"To fool the public" means to deceive or manipulate the general population in order to make them believe something that is not true or to trick them into doing something against their best interest. Full definition
I believe that you are lying when you say that, and that your statement is just intended to fool the public into thinking you DO N'T agree with the president. (religion.blogs.cnn.com)
Every president has fallen prey to this insidious practice of fooling the public by using the words they want to hear. (religion.blogs.cnn.com)
Brooklyn reformer Gary Tilzer suggests the elaborate show is actually designed to fool the public about who'll truly pick and control the next speaker. (nypost.com)