It’s plain hokum. If you can’t convince ’em, confuse ’em. It’s an old political trick. But this time it won’t work.

Truman dismisses an opponent’s argument as deliberate misdirection rather than honest persuasion. The line contrasts two rhetorical modes: convincing through evidence versus “confusing” through noise, complexity, or emotional distraction. By calling it an “old political trick,” he frames such tactics as cynical and timeworn—part of the machinery of partisan combat—while asserting confidence that the public can see through it “this time.” The quote also reflects Truman’s plainspoken political persona: blunt, colloquial language (“hokum”) used to claim moral clarity and to delegitimize adversaries by portraying them as manipulators rather than reasoned advocates.