To the Editor:

In these days of political bickering, I believe that words we use must be precise in order to convey the true meaning of what is being said. As I have stated before, “alternative facts” do not exist. If the facts cannot be empirically proven, then they are either unfounded rumor or outright lies. Therefore I believe it necessary to find a definition of “trump.”

The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language (Claredon Press, Oxford, UK, 1934 edition) has two listings for “ trump.” The first deals with the card game of Whist in which the suit of cards that is “trump” ranks above the other suits in the game. Of course, the “trump” suit changes with each hand of cards and is not permanent. Any particular “trump” suit has only temporary precedence over the others. 

The second listing for “trump” is defined as the “Trumpet blast, as in the last trumpet heralding the end of the world.” This comes from the old French word trompe, meaning a trumpet or horn. This one fits a little better in that it seems to describe how President Trump likes to blow his own horn.

I believe that the next listing on the page is actually more apropos to this discussion though. The word is “trumpery.” The word is defined as “worthless finery, unsound reasoning, things of no real value, tawdry and worthless, fallacious.” This comes from the old French word tromperie, which means deceit. 

We, the American public, are obviously being told untruths by our current president, though he and his supporters refer to these as “alternative facts.” As stated above, I do not believe that “alternative facts” exist. They are either misconceptions or falsehoods. In any case the “trumpery” that we are getting from this administration meets the definition of “… unsound reasoning, things of no real value, tawdry and worthless…” and, above all, “fallacious.” We deserve the facts. We deserve the truth.

Luther Jones

Sylva