The meaning of trump
The word “trump” has many meanings. In Webster’s New International Dictionary, second edition, unabridged, 1958, one can find it as a noun: (1) A wind instrument of music; a trumpet, or sound of a trumpet. A trumpeter; figuratively, that which summons or proclaims as does a trumpet. (2) A corruption of triumph, in card playing: one of a particular suit any card of which takes any card of the other suits; a trump in one’s way is an obstruction or hindrance.
Webster’s also has trump as a verb: (1) to sound, make a sound like, or proclaim by, a trumpet; or (2) in card playing, to play a trump on when one of another suit has been led; to nonplus; to impose unfairly or palm off (from the French tromper, to deceive).
Webster’s also has: Trumped-up, adjective: unfairly on unscrupulously concocted, as, a trumped-up excuse; and Trumpery, noun: deceit, fraud, trickery. Something deceptively showy; hence, things of no value: rubbish, trash, nonsense.
A Filipino trumpo is a top, a toy that spins around and around. Filipino mahjong can have a joker, or an extra tile that takes whatever the player wants. In poker, it is a wildcard that stands for whatever the player wants. What is essential is that all the players agree on it; those who don’t agree should not play the game.
Emilio Aguinaldo was trumped in 1898. When Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Manila Bay on the first of May, he had no army with which to occupy Manila; he was only capable of blockading the bay against possible Dutch or German interlopers (see “A Question of Heroes,” by Nick Joaquin).
Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence on June 12, on the wrong assumption that the American intent was to help our revolution—after all, he had just been fetched by one of Dewey’s vessels on May 19, from Hong Kong, to resume the fight. The United States’ troop ships began arriving on June 30; after a secret deal with the Spanish authorities for a mock battle, on Aug. 13, the US troops entered Intramuros unaccompanied by Aguinaldo’s forces, and the American occupation began.
The Spanish-American War was concluded by the Treaty of Paris in December 1898, without the participation of Filipinos. The $20 million that was paid to Spain is worth a paltry $738 million today (see in2013dollars.com, for the value of $1 from 1898 to 2026). No wonder our first Constitutional convention was done not in Manila but in Malolos, Bulacan in January 1899, and no wonder that the Philippine-American War—not a mere “insurgency”—started immediately, in February.
From such a dismal beginning, why did Filipinos’ regard for America reverse itself by the middle of the 20th century? That’s a complicated question, for forthcoming columns (see “Accidental Catholic,” 1/17/26).
The current president of the US? For some people, the word immediately refers to Donald J. Trump (DJT), the one who wants to “Make America Great Again,” but is steadily making it weaker and weaker.
DJT claims to be the most popular president in American history, but is actually the most unpopular (see “368 days into Donald Trump’s term: the president’s net approval rating is -19%, down 2.0 points since last week,” economist.com, 1/23/26). “A week into Mr. Trump’s term 37% of Americans thought the country was headed in the right direction while 50% thought it was on the wrong track. Those numbers are now 31% and 61% respectively,” says The Economist. Its numbers show that, compared to the time of his inauguration, DJT’s present net approval went from positive to negative with respect to taxes and spending, jobs and the economy, and immigration; while on national security, it went from positive to zero.
My judgment is that the trend is the same for US-based Filipinos, since they identify more with immigrants in general than with Catholics in particular. I recall, from Pew Research Center polling, that Filipino-Americans went more Democrat than Republican in 2024, despite the abortion card that DJT played.
Shutting down the US Agency for International Development is a mistake of thinking that helping others means letting them take advantage of you. The correct moral attitude is to give without expecting a return.
But America has Pope Leo XIV to be proud of. Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Illinois, shows himself a worthy human being from his actions. The way to combat lies is with truth. The way to address cruelty is with kindness. The way to counter hate is with love. How uncomfortable DJT looked, sitting not in the front row of the funeral of Pope Francis last April!
Incidentally, the newest meaning of trump seems to be, verb, intransitive: to make a loud noise, as in, “Who was it who trumped? Was it you?” accompanied by squinted eyes and a pinched nose.
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mahar.mangahas@sws.org.ph.
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