“A Billion Here, A Billion There, Pretty Soon You’re Talking About Real Money”

Trump takes advantage of the public's numerical illiteracy https://t.co/lhwzX9vzYw

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 30, 2025

The quote (from memory, not research) is from Sen. Everett Dirksen (again, IIRC) way back in the day (ask yer grandpa! Punk kids! An’ git offa mah lawn! Dadburnit!).

Trump is the one who’s innumerate. He spouts numbers with no meaning or context. All that matters is that they sound “big.” The American public, then as now, isn’t really paying attention. Or punching calculators. (I started to say “adding machines. Punks!)