The World’s Greatest Showoff Good thing P.T. Barnum didn’t live to see Trump Dan Rather and Team Steady Aug 7 Credit: Getty Images Donald Trump would never admit that he is a protégé of P.T. Barnum, but the famous 19th-century showman is an apt mentor. To paraphrase one of Barnum’s most famous quotes: “Without publicity, a terrible thing happens: nothing.” The adage also describes Trump’s entire life, a life lived in front of the camera. Barnum, who also served as the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in the state’s legislature, was one of the first to understand the importance of publicity, when the idea of generating buzz to gain influence and create impact was at its start. And most importantly, Barnum and Trump are both all about the circus. Fast-forward 150 years and Trump has, under his own big top, learned to manipulate publicity to his benefit. Whether you call it misdirection, bait-and-switch, or a smoke screen, he uses the tactic to distract from what is actually going on. The economy tanking? What about releasing the Epstein files? Forget about that stuff. Here’s something new to distract you. The press spends every day in Trumpworld careening from one sensationalistic topic to the next, all ginned up to make Trump look good. Trump may meet Russian President Putin in the coming days. Or he may not, but it makes for a good headline. Digging a little deeper, you find the story was announced prematurely. But it keeps the press busy chasing whatever Trump thinks will make him look better. Here’s what’s really going on: Hiring is slow. And as The Washington Post reported: “The economy is increasingly dependent on a small sliver of superstar companies and wealthy consumers to stay afloat because these are the only firms and families able to withstand the tariff onslaught.” If the rich stop spending, look out. Shiny Objects But pay no attention to the tanking economy, because Trump is hawking sparkly distractions on the South Lawn. On Wednesday, Trump was seen wandering around the roof of the White House, assessing the location for the $200-million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom he plans to build. For reference, the main building of the White House, excluding the two wings, is 55,000 square feet spread over four levels. A regulation football field is 57,600 square feet. The ballroom would seat 650 people. Most state dinners have half that many attendees. “They’ve wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years, but there’s never been a president that was good at ballrooms. I’m good at building things, and we’re going to build quickly and on time. It’ll be beautiful, top, top of the line,” Trump boasted. Who is “they?” This reporter has watched the White House for 60 years, and the ballroom ambition is news to me. Renderings of the addition look more like his garish South Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, than the 225-year-old presidential mansion it will adjoin. Trump is hell-bent on leaving his mark; whether that mark is an improvement is up for debate. He has cemented over much of Jackie Kennedy’s White House Rose Garden and added so much gilt to the Oval Office it’s a wonder people aren’t required to wear sunglasses to enter. None of this is about helping the American people. There is zero governing. Every day offers a new episode of Donald Trump: the never-ending series. All those campaign promises … long forgotten and cast aside to promote what’s important to him: himself. If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Cheat ‘Em But everything is not going great. Just ask those in Congress who’ve returned home to their districts for summer recess. The boo birds have been out in force as Republican representatives meet their constituents. Try convincing everyday Americans that Medicaid cuts are good for them, or that tax cuts for the wealthy are just what they need as they face higher prices at the grocery store. That’s what people care about, not Trump’s airplane hangar-sized ballroom. If everything were going great, Trump wouldn’t be begging states to rewrite congressional districts to ensure he keeps a majority in Congress. This is the double-dealing tactic of a desperate man — and yet another distraction. If Trump can’t win fairly, he will try to win by rigging the system. Trump knows he faces stiff headwinds in his bid to maintain control of the House of Representatives. With the economy tanking because of his rolled-out, walked-back, delayed-and-then-imposed (on some) tariffs and the draconian measures in his tax and spending bill — some of which have yet to hit the economy — convincing voters to stick with him and his House lackeys is a tall order. So he has sent JD Vance out on a tour of red-state legislatures to try to convince them to cheat on behalf of the president by redrawing their congressional district maps. The losers in this fight are the millions of Americans in the gerrymandered districts who effectively would be disenfranchised. But Trump doesn’t care — nor has he ever cared — about his constituents, even the ones who voted for him. What he does care about is inflating his own ego and wealth and those of his billionaire posse. His policies will only add to his fortune. So losing the House would slow his takedown of our democracy but wouldn’t affect his bottom line. Nothing to See Here Last week Trump had a temper tantrum when he was told about the new unemployment numbers and the downward revisions for May and June. He knows that low employment will not help his prospects for the midterms. So he fired Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He claimed the large downturn in the unemployment numbers she released was “rigged.” It is a real-(Trump)world example of shooting the messenger. Many column inches would have been written about the revised numbers and what they mean for our economy — fair to say, nothing good — but by acting like a petulant toddler and getting rid of McEntarfer, he brought additional scrutiny to the issue. He also did it at The Smithsonian, an institution charged with preserving American history and heritage. It was pressured by the White House to remove Trump’s name from its exhibit on presidential impeachment. Trump is the only president to be impeached twice. On its X account, the Smithsonian tried to explain the decision to remove the Trump references. They posted that the information about Trump’s impeachment was on a placard that “did not meet the museum’s standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation.” Publicity can be like a genie in a bottle: You can’t necessarily predict what will happen once it’s out. In this case, no one had been talking about Trump’s two impeachments. Now they are. One thing that differentiates Trump from his publicity guru P.T. Barnum is that Barnum was crafty and subtle. Trump’s efforts are clunky and obvious, which makes it much easier to keep tabs on him and call him out. Trump may think he is overseeing “the Greatest Show on Earth,” when in reality he is leading one of the worst — if not the worst — presidencies in the history of our country. Steady is free, but to support my team’s efforts to protect our democracy through the power of independent journalism, we’d appreciate it if you would consider joining as a paid subscriber. It keeps Steady sustainable and accessible for all. If you are not able to upgrade, we understand. No matter how you subscribe, I thank you for reading. Stay Steady, Dan