Monday, August 13, 2018

Trump to the World: "I am the best and greatest deal and policy maker ever, believe me"

No one, I mean no one has ever topped me, never ever, believe me
(Would you honestly buy a used car from him)

My introduction for today is based that which follows: It reinforces and proves more so again much of the entire world already knows about Donald J. Trump, and that is this:

He is one huge gigantic liar and he has been all his life and that technique has been his strategy in life and now since he's been in the White House. That strategy is to lie, and worse, to know it’s a lie. All the while, he expects his base or anyone else listening to fall for his lies; to believe them, and run with them for him and in many cases, along side of him.

If anyone shows or tries to show his lies, he calls them out with a nasty new name, and if it’s reported, he calls it: “Fake news, a Hoax, or a Witch Hunt.” 

Then he moves on to the next whopper; each one it seems gets bigger or reinforces the last one. He will do, say, try, lie, imply, or deny anything to benefit himself and his global-sized ego and name brand.

The story today is from WASHINGTON (The AP via U.S.NEWS) —  
President Trump is distorting the truth on U.S. economic growth and jobs, pointing to record-breaking figures that don't exist and not telling the full story on black unemployment.

He cites the highest-ever gross domestic product for the U.S. that's not there and predicts a spectacular 5 percent annual growth rate in the current quarter that hardly any economist sees. On black joblessness, he boasts of a “new record low,” but the numbers in fact have recently ticked upward, with greater declines seen during the Obama administration.

The statements marked a week of fiction in which Trump also made erroneous claims about the California wildfires and the Russia investigation and falsely declared that his tariffs on foreign goods will help erase $21 trillion in national debt. A look at the Trump claims (Note: My emphasis highlighted):

ECONOMY AND JOBS

TRUMP: “One new and great FACT — African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in the history of our Country. So honored by this.” — Trump tweeted on Friday, August 10, 2018.

TRUMP: “I am proud to have fought for and secured the LOWEST African American and Hispanic unemployment rates in history.” — Trump tweeted on Saturday, August 11, 2018.

THE FACTS: Not exactly. He omits important caveats like:

1.  Black unemployment did reach a record low, 5.9 percent, in May. That rate has since risen to 6.6 percent in July.

2.  Despite some recent progress, the black unemployment rate is now nearly double that of whites, which is 3.4 percent. The most dramatic drop in black unemployment came under President Barack Obama, when it fell from a recession high of 16.8 percent in March 2010 to 7.8 percent in January 2017.

TRUMP: “Economic growth, last quarter, hit the 4.1. We anticipate this next quarter to be — this is just an estimate, but already they're saying it could be in the fives ... I think we're going to be very shortly in the fives.” — Trump remarks Tuesday, August 7, 2018, before a group of business executives.

TRUMP: “As you know, we're doing record and close-to-record GDP.” — Trump more remarks that same Tuesday.

THE FACTS: No.
1.  These are the latest in a string of exaggerated claims that Trump has made about the U.S. economy.
2.  While economists are generally optimistic about growth, very few anticipate the economy will expand at a 5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter the president referred to. Macroeconomic Advisers, a consulting firm in St. Louis, forecasts 3.2 percent growth in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase economists have penciled in 3.5 percent. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta pegs it at 4.3 percent
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More background on that: 

FACT: Trump loyalists are locked lips-to-äss with him 100% ... and all across GOP la-la land – he simply can’t do anything that they do not like, trust, or take for granted just because he says so. Trump loyalists refuse to believe and trust anything or anyone except him – why is that?

1.  Trump himself has at times been a purveyor of conspiracy theories, most notably in refusing for years to back down from his false claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. 
2.  He also asserted without evidence that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower.
3.  He peddled the debunked idea that millions of illegal votes cost him the popular vote.
4.  He associated the father of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas with the assassin who shot John F. Kennedy.
Methodology: Trump thrives on causing chaos as part of his "deal-making skills" (either chaos created and implemented by him or by someone else), then he milks it while blaming all others for the chaos while ducking responsibility - and all the while he reaps the benefits and claims victory.

Eventually, reality will kick in and those loyalists will have to acknowledge that they have hung all their hopes and dreams on an erratic, wannabe-elitist, con-man who sees the presidency as another opportunity to advance Trump Empire, Inc. – the name brand on more towers and into more shady profits for himself. 

In reality, Trump's strategy is actually very clever, very shrewd in fact, and very brilliant in style and delivery, or at least some aspects. It follows a well-established pattern that he has practiced and mastered for some 40 years. It goes something like this:
1.  Generate and spread wild BS and crappy deals. 
2.  Sit back and watch it stick and spread to the target audience, or in this case, not business investors or others who are gullible – now it’s the entire GOP base and most of the all GOP-run Congress (who apparently are all scared to death about his wrath): 
3.  Stay on the message no matter what the facts show otherwise.
4.  Generate more, and uglier insults, nasty name-calling, and lies on top lies at huge rallies.
5.  Point out the awful DEM reaction and that from the media as they close in with the truth and facts.
6.  Then Trump starts saying, like daily or so it seems like now when he or his legal team and W/H spokespersons say (in unison): “See we told you so. All this time with the “Fake News, Hoaxes, a Witch Hunt” just more Hillary Clinton and left lies about losing.” And now we have turmoil, chaos, and disruption aimed at the president out their hatred for him, his agenda for the American people with his great policy initiatives. They are to blame, not him or us.”
My 2 cents: More at the AP-U.S.NEWS link. Trump, sadly believes what he says no matter the truth or facts otherwise – that my friends is a very serious character flaw not even discounting a more serious mental issue.

But, I’ll leave that to the Fact Checkers – or, to the mental experts great example of that from them is here (written by a Forensic Psychiatrist at the Yale School of Medicine writing for 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health experts).

Thanks for stopping by.

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