“I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized,” noted Alair Townsend, former Deputy Mayor of New York in the Ed Koch administration. This line tells truth. Just ask the legions of people who have been conned by Trump over a lifetime of promising much while delivering little — or nothing: stiffed contractors; bamboozled Trump University “students;” flimflammed city officials from NYC and elsewhere; groped women; and, of course, cuckolded former wives.

Let’s now add “duped voters” to the list. A catchy tagline (“Make America Great Again”); brash promises; dog whistle racism; enduring sexism; a charisma-challenged opponent; an outdated electoral college system; and the gullibility of millions of Americans gave the election to this showman. Trump took his game to a new level when he shrewdly convinced white evangelical Christians (81 percent of whom voted for Trump) that overturning Roe vs. Wade — and thereby denying women control over their own bodies — was more important than having someone who actually exemplified Christian values in office.

Many Americans — including well meaning and thoughtful Trump voters — acknowledged his personal “failings” (to put it mildly) and hoped he would become more “presidential” once in office. After a rocky start, Trump got huge kudos for his address to Congress and a rise in his favorability polls. Some jubilant Republican Congressmen even called it a “home run.” It’s a low bar if you label the ability to read words written by someone else without stuttering or falling down a “home run.” Incidentally, Trump’s favorability ratings have tumbled down since the speech-induced bump.

Okay, now let’s look at just three areas where Trump’s bravado has come home to roost, exposing the man for what he is (a con man) and isn’t (presidential).

“Drain the Swamp!”

During the campaign, Trump faulted Ted Cruz and, later, Hillary Clinton for being too close to Wall Street, corrupted by the influence of big donors. Once elected, he brought four former Goldman Sachs leaders into his administration in addition to businesspeople who made billions from other endeavors. The message? Con men don’t do consistency.

“I’m a Great Businessman!”

One would think that a “great businessman” would be careful about how he spent the taxpayers’ money. Wrong! It is estimated that having Melania and her son stay in New York costs about $500,000 per day or $182 million per year. Oh, and it costs $3 million for each of Trump’s regular weekly jaunts to his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida to play golf and hobnob with his fellow billionaires. Trump will have spent more on extra security in his first four months in office than Barack Obama spent in eight years! (I daresay you won’t see those numbers bandied about at Trump rallies or on Fox News.)

“Obamacare is a disaster! We’ll replace it with a beautiful new health plan and everybody will be covered!”

Well, er, not exactly. A review of the Paul Ryan/Donald Trump “health plan” showed that up to 24 million Americans would have lost health insurance under the new “plan.” America’s richest citizens wouldn’t have minded, though, as the new plan would have effectively reduce their taxes by an estimated one trillion dollars over the next decade. Happily, the “beautiful” plan succumbed to an early death last week. The dog had caught up with the car; didn’t know what to do; and slinked away with its tail between its legs. Trump said he wanted to forget health care and move on to other issues, such as, bet on it, finding other ways to cut taxes for the rich. So much for empathy; so much for campaign promises.

Okay, the point is made, even without addressing the apparent Russia connection, the huge concerns of America’s allies and Trump’s middle of-the-night tweets, always claiming himself the victim of this or that conspiracy. Even the “Wall Street Journal,” the Bible of GOP business leaders for decades, has called Trump out on his lying ways, cautioning that he’s in danger of becoming a “fake president.”

Trump is, it’s now clear even to those who wanted to “give him a chance,” an obnoxious narcissistic bully who can’t change who he is and always has been: a con man.

NOTE: I will take a higher road in the next column: “Let’s Make America America Again!”

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary or suggestions for future “Just a Little

Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.