Lately I’ve been reading articles that claim the reason Trump won the election is because voters saw him as authentic. You know, he speaks his mind. So, I guess when you wax poetic about Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s lips, or tell Princess Kate of Wales and Attorney General Pam Bondi, they’re beautiful, or tell a reporter she’s ugly and stupid, we now consider these comments to be authentic behavior. Such behavior used to be called rude, crude, and singularly unattractive. Plus, objectifying women was typically not a cause for celebration.
The original Mona Lisa is authentic. The Declaration of Independence is authentic. Bruce Springsteen is authentic. Frankly, I don’t think there is much of anything authentic about Donald Trump. Here’s why.
There are those who claim Donald Trump is an authentic great businessman. No, he isn’t. The New York Times claimed that over the years Trump inherited at least $413 million from his father. His companies filed for bankruptcy six times. Before he became president in 2016, Trump was involved in more than 4,000 legal cases including battles with casino patrons, real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, housing discrimination lawsuits, and business tax disputes.
Then there are those who say Trump looks authentic. No, he doesn’t. His hair color changes weekly going from blond to white to strawberry blond and involves complicated weaves, blow drying, and strong styling products. Add to that tanning booths, orange makeup, white circles around the eyes, Botox under the eyebrows, chin makeup that ends abruptly, suits with padded shoulders, and those ultra long silk ties. There are those who opine that he disappears for two days each month to tend to various beauty regimes. And then there are those who state that all this focus on his “look” smacks of strong insecurity and massive vanity issues.
Some supporters have stated that Trump is an authentically great golfer. No, he isn’t. Read the book Commander in Cheat by Rick Reilly, who accuses Trump of moving the ball to obtain better positions, taking multiple mulligans (re-do’s), and claiming club championships with questionable validity.
On numerous occasions, Trump has told the public that he has excellent taste. No, he doesn’t. His signature style has been labelled “dictator chic.” In a short period of time, he has turned the Oval Office into a tacky gilded embarrassing nightmare. And stay tuned for this absurd ballroom harking back to shades of Versailles. So much for simplicity and understated elegance.
Sociologists claim that authentic people forge their own path. They do not seek validation through things. They reserve judgment until all facts are in. They are generous and treat other people with respect. They are not driven by their own egos, and they are not hypocritical.
Trump checks zero of those boxes.
Trump’s supporters state that Trump is the ultimate outsider. That’s why they like him. There is ultimate irony in that statement given he is the ultimate insider trader (especially when it comes to crypto) and also has the inside track with a host of CEOs—think Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Micron—the list goes on.
Trump’s supporters also say Trump is unfiltered, and they find that refreshing. Such unfiltered talk can soon become dangerous and result in damaging rhetoric. Democratic norms are cast aside and replaced with totalitarian proclamations. Wait, isn’t that already happening?
In the play All’s Well that Ends Well, Shakespear wrote, “No legacy is as rich as honesty.” Yes, Trump is enriching himself during his presidency, but it has nothing to do with honesty and authenticity. Instead, he has thrown accountability, respect, truth, and decency out the window, and replaced them with a gaudy vulgar, and phony veneer—just like the gilded gold in the renovated Oval Office.
Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, reading, music, and nature.
Jim Bachman says
It is much simpler than that. The redcaps were going to vote for Trump no matter what. Trump was elected because 35 percent of the eligible voters were too lazy to vote.
Maria Grant says
Jim, you make an excellent point. How sad that so Americans did not vote!
Thank you for writing.
Sara Davis says
Maria, i adore your razor sharp commentary. Like you, I have no clue how this derangement goes unchallenged. Keep us the good fight sister. Say hello to my pal John!
Maria Grant says
Sara, thanks for writing. Hope to meet you some day. We need to talk about Bruce!
Matt LaMotte says
I’ve said this before, MAGA’s are the ultimate example of the Dunning-Kruger effect – a cognitive bias where people with low ability overestimate their competence; and the competence of another. Said another way, “stupid people think they’re smart.”
Just sayin’…
Wilson Dean says
It is the saddest of commentaries that we can’t think of anything good to say about Donald Trump, but the truth is that is exactly the case. When it comes down to it, we are left with the reality that the President of the United States is a total jerk.
Maria Grant says
Sad but so true!
christine durham says
Amen!
Michael L Pullen says
Authenticity. This article demonstrates what true authenticity is — straight talk, unvarnished. Yes, and the most important ingredient: it is based on facts, actual, accurate facts that are demonstrably true.
John Adams, representing British soldiers tried in Boston for the Boston Massacre, said it plainly enough, “Facts are stubborn things.”
Although he was an American Patriot and later President of the United States, he defended the soldiers because he believed they were entitled to representation under the rule of law.
Facts matter. The King has no clothes.
Maria Grant says
Love the John Adams quote! Thanks.
Nancy S. Larson says
One of your best!!!!!!
Maria Grant says
Thank you!
Kent Robertson says
Maybe he was elected because Harris was seen as a disaster, lesser of two evils. Maybe because the majority was tired of the progressive agenda. Maybe because the majority liked his policies more than they disliked his rhetoric. Maybe the 35% didn’t vote because they didn’t like either candidate. To attribute their staying home to laziness or voting for Trump to stupidity doesn’ add to the conversaTion.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Who wants their Medicaid, Social Security, clean air and water destroyed, public lands leased for fossil fuels, students under threat of gun violence where they should be learning, access to medical procedures being taken away? I tell you who:
Trump supporters want to let our democracy,
Constitution and the rule of law be destroyed instead
of accepting diversity. The thought of sharing our nation with people who do not look, think, nor act like them fuels their racism. Period.