…a slip of the tongue that is motivated by and reveals some unconscious aspect of the mind.

Definition of Freudian Slip/Merriam-Webster

…a slip of the tongue which reveals a conscious fear resulting from exposure of the truth.

Definition of Fraudian Slip/Dr. ESP

Since last Tuesday’s mid-terms election, Donald Trump, Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have become the modern equivalent of Sigmund Fraud.  Consider the following two examples.

Trump’s Tax Returns

At his less than coherent press conference on Wednesday, Trump again defended his decision not to release his tax returns due to a claim (not verified) they are still being audited.  He also returned to his patronizing and elitist argument they are so complex no one would understand them.  He made this case in lieu of his usual declaration that there is nothing to see in his IRS filings.  Perhaps he was referencing the attached photo in which he claimed to be signing his 2017 return beside a stack of paper on which some claim there was literally nothing there.

In the spirit of post-election reconciliation, I will again ask you to assume everything Trump says is true.  Taking him at his word, I am willing to accept his tax returns are incomprehensible and there is nothing there.  Makes sense.  If I had a chance to review his annual IRS filing, I must admit I CANNOT UNDERSTAND how someone who lives in a gold-plated penthouse, claims to be a billionaire, has to pay off ex-wives and mistresses and declared bankruptcy four times could do it with NOTHING.

Maybe the tax specialists in the special counsel’s office will eventually explain it to us.  Forget connections to Russians and Saudis.  What Trump fears most is being exposed as a shadow of the smart genius he claims to be.

Rorida Flecount

The chances of a recount overturning the results of last Tuesday’s senate and governor’s races in Florida are minuscule based on recent history.  Here are the facts compiled by FAIRVOTE.ORG between 2000 and 2015.

• Of the 4,687 general elections in the United States, only 27 resulted in a recount.
• Of those 27, the outcome changed three times.
• In the 2008 Minnesota contest for senator, Al Franken defeated Norm Coleman by 312 votes following a recount where Coleman led by 206 votes on election night.
• In 2004, a shift of 303 votes in Washington state, resulted in recount victory for Governor Christine Gregoire over Dino Rossi by 42 votes.
• In 2006, Thomas Salmon defeated Randy Brock for Maine state auditor by 102 votes after a recount which reversed a Brock initial margin of 137 votes.

Folks, we are talking about about 12,500 votes in the race between Scott and Bill Nelson for Senator.  Scott is the prohibitive favorite despite the machine recount to be completed by noon this Thursday.  But that has not stopped him or Trump from claiming voter fraud even though Florida Circuit Court Judge Jack Tuter, state law enforcement officials and the state supervisor of elections (a Republican) say there is no evidence of wrongdoing.  As more than one person has pointed out, this does not make sense.  It is the equivalent of a robber telling police to “stop searching my house for stolen property.”

On today’s airing of Morning Joe, co-host Willie Geist raised a possibility that may explain why GOP protests are just one more Fraudian slip.  He asked, “Does Scott know something we don’t?” While the focus is on heavily Democratic Broward County, pay attention to recounts in jurisdictions which supported Scott.  We know Trump is a master projectionist.  He calls other liars while he decimates the truth.  He claims the press is responsible for lack of civility while he vilifies anyone who opposes him.  What if he and Scott are crying foul in Broward County because they know this is what may have been done in deep red parts of the state?

Highly improbable.  But then again, we’ve witnessed more than our share of improbable events during the past three years.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP