The French word “faux” means fake. We’ve borrowed the word and use it in our English language to describe an “imitation” of something such as a “faux-fur coat.” The word also has a number of synonyms: imagined, pretended, make-believe, made-up, fantasized, dreamed-up, unreal, invented, fictitious, fake, sham, spurious, bogus, counterfeit, fraudulent, and phoney.
“Faux pas” is another term borrowed from the French and widely used now in our English vocabulary. Faux pas means literally “false step.” Synonyms include words like: gaffe, indiscretion, mistake, impropriety, breach of etiquette, slip up, and blooper.
Mr. Trump’s faux pas when in England in July 2018 comes to mind. He messed up royally by walking in front of Queen Elizabeth II as they strolled the grounds of Windsor Castle. He also failed to bow when meeting the Queen and was twelve minutes late in arriving at the palace. A palace insider was quoted as saying, “The feeling inside the palace is that Trump’s disrespectful mistakes with the queen were terrible and inexcusable. The American president struggled with the simplest acts of courtesy and politeness, which did not go unnoticed by the world.” That’s just one example of Mr.Trump’s faux pas (breach of etiquette, impropriety or indiscretion) moments. He seems to be totally unaware.
Mr. Trump rambles on about “Fake News” while he himself continues to report spurious claims, bogus situations, and made-up stories—or, shall we say, “Faux News?” The talk about the caravan is but one example. His faux news has no basis in fact and yet no one seems to care. I’m amazed as I read what some of his supporters write as “truth” on social media. Much of it is bogus, fraudulent, unreal, invented out of thin air, and a sham. But if Mr. Trump says it, repeats it over and over again, no matter how faux, no matter how bogus, they believe Trump’s Faux News.
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