Trump tells The Economist he invented the phrase 'priming the pump'

[highplainsdem]

Source: The Hill

President Trump in an interview published Thursday said he invented the phrase “priming the pump,” a common saying used in economics.

“Have you heard that expression used before? Because I haven’t heard it. I mean, I just… I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good. It’s what you have to do,” Trump said during an interview with editors for The Economist.

The president also cited the phrase “priming the pump” when answering a question about his tax plan increasing the deficit.

“Well, it actually did,” Trump answered, disagreeing with the editors who said the Reagan tax plan did not increase the deficit.

-snip-

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/332889-trump-tells-economist-he-invented-the-phrase-priming-the-pump

---

Merriam-Webster's Twitter account has corrected Trump:

Link to tweet

Has he called them "fake news" yet?

[llmart]

1. Delusional...

My lord, this guy will lie about anything and everything. Can't wait to see the results of the tax plan/increasing deficit once again tank our economy like it did during W. (I mean that sarcastically.)

[Hortensis]

7. His usual astonishing ignorance, another effect of the

pathology that keeps him terminally deluded. What a buffoon.

He's almost on track with Reagan's deficit, for him practically an A performance. It did balloon spectacularly under Reagan, as it always does under conservative administrations. And I'm really wondering about the topic--do those people mean the Laffer tax experiment that was so disastrous somehow wasn't part of Reagan's tax plan?

I was in an econ class the year it was implemented, and first day, without comment, the professor had us open our newly published textbooks and cross out the Laffer curve section.

[Achilleaze]

2. republicans lap the Draft Dodger's lies up like kittens at a saucer of milk

What is wrong with republicans, and why do they reject The Bible's insistence on truth and honesty?

I mean, really, why do republicans hate their own Bible?

[Marthe48]

3. We owned a house with a well system in 1973

we primed pumps plenty of times. trump is such a complete loser.

[sarge43]

22. If you had a hand pump, you primed it.

At least that's what Mom told me to do before I used the kitchen sink pump, circa early '50's.

That creature couldn't recognize truth if it bit him in his fat ass.

[marybourg]

33. He's talking about the phrase's use as a metaphor

for spending money to get the economy going. Not it's use in the material world to describe an actual process. If the phrase didn't already exist in the material world, it would have no meaning as a metaphor and would be incomprehensible.

[sarge43]

36. I am aware of its use as a metaphor, an analogy, a trope

The point of the OP is Trump claimed he invented/created it. As many people, including myself, have pointed out, the term has been use as a description of an actural activity long before that creature invested this world.

[marybourg]

39. I think you're misunderstanding, but so be it. nt

[sarge43]

41. Whatever n/t

[yardwork]

47. Trump didn't invent that metaphor. Many people use the phrase that way.

[Marthe48]

38. We primed hand pumps too

our pumps at the house were electric, and there was a place to pour in some water, and then pull the knob and hope it took. If it didn't take, the well was dry. We were so happy when we got on the county water line. We got to go to Bermuda a few years ago. All the houses there have cisterns under them and rely on rainwater for their water needs. The bus driver mentioned that housesitters had to know how to manage pumps, because those cisterns were their water supply and if a pump ran the water out, big trouble. My husband said, 'Hey, we know about pumps! We could be housesitters in Bermuda!"

[GeorgeGist]

4. He's talking to Andrew Jackson again

[CountAllVotes]

21. that voice, that voice

It just will not go away!

Rant on Andrew!

[mtngirl47]

5. I have a well pump and a pool pump and a sump pump....

I'm always having to prime a pump!

Delusional, self aggrandizing.

[Nitram]

6. Like a 5-year-old child.

[Botany]

8. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Botany

Last edited Thu May 11, 2017, 12:28 PM - Edit history (3)

Trump is really unwell. He is nuttier then a squirrel turd.

It is time for the 25th amendment.

*******

Edit Adam Smith Scotland 1723 - 1790

https://books.google.com/books?id=zndPcyS2hHYC&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=adam+smith+prime+the+pump&source=bl&ots=3DaxlzNIlg&sig=H8BADDvRLvzueS8lAiLFe_HVI8A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwihgK-zoOjTAhUB5oMKHRuwDY8Q6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=adam%20smith%20prime%20the%20pump&f=false

[wryter2000]

9. Does he know what a pump is?

Ignoramus.

[RussBLib]

10. wow. just wow. n/t

[Skinner]

11. FYI: The Hill's sentence about the Reagan tax plan is lazy and unclear.

When I saw the reference to the "Reagan tax plan" I assumed it was referring to the Reagan tax cuts of 1981, which massively increased the deficit.

In fact, the Economist was referring to the tax reform of 1986, which was designed to be revenue neutral. (I don't know if it actually was revenue neutral, but it was supposed to be.)

