Tuesday, March 21, 2017

With A Capital L



Yesterday was a bad day for Donald Trump. If there was one thing that yesterday's hearing made clear, it is that Trump is a Liar --with a capital L. David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times:

I’ve previously argued that not every untruth deserves to be branded with the L-word, because it implies intent and somebody can state an untruth without doing so knowingly. George W. Bush didn’t lie when he said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and Obama didn’t lie when he said people who liked their current health insurance could keep it. They made careless statements that proved false (and they deserved much of the criticism they got).

But the current president of the United States lies. He lies in ways that no American politician ever has before. He has lied about — among many other things — Obama’s birthplace, John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Sept. 11, the Iraq War, ISIS, NATO, military veterans, Mexican immigrants, Muslim immigrants, anti-Semitic attacks, the unemployment rate, the murder rate, the Electoral College, voter fraud and his groping of women.

The question is, how long will he be able to get away with it? Apparently, he'll be able to avoid accountability for quite awhile. The Republicans on the committee focused on the leaks, not the lies. And Sean Spicer

went before the cameras and lied about the closeness between Trump and various aides who have documented Russian ties. Do you remember Paul Manafort, the chairman of Trump’s campaign, who ran the crucial delegate-counting operation? Spicer said Manafort had a “very limited role” in said campaign.

Lies. With a capital L.

Image: Pinterest

6 comments:

Lorne said...

It is looking increasingly as if Donald Trump will go on to claim another dubious distinction, Owen - the first president in American history to become a lame-duck within months of his inauguration. I suspect that with his credibility in tatters, even the most ideological or opportunistic Senator and Congressman will be wary of giving his legislative initiatives an easy ride. The first test, of course, will be the Trump budget.

Owen Gray said...

When Republicans cotton on to the fact that they'll go down with Trump, they may begin to change their tune, Lorne.

Steve said...

Owen my apologies in advance if its not the case. Did you find one of my posts not worthy?

Owen Gray said...

No, Steve. I'm not publishing comments from the person who calls him or herself MAGA.

Toby said...

The belief in the end justifying the means leads most politicians and powerful bureaucrats stretch the truth when it suits them. Many simply lie. I think all of the Presidents since WWII have lied publicly. My reading of past CIA Director, William Casey was a steady flow of mis-information. From what I can tell, Casey even lied to President Reagan. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was notorious for his biases and everyone had to read between his lines. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Now that we know we have been whitewashed it is hard to believe anything we hear from the upper crust of power and politics. I have big difficulties believing anything that comes from any of the US security agencies or Canadian for that matter. Trudeau? Not credible.

Owen Gray said...

Truth and Trust go hand in hand, Toby. If you destroy one, you destroy the other.