General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Lies Are Becoming Exponentially More Brazen
Trumps Lies Are Becoming Exponentially More Brazen
Holding court on the White House lawn Monday, Trump revealed new depths of contempt for objective realityand offered a master class in how the most obvious lies destroy the very notion of truth, itself.
by Tina Nguyen
October 22, 2018 7:03 pm
In the middle of an interview last week with 60 Minutes, Donald Trump seemed to take a perverse joy in baiting anchor Lesley Stahl as she attempted to wrangle him into submission. Lesley, its O.K., he said, as they clashed over the narrative surrounding his administrations migrant-family separation policy. Im presidentand youre not. A week later, still riding high on the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh and, perhaps, taking inspiration from the Saudis, Trump sounded less concerned than ever with trivialities like objective truth. Holding court before a gaggle of reporters outside the White House as Marine One idled on the South Lawn, Trump unleashed a dizzying sequence of half-truths and fairy tales, because he is the president, and the reporters in front of him were not.
They have a lot of everybody in that group, its a horrible thing. And its a lot bigger than 5,000 people, he said Monday afternoon, referring to a massive caravan of Central American refugees currently plowing through Mexico en route to the U.S. (In fact, the migrant caravan is a lot smaller than 5,000 people.) But rather than be content with a heaven-sent midterm talking point, Trump escalated. Go into the middle of the caravan, take your cameras, and search. . . . Youre going to find MS-13, youre going to find Middle Eastern, youre going to find everything. Criminals, knife-wielding murderers, potential Islamic extremiststhat completes Trump-midterm bingo.
There is, of course, no reason to believe that Middle Easterners are mixed up in the caravan of refugees fleeing violence from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, beyond the fact that it would be convenient for Trump if it were true. A former senior intelligence official told NBC News that there is no evidence of any Middle Eastern terrorists hiding in the caravan. The White House has not responded to requests for comment regarding any of Trumps claims.
Link to tweet
Nevertheless, Trump continued his jazz riff of lies, doubling down on his false claim that Californians are rioting against sanctuary cities, which he first tossed out at a campaign rally over the weekend. Take a look, they want to get out of sanctuary cities. Many places in California want to get out of sanctuary cities, he told a reporter, who then asked exactly where the riots were. Yeah, it is rioting in some cases, he replied, and moved on, ignoring additional questions on the topic.
Trump could not avoid questions about Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi exile and former Washington Post columnist who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this monthbut he could inflate the potential consequences of placing sanctions on his new friends in Riyadh. I don't want to lose a million jobs, I dont want to lose $110 billion, he said, referring to an arms deal that has actually only earned $14.5 billion so far. But its really $450 billion if you include other than military. So thats very important. But were going to get to the bottom of it, he added.
Its not clear how the money at stake quadrupled in Trumps mind, but then again, the president has a habit of inflating numbers when the mood strikes. On March 20, when the Saudi crown prince visited Washington, Trump claimed the arms deal would generate over 40,000 jobs in the United States. Last Saturday, that number jumped to 450,000 jobs, then to 500,000 jobs, then 600,000 jobs on Friday, and finally over one million jobs a few hours later, while visiting Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
more...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/donald-trump-brazen-lies-migrant-caravan?mbid=social_twitter&fbclid=IwAR0V5YVt5NLtRmGD6Kfms9UgzAJDDA-VsdynUp_HWC5fMPsq-Hrr6njNbWQ
Javaman
(62,534 posts)Timmygoat
(779 posts)But has anyone ever reminded Trump how his grandfather arrived in the US, his family were not even wanted in his home country, they have always been on the wrong side of the law.
FakeNoose
(32,748 posts)(other than Tiffany)
But it's obvious that Trump has no empathy for anyone else's problems or anyone's situation. Even Trudeau gave him the photo and reminded him of his grandfather's time in the mining camp in Vancouver BC, and Trump took it as an insult and a put-down. We're talking about someone who has no appreciation of anything or anyone but himself.
That simple
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,775 posts)How do you know they are there if they are unknown? Simple question his minions are unable to ponder and answer.
ginnyinWI
(17,276 posts)"But sir, that's not true." Then he'd go to his standard, "Well that's what I heard, that's what people are saying." but at least get it out there that there is some disputing what he said.
babylonsister
(171,090 posts)by an msnbc reporter. More reporters should call him out.
Oh, and Shep Smith called him out on faux yesterday:
Shep Smith Methodically Fact-Checks Both Fox News And Trump On Live TV
The president has offered no evidence to support what he has said.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shep-smith-donald-trump-caravan_us_5bce91fee4b0d38b587b6ed0
secondwind
(16,903 posts)Weather is gorgeous here. No rioting going on.
erlewyne
(1,115 posts)My daily 5K is the best I can do.
The sun is not up yet and it is a bit crispy (every morning).
My retirement dream, whacking out those 17 minute miles,
Me and the rabbits alongside the RR tracks (country).
I get home in about an hour and the wife is waiting for me.
She has watched Moaning Joe and I am going to get my ass
chewed. She takes it out on me about the stupid Republicans
believing Trumps lies. This morning I told her that the
Republicans do not believe Trump
he says what they want
to hear. Our G.O.P. friends are racists and claim not to be
when out in the public. They will not adhere to reason because they
prefer to cut off their noses to spite their face. Fascists!
I love my trail but hate the after math (every morning).