I have to give Donald Trump credit. His presidency is truly historic, and future academics will be riding the Trump train through graduate schools in record numbers. Of course, he and his supporters disagree with me on why his administration is historic. They point to what he has done as success stories while I think most of it represents future disaster.
With this said, I don’t think his failures, ACA reform, DACA, or the wall are the major long term topics for future historians. Perhaps something he does in the future, such as his new approach to China and North Korea will be successful. Time will tell. Many people, me included, thought Reagan handled the Soviet Union too belligerently. He was right, however, and his policy led to the collapse of communist Europe and the Cold War. So it’s possible that Trump will be right in the long run about trade and Korea. I will give him props if he is successful. And if he actually brings peace to Korea, then he deserves the Noble Prize that Obama received but never earned.
But I don’t have to wait for history’s judgment to declare Trump the most mendacious president in history. I don’t even have to consult the web sites that track his lies (over 2000 in his first year). All I or anyone has to do is have a good enough memory (or DVR) to compare what Trump says from one day to the next on a particular topic.
But before I offer the evidence for my claim, I think it is necessary to define terms such as what is a lie. Prevarications come in many flavors. Observe the white lie: “No those pants don’t make your rear end look too big.” Witness the lie of exaggeration: “That trout I caught was at least eighteen inches long.” Note the lie of definition: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” There is the lie of omission: “I totally forgot that we did stop briefly at a strip club that night.” There is the lie of what Erickson calls “facade”: “I am the most honest person you’ve ever met, believe me.” I could go on, but I think those are enough examples for my purpose.
No matter what category of lie we examine, Trump plays a role. He tweeted that he’s never had anything to do with a New York Times reporter he’s mad at. Then, someone posted a picture of him with his arm around her and transcripts of several sit down interviews he gave her. He said he didn’t spend the night in Moscow, and lo and behold, the flight records show that he did. Confronted with the evidence, Trump then said off course he spent the night in Moscow. He said it stopped raining during his Inauguration speech even though film shows him and others getting soaked. He lies so often and so easily that it seems second nature to him. It’s as though he’s incapable of telling the truth. I’m convinced that the topic that will generate the greatest number of academic studies about the Trump administration is Trump’s lies.
Exhibit A is that the academic world is already publishing studies about Trump’s lies. More importantly, a study published in the American Sociological Review shows that his lies don’t matter to his supporters. Even when they know he’s lying, they don’t change their feelings about him. That is the fact that worries me the most. Trump himself famously boasted that he could get away with murder as far as his voters are concerned, which seemed to surprise him almost as much as winning the presidency. On the one hand, I might expect that Trump voters wouldn’t care about his lies. Plain old partisanship coupled with documented thinking errors such as confirmation bias would seem to make glossing over Trump’s fact-free universe de rigueur for populists. And yet a lot of people, myself included, consider the Trump phenomena unique.
Facts and details matter. History shows us this repeatedly. Big ideas are important, but so are the little steps necessary to reach them. We didn’t reach the moon all in one step. Millions of details had to be worked out first. And facts, such as the extreme flammability of oxygen, often reared their ugly head as in the Apollo I fatal fire. Ignoring truth because it’s inconvenient, or because it doesn’t sell as well as a lie, is a path that always leads to disaster. The Challenger exploded due to the inability of a rubber O-ring to stay pliable at the ambient temperature of the launch window. The Columbia burnt up due to a small hole in a heat shield tile. The Titanic sank partially because of inferior rivets.
Countries win or lose major battles and wars because of seemingly insignificant details. The very smallest factors determine life and death in combat. The tiniest speck of DNA can convict or free someone accused of a crime. Truth matters. Details matter. But Trump’s whole life is a lie. He claims to have earned his wealth by hard work and astute business decisions. But in reality, he was born rich, inherited almost a billion dollars, and defaulted on so many loans because of failed businesses that regular banks stopped lending him money.
His supporters claim that all politicians, as well as mainstream media, lie. They state an obvious truth that deserves ongoing attention. Most politicians in a democracy avoid telling the truth, lie by omission, or spin facts. They do so because most voters do not want to hear the truth from their leaders. They want simple answers to complex problems. Most of all, they want solutions that do not require effort or sacrifice on their part. People are too busy trying to live their lives to have to deal with truth, especially truth that requires effort on their part.
The media lies mostly by omission. Most media thrives on profit; therefore, what bleeds leads. The media covers whatever stories get eyeballs, clicks, or a print purchase. To quote that great philosopher Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Our voting and consumption choices drive the media content and create the political and cultural climate. We asked for Trump and got him. A reality star who wants to be a real boy. A failure who wants to be admired for his success. A real life Pinocchio. Too bad Trump’s nose doesn’t grow with each lie. That would be reality television worth watching.
