“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute” by Sally Edelstein Collage of appropriated images
There’s A Sucker Born Every Minute
Trump supporters who have carelessly catapulted a charlatan into the White House serve only to prove P.T. Barnum’s famous line “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
The brash NY businessman/reality star follows in the fantastical footsteps of PT Barnum that other great American showman who established himself as the worlds premiere purveyor of spectacle and hucksterism.
Trump supporters voted for a huckster. They got conned. We got screwed
Turn Back The Clock
Promising to make America great again, Trump promised the past as the future. “There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute” by Sally Edelstein Detail Collage of appropriated images
The great fabricator, Trump promised the past as the future to the white working-class who felt left behind by a changing economy and changing society. His fear-based supporters were frustrated. Angry. Their familiar American way has shattered into a bewildering array of lifestyles and felt their white patriarchal ways are under attack.
They bemoaned a fading America.
“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute” by Sally Edelstein Detail of Collage of appropriated images
He promised to take them back to that mythical time when America was great when minorities were marginalized and women objectified. A happy carefree white America where neighbors could wish each other Merry Xmas with abandon and immigrants hadn’t come to your town yet.
And they thought they’d get their reward.
They were conned. They are about to be betrayed.
“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute” by Sally Edelstein Detail Collage of appropriated images
Promising to drain the swamp, he is forming a government of and by and for the very elites he campaigned against. His choice of pro-corporate and anti-labor figures for key positions in his cabinet only goes to show making America great again means making white prosperity again.
While they were dreaming of how they’d have an advocate in the Oval Office he was dreaming of making himself richer.
They got played. Manufacturing jobs are not coming back…they were lost to technology and are gone for good. The dismantling of Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare privatization, make his supporters the biggest losers.
Bursting Bubbles
“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute” by Sally Edelstein Detail Collage of appropriated images
Though fingers are often pointed at coastal elites for living in a bubble, it turns out it is the “Real Americans” those who live in flyover states who supported Trump who have been living in a bubble of their own.
A bubble that ignored the lessons of history and common sense. The bubble that kept out all doubts about temperament, honesty and qualifications.
How were so many people convinced to vote against their own interests, but now they are learning a hard lesson by installing a charlatan at its helm. Detail “There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute” by Sally Edelstein Collage of appropriated images
Seduced and sadly soon to be betrayed, the white working-class are suckers. And they are about to get sucker punched.
“There’s A Sucker Born Every Minute” will be on view at
The Art Center Highland Park
1957 Sheridan Rd, Highland Park, IL 60035
Opening: March 3, 2017
© Sally Edelstein and Envisioning The American Dream, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sally Edelstein and Envisioning The American Dream with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Envisioning The American Dream 
He hasn’t even taken office yet! Are you having writter’s block, low on things to post or just ranting?
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As much as I respect GP and enjoy his incredibly detailed, historically valuable, well researched posts, I have to disagree with him on this one. The signs are there that Trump will be a loose cannon, tweeting his way into a dark time in American history.
If his supporters can excuse his moral deficiencies because they feel he will “drain the swamp” and repeal ACA instead of improving on the structure already there, our allies and enemies see him for the huckster he is, and are concerned or glad they have America by the “proverbial” now because Trump is easily flattered, manipulated, or offended.
He will continue to be what he was during the outrageous presidential marathon. He is a 70 year old man, and (as a 68 year old man), I know what he is is what he will continue to be. He is a huckster, misanthrope, narcissist, vulgarian, liar (or someone in a fantasy world of his own creation), and person who cheats subcontractors on his projects out of the money he owes them. And Hillary Clinton was worse than that???
Sally, it is important we maintain our guard against anything illegal this man commits. He seems to have the attitude he can do no wrong because he will be President. He apparently is unaware even the President is limited by the US Constitution and common decency from doing just anything he wishes. Or worse, he will ignore these restraints as long as he thinks he can get away with something.
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What we are left with is Trumps erratic whims, his boundless greed and the core of Republican policies Congress will pursue are most definitely geared towards the interests of working white class.
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Well stated WB. (applause)
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Bravo Sally! This is spot on, not necessarily on who and what tRump personifies, you, I, and the rest of us — the 54% of Popular voters the Electoral College ignored — know this. But how easily is the average U.S. registered voter too easily swayed by emotion and propoganda? This in my opinion is a reflection on poor education, particularly critical-thinking skills, combined with their parental philosophy of “Teach your children what to think, not how to think.” And this here, your post, illustrates these points perfectly!
Here’s an example of what I’m referring to. One of 2015’s big headlines leading up to Election 2016: The Power & Mesmorization of the Internet! It reads and I paraphrase my introduction here…
Here’s the link to this disturbingly fascinating story:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/08/internet-search-engines-may-be-influencing-elections
Anyway, great post once again Sally! 🙂
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A good theory of how so many people were convinced to vote against their own interests, but will sadly learn a hard lesson by installing a charlatan at its helm.
