Saturday, June 24, 2017

“Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire” Helluva Title for Our President to Go Along With National Shame

Harsh Word for Anyone to Bear: True Nevertheless – the Record is Clear

Pretty powerful summary statement from the NY TIMES (my emphasis added):

President Trump’s political rise was built on a lie 
about Barack Obama's birthplace. 

His lack of truthfulness has also become central to the Russia investigation, with James Comey, the former director of the FBI testifying under oath 
about Trump's lies, plain and simple.

There is simply no precedent for an American president to spend so much time telling untruths. 

Every president has shaded the truth or told occasional whoppers. No other president — 
of either party — has behaved as Trump is behaving. He is trying to create an atmosphere in which reality is irrelevant.

We have set a conservative standard here, leaving out many dubious statements
 like the claim that his travel ban is “similar” to Obama administration policy. Some people may still take issue with this standard, arguing that the president wasn't speaking literally. But we believe his long pattern of using untruths to serve his purposes, as a businessman and politician, means that his statements are not simply careless errors.

We are using the word “lie” deliberately.

Not every falsehood is deliberate on Trump's part. But it would be the height of naïveté to imagine he is merely making honest mistakes.

He is lying.

The truth not alternative facts or alternative truths must always be our banner no matter how painful it may seem at first blush. Thanks for stopping by.

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