Beyond Bullshit - Donald Trump's Philosophy Of Language

Chris Gavaler and Nathaniel Goldberg analyze Trump’s mode of communication.

- Chris Gavaler & Nathaniel Goldberg

In 2005 the philosopher Harry Frankfurt published a charming little book called On Bullshit. In it Frankfurt dis-tinguishes bullshit from humbug and lies. Donald Trump,we submit, isn’t (usually) a humbugger or a liar. He’s a bulls hitter. But he extends the qualities of bullshit beyond Frankfurt’s definition. We’d like to show you how.

Frankfurt gives an example of humbug:

“Consider a Fourth of July orator, who goes on bombastically about our great and blessed country, whose Founding Fathers under divine guidance created a new beginning for mankind. This is surely humbug.”

Frankfurt explains that the orator isn’t lying:

“He would be lying only if it were his intention to bring about in his audience beliefs which he himself regards as false, concerning such matters as whether our country is great, whether it is blessed, whether the Founders had divine guidance, and whether what they did was in fact to create a new beginning for mankind. But the orator does not really care what his audience thinks about the Founding Fathers, or about the role of the deity in our country’s history, or the like… He is not trying to deceive anyone concerning American history. What he cares about is what people think of him.”

Trump has also talked about the greatness of America’s past. Yet Trump’s statements aren’t humbug. He’s not in it only for self-aggrandizement, like Frankfurt’s orator: he’s trying to say something about America. Nor is Trump’s intention to bring about in his audience beliefs which he himself regards as false. Trump might really think that America was and will again be great. So he isn’t lying, either. Instead, Trump is bullshitting.

What’s bullshit?