The Trump Story You Will Not See Anywhere Else

People are always more complicated than you think.

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

                                                                                                John 8:1-8

I have a Trump story to tell you. I heard it first-hand from one who was there and I consider the source impeccable. You will have to judge for yourself if the person who told it to him was equally credible. But, first, a little background. I promise to be brief.

I have opined on Donald Trump as have countless others. I never particularly liked him, but I approved of most of what his administration did. But what do I know about him that does not come to me unfiltered? If I am honest, not almost nothing, and the impression I get depends on who is relaying the information. The same applies to 99% of the people on social media who express varying degrees of either approval or opprobrium of Trump. Some have elevated him to almost god-like status as the savior of the Republic. Others regard him as the devil incarnate who will single-handedly destroy democracy. I am one of those in the middle, where I believe the truth usually lies. No other presidential candidate in memory has been responsible for such a hate-filled division in the electorate. From where does this come? I am a realist and the reality is that, in this election, we have one of two choices: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. There is no other. Sure, you can sit out the election or write-in a protest vote for someone with no hope of gaining the White House. Either way, whoever wins, you facilitated that victory, like or not.

Now, to my story. I am leaving out any identifying information out of consideration to my friend. I will call him Ted.

I have known Ted for nearly forty years. He is well-read, thoughtful, and measured in voicing his opinions. I consider him very reliable and trustworthy. He told the following story matter-of-factly, without embellishment.

 Ted and his wife were shopping for a large oriental area rug for their home. They went to a highly recommended rug merchant. The merchant was from Turkey and had a large inventory of rugs. I have shopped for oriental rugs so I can vouch for the process. There will be stacks of rugs, some several feet high. The rug merchant will have several strong, young assistants whose job it is to turn back these rugs one by one and pull out any that the customers wishes to see in its entirety. If you have ever tried to pick up a large, high quality oriental rug, they are very heavy and moving them around in bulk, sometimes for hours is back-breaking work. A good merchant, sensing a sale, will offer the customer food and drink. The process is never rushed. The merchant told my friend a story of the day Trump came to his shop looking for rugs.

In contrast to my friend who wanted just one, Trump was furnishing a building, perhaps Mar-A-Lago, one of his other homes, or one of his signature buildings (it really doesn’t matter for this story) and wanted a dozen or more rugs. The selection process went on for a long time, the assistants pulling out rug after rug until Trump had made his selections. They then haggled on the price, a time-honored practice in the Middle East. Merchants in many countries expect to haggle and are disappointed if you don’t. If you have ever shopped for real, handmade oriental rugs, you know that even a small one will cost several thousand dollars. Large ones can be tens of thousands of dollars. The veteran merchant started high and Trump started low and they went back and forth until they came to an agreement. Trump wrote out a check and handed it to the merchant who saw, to his surprise, that it was for the original asking price. When he looked questioningly at Trump, Trump told him to give the difference to his assistants.

Make of this what you will………………….

Everyone argues back and forth about Harris versus Trump. Who is more trustworthy, likeable, competent, worthy? While these points can be debated, neither candidate is an unknown quantity. We had four years of Trump and nearly that of Harris. Ask yourself who has done the better job. Your answer will determine your vote.

Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS

My book gives the reader a unique peek into the most fascinating and misunderstood specialty in medicine. Best of all- no politics! It is available on Amazon in eBook and paperback. You will enjoy it. I promise.