Another part of your overall plan, the tax reform plan. Is it OK if that tax plan increases the deficit? Ronald Reagan’s tax reform didn’t.
Well, it actually did. But, but it’s called priming the pump. You know, if you don’t do that, you’re never going to bring your taxes down. Now, if we get the health-care (bill through Congress), this is why, you know a lot of people said, “Why isn’t he going with taxes first, that’s his wheelhouse?” Well, hey look, I convinced many people over the last two weeks, believe me, many Congressmen, to go with it. And they’re great people, but one of the great things about getting health care is that we will be saving, I mean anywhere from $400bn to $900bn.

I think what happened here is that Trump is unaware that the Reagan tax cuts and the Reagan tax reform are two different things.

[Cha]

12. He's a sociopath and a pathological Liar..

he doesn't care if everybody on Earth knows he's a LIAR.. as long as he feels good about the LIE.

That's my amateur diagnosis

[pokerfan]

44. And now it's the truth

In his mind, anyway...



I wonder if he ever experiences cognitive dissonance.

[Cha]

46. IOW a sick fuck

[Permanut]

13. And that's not all..

I heard that he also invented the phrases:

- There's a sucker born every minute.
- Never give a sucker an even break.
- If a thing is worth having, it's worth cheating for.
- It's morally wrong to allow a sucker to keep his money.

Apologies to W C Fields for borrowing some of his schtick.

[JudyM]

14. Trolled by Merriam-Webster. TRump's trollings would make a great coffee table book.

[ThoughtCriminal]

15. He also invented the question mark.

Riiiiiight.

[jayschool2013]

16. That's the ticket

[Tanuki]

17. Oh, FFS....I know he doesn't read, but didn't he ever hear Desert Pete on the radio in his youth?

..."you've got to prime the pump, you must have faith and believe...."

[Zambero]

18. Shoveling the bullshit

Trump didn't invent that one either, he just employs it every time he opens his mouth.

[leanforward]

19. I hate to say this . . .

But this guy, our CinC is a buffoon. I was aware of priming the pump before Desert Pete made reference to the act. To me, most of his statements come from a under/un/narrow/closed mind.

Once again I am a loyal/american/patriot citizen opposed to pRezident dRumpf and his band of GOP lemmings.

Follow the money. In the last week, I've been hearing more about the dRumpf/russian money connection. This investigation is going in the right direction.

My thanks to ALL investigative journalists for reporting their findings. Maintain your contacts. We, the people need all the information you can publish. Trickle down does not work.

[NCjack]

20. When he is being prosecuted for treason, I predict that his lawyers will pursue a defense

based on medical test results that prove he has syphilis of the brain.

[Mrs. Overall]

23. Maybe Trump meant he invented the phrase "priming the penis pump"?

[They_Live]

43. ha!

[riversedge]

24. Trump's vile mouth is primped all the time.

Link to tweet

[Greensix1]

25. Priming the pump began to be used when hand pumps were invented.

Priming the pump began to be used when hand pumps were invented. My grandmother taught me to do it at her kitchen sink 65 years ago, and I know it was around a century before that as soon as hand water pumps were invented. The Fact that the Smartest Man in the World JUST thought of it doesn't surprise me in the least. What confounds me is that he will have supporters who believe anything he says.

[Javaman]

26. crazier and crazier. nt

[Moostache]

27. What happened to America?

"We have nothing to fear except fear itself."
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
"Not a red-state America and a blue-state America but a United States of America."

"I just invented a saying..."
"I have the best words..."
"Nobody loves the Bible more than me..."

Jesus wept.

[Afromania]

28. oh, holy ****

Been laughing hard for the last 5 minutes at this. Does he think we're as insulated as North Korea here or something?

Thanks again "Trump Voters". This nonstop train to hell has no brakes, no brakes people, no brakes at all.

[regnaD kciN]

29. He tweeted about it last year...

...just after he invented the Internet.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

30. Tell him to sue for copyright infringement.

Sheesh. You can probably find the term in hieroglyphic or Sumerian writing.

(I had forgotten what that's called. It's cuneiform.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_script

[marylandblue]

31. Trump himself has used the phrase before

He said it in a rally speech on Dec 7. Which is starting to make me think he really does have dementia. My mother has dementia, she often says something and then forgets about it so she says again like for the first time.

[smirkymonkey]

32. Does he believe what he says or does he know he's telling a lie and just thinks that

other people are so stupid that they will believe what he is saying? I really wonder what goes on in that twisted little mind of his.

[greyl]

34. He didn't know what Keynesian meant, so tried to distract himself from that. nt

[defacto7]

35. when I was 4 and getting ready to go to our cabin

in N. Michigan, my dad told me,"go fill this can with water so we can prime the pump when we get there." Yup, prime the pump... exact words 56 years ago. A common phrase.

[jeanmarc]

37. Every day, multiple lies

He is a vile man and needs to be removed.

[6000eliot]

40. Also, did you hear that Lincoln was a Republican?

I didn't know it until Frederick Douglass told me. He's getting recognized more and more you know.

[They_Live]

42. I am pretty sure that Gene Simmons owns the phrase,

Last edited Thu May 11, 2017, 08:16 PM - Edit history (1)

has it trademarked, and will now be suing Trmpf.

[dalton99a]

45. Heck, he owns all the best words in the dictionary

the children's dictionary