Genetically modified snake oil, or what?

The Trump University playbook or whatever that manual of marketing trickery is called. I hate to break it to you, but that’s how people sell stuff – all over the world, regrettably. At corporations large and small, global and local, respectable and grimy, sales people learn more or less the same tricks (broadly speaking) and practice them on you and me. Nothing original there – marketers have screwed people’s brains since the invention of snake oil, with variable success.

In contrast to hordes of hapless marketers, Trump has been quiet successful selling his brand to a pretty large segment of the voting public. Obviously, his success cannot be (fully) explained by the gimmicks described in that little orange flipbook. It was intended for callow marketers working on a peripheral project. What’s puzzling is why Trump had not settled before it all hit the fan. He says he never settles when he gets sued – pour décourager les autres – but occasionally even he does, even though he prefers not to.

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