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You are, sadly and painfully, correct. And yes, even though it is only early January, the meglamaniac charlatan personality has his compelling historical record to support your/our conclusions. 😦
Let’s HOPE we are wrong, eh?
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Yes, Trump has not even taken office yet, but he has already abandoned most of his campaign promises that he used to whip his supporters to a frenzy.While they were lustily chanting along with him “Lock her up” he was laughing at them for being so vulnerable. One by one he’s casting off his promises. How about draining the swamp but stacking his cabinets with Washington insiders and billionaires, he’s back peddled on torturing prisoners, he’s building a fence and not a wall, he won’t prosecute Hillary Clinton and he’s backed off deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants.
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Hahaha… BAAM! Mic drop. 😛
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GOD put Trump in the White House and is removing and keeping out Satan. President Trump has to give it to God to take care of Hillary he has bigger fish to fry. He’s not even in office yet and he has already saved thousands of families by stopping businesses from moving out of our country. Hillary makes grown men cry with her threats of voodoo not to mention everyone that died along the way apposing her. GIVE TRUMP A CHANCE! HE’S THE FIRST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY TO NOT TAKE PAY! HE CAN’T DEPORT EVERYONE!
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you are free to vote what you want,but you must vote on the party we told you,because we have the brains and you are stupid,so when you are in trouble because you didn’t vote for Hilary this great woman who invented I.S.and send them all the weapons they need and set the middle east on fire (the Arab spring) and sent millions of so called refugees to us (Western Europe),you do not understand this because you are stupid and we the establishment known always what the best is for you and our bank-account !!!
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Apt summary, thanks. That there are so many people who miss the past (when America was still great) indicates that there are clear signs (threats) for change. That’s good because the past wasn’t that great for society and humanity at all. So, what people fear is a better future for all (at the cost of some of their luxury). The current capitalist societies are aggravating the situation (Trump being the culmination of the Idiocracy) and therefore speeding up the revolution that will be causing a collective change of the past and present careless human behavior. I just hope, the watershed will not be too violent and destructive for too many!
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I can see here that commenting on Trump will be quite an explosive subject for the next four years.
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Unless miraculously he is impeached. Though I suspect however long he is president he will incur plenty of damage in his wake.
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What I can’t figure out is how the Russian leaders are happy about the election results. Having a tweeting loose cannon near the nuclear missiles code book should not be very reassuring don’t you think? I haven’t read anything about the reason behind Russia’s interference in the U.S. elections apart from Poutine’s revenge with some Hillary Clinton’s remarks.
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Pierre, the report released today depicts Russian interference as unprecedented in scale. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/intelligence-chiefs-expected-in-new-york-to-brief-trump-on-russian-hacking/2017/01/06/5f5914
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The link didn’t work.
This one did…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/intelligence-chiefs-expected-in-new-york-to-brief-trump-on-russian-hacking/2017/01/06/5f591416-d41a-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_trumpbriefing-309pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
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I read the article.
There are 6000+ comments which I won’t read. I still don’t understand why they would have him as President. I guess I will have my answer in 2017.
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Thanks for the correct link
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If it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it must be a duck. Right?
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The claim that Trump was anti-establishment is a joke. In Western elections there are no anti-establishment candidates. There are just different factions representing the establishment. Frankly, if anyone thinks a billionaire is not part of the establishment, they are a moron.
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What I know about Trump is that he hasn’t had the chance to prove himself yet. It’s an absolute miracle that given all the anti-Trump hysteria he’s the one left standing at the end of it all. I looked at his expression as he stood on the platform with his family, and it was more bewilderment than triumph. Beauty is as beauty does is the saying. And I’ve seen some ugly and violent anti-Trump scenes post election. I’m reserving my opinion.
I will say, though that I despise all politicians. I have never heard of one that hasn’t said one thing before the event and something else altogether afterwards. That includes Obama who rode in high on the mantra – ‘yes we can’ and only proved tol me that he couldn’t and didn’t.
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Your posts are always enjoyable. So many of the images remain stuck in my mind. Blaming another country is simply ridiculous. The people voted for Clinton and the Electoral College voted for Trump. Bush Jr vs Gore happened the same way. Why is the media failing to talk about reforming the electoral system?
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Great post. I want to insert that there is a strong argument that Donald Trump is a narcissistic sociopath. You described one in your post, but I’m not sure if you’ve considered the explanation for all of it. The name sociopath gets tossed around, but I think many do not fully appreciate what that is, and how dangerous it is for us to have one in the oval office. If you get some time, please take a look at my post which goes into that subject matter. Thanks again for your thought-provoking piece. B. Ashley. https://twoifbycharmwordpress.wordpress.com/
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