President Donald Trump may be the world’s greatest salesman. His primary skill is offering political analysis in the language of a profane oaf. He sold the American voter on his toughness by being vulgar, crude, and lacking in decorum.
Rodney Kennedy
Trump convinced American voters in 2016 and 2024 that he was the actual teller of truth. Justin McConney, Trump’s personal social media director who is credited with introducing Trump to Twitter in 2011, claimed Trump “is a marketing and media genius.” No president has ever so guilelessly turned lies into votes and full-orbed support as Trump has. In our truth-deprived world, truth is whatever Trump says it is — and MAGA says, “Amen.”
Communication scholar Jennifer Mercieca argues Trump is a “rhetorical genius.” In expressing agreement with her assessment, I would add that Trump is the best salesman of all time. He outstrips every shyster who ever told a tall tale, every con artist, every swindler, every unscrupulous insurance salesman, and every crooked televangelist. He makes Jim Bakker, the seller of a fake COVID-19 cure called “Silver Solution,” look like a garden variety Sunday school teacher.
As he explained in his best-selling book The Art of the Deal, “I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion.” From “You’re fired” to “You’re deported,” from “making money” to “losing your health insurance,” Trump plays America like Nero fiddling while Rome burned.
Trump shares some superficial similarities with P. T. Barnum. Superficial is the best description because Barnum’s circus “show” was superficial, as is Trump’s. Barnum’s hyperbole, his willingness to bend the truth when promoting his entertainments, and his artful manipulation of the press suggest comparisons with Trump. Barnum’s fondness for living large — he built a garish Moorish mansion he called “Iranistan” — calls to mind Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Both men became teetotalers, and both went bankrupt only to claw their way back to the top.
At least part of the motivation for the “show” is an array of money-making ventures. Trump sells limited edition gold watches for $499. Additionally, a limited-edition watch called the Trump Victory Tourbillon is available for $100,000, with only 147 manufactured.
Trump sells everything, or so it seems. Here’s a list of Trump products: “Make America Great Again” hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts/hoodies, Trump socks, Trump campaign flags, jewelry, mugs, Trump coins, calendars, books, books endorsed by Trump (various political or conservative literature), Trump action figures/dolls (available from third-party retailers), autographed photos, commemorative medallions or plates, challenge coins, phone cases, laptop decals and stickers, Trump-branded vitamins or supplements, Trump wine, Trump bottled water (No longer widely available; previously branded as “Trump Ice”), Trump cologne (“Success by Trump”), Trump NFTs, and Bibles.
What Trump promotes with the White House as his shopping and entertainment mall suggests actions never taken by any other president in history. He has announced his intention to turn the Rose Garden into a limestone-covered area for press conferences and entertainment. His “big beautiful bill” contains $40,000,000 for a “Garden of Heroes.” Since Trump believes his likeness should adorn Mount Rushmore, there’s no way of guessing the statues that might appear in the new garden. Trump made this announcement as a response to what he deems “cancel culture” and “angry mobs” looking to “wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children.”
As a Christian, I shudder at the idolatry of this entire enterprise. How much like ancient Athens does Trump want the White House to become? Acts 17:16 remarks, “[Paul] was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.”
Photo by Carlos N. Cuatzo Meza on Unsplash
Trump has turned the Oval Office into a tacky tribute to Louis XIV. He seems to have found no restraint for his desire to cover everything within his purview with gold gilding. Trump has made a career out of self-aggrandizement. He believes the Gilded Age was the greatest period in American history. He is a man unwilling to be restrained. He is the biggest fan of gilding — a thin layer of gold or gold colored stuff. He’s selling the idea that it’s all worth more than it really is. He slaps gold gilding on all his properties and products worldwide.
Trump appears to truly believe in “He who has the gold makes the rules.” Gold gilding is Trump’s brand. And he has convinced enough Americans to allow him to slap his brand on their foreheads. The “golden fleeced” crowds at a Trump rally are a case in point. The idolatry of it all gags even a casual fan of the Ten Commandments.
Trump has turned the White House lawn into an automobile dealership. He has produced a $42 million military parade. He has routinely invited a large group of evangelicals to the Oval Office to lay hands on his head and pray for him. And he now plans to have a UFC mixed martial arts fight at the White House in honor of America’s birthday in 2026.
It’s not the “goods” Trump sells that endangers America; it’s the “bill of goods” he continues to sell. No one has ever sold so little of value to so many. One day, MAGA may be singing the Dan Seals song:
“But oh, sometimes I think about you
And the way you used to ride out
In your rhinestones and your sequins
With the sunlight on your hair
And oh, the crowd will always love you
But as for me, I’ve come to know
Everything that glitters is not gold.”
When it comes to the White House Shopping and Entertainment Center, all I can say is: Stay tuned. Trump has an active imagination.
Rodney Kennedy has his M.Div. from New Orleans Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in Rhetoric from Louisiana State University. The pastor of 7 Southern Baptist churches over the course of 20 years, he pastored the First Baptist Church of Dayton, Ohio — which is an American Baptist Church — for 13 years. He is currently professor of homiletics at Palmer Theological Seminary, and interim pastor of Emmanuel Friedens Federated Church, Schenectady, New York. His eighth book, Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit, is out now from Cascade Books.
