about what Joe Biden almost uniquely calls “malarkey” and President Trump and his supporters all call “bulls—.”
If there is one charge leveled more consistently than any other against Trump, it is that he’s dishonest. The rapidly deteriorating standards of journalism since 2016 mean he is denounced even in supposed news stories for “lies.” The same point is implied in the phrase “without evidence” and others like it.
The irony is that even after four years of being continuously depicted, often accurately, as a purveyor of falsehoods, Trump can be seen as telling it like it is. The Washington Examiner’s Byron York noted recently that the most popular purchase at Trump House, a gathering place for his supporters in Pennsylvania, is a campaign flag bearing the legend, “No More Bulls—.”
Trump can depict his Democratic opponent as the BS guy. Here’s an example. In the final debate, Biden accused Trump of bringing “malarkey” — itself a phony phrase — then addressed viewers, saying, “You’re sitting round the kitchen table this morning deciding, well, we can’t get new tires, they’re bald. … Or, so are we going to be able to pay the mortgage?”
The kitchen table is the most hackneyed item of furniture in the hack politician’s warehouse. Hearing it, most real Americans would roll their eyes and respond, “Yadda, yadda, yadda,” or words to that effect. Trump pounced: “That’s a typical political statement. Let’s get off this China thing and [have] the family around the table. … I’m not a typical politician.” It was a bull’s-eye, not because Trump is reliable but because Biden is a bore, retailing platitudes to voters who’ve heard and discounted them a thousand times before.
Trump’s rough and clumsy rhetoric is sui generis, which means it’s original and interesting. He’s the opposite of a polished pol. The fact that he says shocking things is what persuades many of those who like him that he’s a straight shooter.
Biden’s platitudes, by contrast, are a simulacrum of plain speaking, not the real thing. He won’t actually talk straight, such as by saying what his policy would be on fracking, or by revealing whether he’d pack the Supreme Court. That’s for him to know and voters to guess. He’s been around politics too long to do anything so forthright as tell us. His run-and-hide campaign was not just about hiding himself at home in Delaware, but also about hiding his intentions. In referring to his “no malarkey bus,” perhaps one doesn’t need the “u.”
I love the cover of our “Election Day” magazine, with all the issues of this astonishing year — COVID, Amy Coney Barrett, urban rioters, betrayed schoolchildren, impeachment, Hunter Biden, and a toilet paper shortage — crowding in on a weary and wary Uncle Sam as he casts his ballot.
Whichever way you vote, I hope you enjoy this week’s magazine. There are a lot of great reads in it, as there are each week. Make the Washington Examiner your weekly plain-spoken companion.
