Nice piece. It pretty much says it all that in listing Trump's alleged "lies" at the outset, she actually perpetuates one of the biggest lies about Trump that has been repeatedly disproven with video evidence--"his take on white supremacists (“very fine people”)." The "very fine people" hoax has been completely discredited at this point, yet she repeats it like a Pavlovian tic. Does she really not understand that it is exactly because of things like that, where the media brazenly repeats easily demonstrable untruths, that people feel sympathy for the guy?
But take a wider lens--aside from the election stuff--which of Trump's other myriad supposed "lies" measure up to Barack Obama's lie, repeated dozens of times, "If you like your health insurance you can keep your health insurance"? His signature domestic accomplishment, and one of the most far-reaching and controversial programs since the New Deal, passed ONLY because Obama made this lie. Which of Trump's "lies" are as consequential as Joe Biden trying to imposing vaccine mandates on the overwhelming number of workers in the US with the lie, "If you get these shots, you aren't going to get Covid," which the DOJ and military continue to lie about to this day?
Maybe a more relevant question is whether there is any evidence that would be capable of changing the mind of someone like her about the “very fine people” hoax, considering that the video evidence disproved this several years ago?
And they are obsessed with whether Trump exaggerated the size of his inauguration crowd--and wonder why people don't trust them and take Trump's side against people like her and her buddies?
While Trump's lies are a secondary problem, the approach in the preceding post misunderstands their importance. Their significance lies in what they say about the man's character, which does impact policies affecting the public. A comparison to Bill Clinton illustrates the issue. Clinton's infidelity convinced many conservatives in 1992, including this one, that he lacked the character to be President. The problem was not that he cheated on his wife; that would merely show weakness to temptation. The problem was that be refused to acknowledge doing anything wrong, playing a game of catch-me-if-you-can with the press. In this and other ways Clinton demonstrated that he did not believe that moral rules applied to him, that "right" was anything he could get away with. Such a man was capable of lying to the public about Medicare for more than a year just to get reelected.
The New Republic's Mike Kelly, in a third-hand account, reportedly soured on Clinton because as soon as he took office he fired the group of non-partisan women who had long manned the White House's switchboard and replaced them with political hacks. Why did this bother Kelly, when it seems as innocuous as Trump's lies about his crowd size? He realized that if Clinton could betray those women, he could betray Rwanda.
Donald Trump's tendency to state obvious lies, such as lies about his crowd size or personal wealth, shows that he does not believe his actions and opinions are constrained by any reality beyond his wishes and imagination. A man who promotes and believes such delusions is precisely the kind of man who will warn of the danger from Kim Jong Un, then meet with him, exchange pleasantries, and brag that he has solved our problems with North Korea; he is precisely the kind of man who will schedule a withdrawal from Afghanistan, trash-talk advisors who warn him of the catastrophic consequences, then blame Joe Biden when Biden carries out Trump's plan and all the warnings come true. Placing a man with bad character in the White House costs lives.
Just to be clear, I didn't say lying wasn't a problem. Politicians lie and doing so undermines long-term legitimacy. What I said is that some lies matter a lot and some matter a little. Here are some that matter a lot:
-"if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor"
-"the attack on the Libyan Embassy was because some guy made a YouTube video"
-"If you get these shots you won't get Covid"
-And a reminder--Joe Biden himself has aggressively and brazenly perpetuated the "very fine people" lie that this reporter has echoed and reinforced.
Some lies matter a little--like lying about the size of your inauguration. But would it really make a difference to anyone's lives if the media hadn't made a bit deal about it?
So yeah, I grant the point and I'm not defending dishonesty whether small or large. But I have trouble understanding why so many people would be fixated on things like Trump lying about his inauguration size while ignoring the others.
And yes, I would classify Trump's assertions about the elections as being equivalent in terms of importance as Obama, Clinton, and Biden's lies because they actually matter.
Nice piece. It pretty much says it all that in listing Trump's alleged "lies" at the outset, she actually perpetuates one of the biggest lies about Trump that has been repeatedly disproven with video evidence--"his take on white supremacists (“very fine people”)." The "very fine people" hoax has been completely discredited at this point, yet she repeats it like a Pavlovian tic. Does she really not understand that it is exactly because of things like that, where the media brazenly repeats easily demonstrable untruths, that people feel sympathy for the guy?
But take a wider lens--aside from the election stuff--which of Trump's other myriad supposed "lies" measure up to Barack Obama's lie, repeated dozens of times, "If you like your health insurance you can keep your health insurance"? His signature domestic accomplishment, and one of the most far-reaching and controversial programs since the New Deal, passed ONLY because Obama made this lie. Which of Trump's "lies" are as consequential as Joe Biden trying to imposing vaccine mandates on the overwhelming number of workers in the US with the lie, "If you get these shots, you aren't going to get Covid," which the DOJ and military continue to lie about to this day?
Maybe a more relevant question is whether there is any evidence that would be capable of changing the mind of someone like her about the “very fine people” hoax, considering that the video evidence disproved this several years ago?
And they are obsessed with whether Trump exaggerated the size of his inauguration crowd--and wonder why people don't trust them and take Trump's side against people like her and her buddies?
While Trump's lies are a secondary problem, the approach in the preceding post misunderstands their importance. Their significance lies in what they say about the man's character, which does impact policies affecting the public. A comparison to Bill Clinton illustrates the issue. Clinton's infidelity convinced many conservatives in 1992, including this one, that he lacked the character to be President. The problem was not that he cheated on his wife; that would merely show weakness to temptation. The problem was that be refused to acknowledge doing anything wrong, playing a game of catch-me-if-you-can with the press. In this and other ways Clinton demonstrated that he did not believe that moral rules applied to him, that "right" was anything he could get away with. Such a man was capable of lying to the public about Medicare for more than a year just to get reelected.
The New Republic's Mike Kelly, in a third-hand account, reportedly soured on Clinton because as soon as he took office he fired the group of non-partisan women who had long manned the White House's switchboard and replaced them with political hacks. Why did this bother Kelly, when it seems as innocuous as Trump's lies about his crowd size? He realized that if Clinton could betray those women, he could betray Rwanda.
Donald Trump's tendency to state obvious lies, such as lies about his crowd size or personal wealth, shows that he does not believe his actions and opinions are constrained by any reality beyond his wishes and imagination. A man who promotes and believes such delusions is precisely the kind of man who will warn of the danger from Kim Jong Un, then meet with him, exchange pleasantries, and brag that he has solved our problems with North Korea; he is precisely the kind of man who will schedule a withdrawal from Afghanistan, trash-talk advisors who warn him of the catastrophic consequences, then blame Joe Biden when Biden carries out Trump's plan and all the warnings come true. Placing a man with bad character in the White House costs lives.
Just to be clear, I didn't say lying wasn't a problem. Politicians lie and doing so undermines long-term legitimacy. What I said is that some lies matter a lot and some matter a little. Here are some that matter a lot:
-"if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor"
-"the attack on the Libyan Embassy was because some guy made a YouTube video"
-"If you get these shots you won't get Covid"
-And a reminder--Joe Biden himself has aggressively and brazenly perpetuated the "very fine people" lie that this reporter has echoed and reinforced.
Some lies matter a little--like lying about the size of your inauguration. But would it really make a difference to anyone's lives if the media hadn't made a bit deal about it?
So yeah, I grant the point and I'm not defending dishonesty whether small or large. But I have trouble understanding why so many people would be fixated on things like Trump lying about his inauguration size while ignoring the others.
And yes, I would classify Trump's assertions about the elections as being equivalent in terms of importance as Obama, Clinton, and Biden's lies because they actually matter.