In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius advises his son departing for his university schooling: “To thine own self be true.”
As the animosity between embattled President Donald Trump and the media continues to roil, Trump’s Twitter storms and other patently false pronouncements have produced a rather breathless narrative about the scope of Trump’s litany of whoppers, falsehoods, half-truths, self-deceptions, and outright lies.
Worse still in the days since the Nov. 3 general election that the media (and a growing number of GOP officials) roundly projects the incumbent president to have lost in both the popular and electoral vote is Trump’s apparent decision not to engage with the White House press corps at all.
The gaggle of reporters there shouted questions at Trump’s turned back – and he keeps walking. That’s been the case in recent days whether the topic of the questions is the COVID-19 pandemic, the contested election, or the stalled transition and “peaceful transfer of power.”
Any rational analysis and the services of a reasonably dedicated fact-checker can quickly decipher that President Trump struggles with the truth. But the hyperbole surrounding public scorn over Trump’s fabrications underscores and ignored the history of the U.S. presidency.
Let’s take a bipartisan White House trip down Memory Lane, with a pass through the Rose Garden and the West Wing:
“I am not a crook,” said President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. He was a crook.
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky,” said President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal. Uh, huh...
“We’re building the wall as we speak,” Trump Tweeted. “MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL. We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete,” he Tweeted. The truth is, the wall hasn’t progressed a great deal, and Mexico isn’t paying for it.
President George H.W. Bush said: “Read my lips: no new taxes!” and promptly raised taxes.
President Barack Obama said of the Affordable Care Act: “If you like your plan, you can keep it.” Not so much.
President Lyndon B. Johnson said: “We still seek no wider war.” LBJ won the election against Goldwater but expanded the Vietnam War exponentially as part of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
President John F. Kennedy lied about his health, his sexual conquests, the missile gap, Vietnam, the speed with which he pursued civil rights, among other things. President Ronald Reagan lied about Iran-Contra. President George W. Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Even President Jimmy Carter lied about relatively benign things like his occupation, saying he was a “nuclear physicist and a peanut farmer.” He was neither. Carter held only a bachelor’s degree in science, and he owned a peanut warehouse.
The point is that politicians lie and often. The public has become somewhat jaded to political lies to the point that there is a less than subtle expectation that politicians lie.
But there are differences in the subject of these lies. Lying about sex seems less a problem between a public official and his constituents than an issue between two people in a marriage.
But lying about taking the country to war, lying about criminal activities committed to maintaining power, betraying the taxpayers’ public trust rather than a spouse’s trust, those are acts that have led to impeachment, resignations, and convictions of politicians at the level just under the presidency. Most believe Nixon would have been convicted had he gone to Senate trial in his impeachment.
Lying to the taxpayers about substantive issues, particularly in the age of social media, is to juggle political dynamite. Trump is learning that lesson – or should be.
But in the context of the stalled transition from the concluding Trump presidency to the coming Biden presidency, it seems that the most unfortunate and damaging lie is the one that impedes President Trump from turning over the mantle of presidential leadership to his successor.
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com.
70 comments:
Question for the omnipotent Mr. Salter: If you were faced with a dozen yacking, shouting and screeching interns, all armed with proctoscopic instruments, nooses, canes, cats-o-nine tails and gem-studded dildos, would you stand there and be insulted (and worse) or would you mumble 'fuck it' and walk off to a better environment?
Sid, Funny you could write this article about lying and deceit and never mention president-elect Joe Biden's lying about having any knowledge of Hunter's business dealings.
Hey, I want to see his follow up column ion Schift, Nadler, Comey, Brennan, the media and the whole sorry lor.
Since Sid is talking about "lying to the taxpayers about substantive issues", where is the article on "if you like your health insurance plan, you can keep your health insurance plan?"
Trump is a baby who is taking his ball home with him so no one else can play. He would rather burn the whole thing down than to admit he is a LOSER. At this point, the best move is to ignore that lazy bastard and leave his fate to the prosecutors and jurors.
Sorry Sid, there is no equivalence between the conduct of the current occupant of the White House and any other President; or all the former President’s combined. Once again you fail to see the forest for the trees.
Who is going to ever believe a trumpkin?
So we swap one lying sack of shit for another.
We all need to sit tight until the legal challenges are completed. Shame on Republicans, this cheating has been going on for decades and they have done nothing. If Republicans don’t hold the Senate and the Presidency, the United States is done. There will never be another “fair” election.
Donald the Lame Duck sure is a sad man. Maybe the saddest person in the whole world. Some say he is a loser, but I say he makes losers feel like winners with how much losing he does. He loses so hard we need a new word to describe it. And lazy, so lazy. He’s probably kicking his ball down the fairway now. What a lazy, cheating loser!
Sid, I knew you for years at the C-L, not much has changed for you has it!
Take a breath and listen to Peanut's. We have seen the enemy and he is Sid or something like that, right?
The stock market sure took off once it was clear the lamest of ducks was out. Feels like the light at the end of the crazy tunnel as we emerge from the dark years of the doofus. Hopefully he stays in Florida and takes his loser children with him. Don’t let the door hit your fat ass on the way out.
This election should be yet another reminder that there is are no political solutions left. Everyone has chosen to accept the tyranny and there are no patriots left.
I get it. All politicians lie. But 'Donald Trump has a problem with the truth' is the understatement of the century.
I never saw a politician who would boldly lie about anything, even with a mountain of evidence clearly pointing to the contrary (for example fraud in the election). It's seriously a pathology with that guy. That was my biggest hang up with him. I wanted to vote for a conservative. I hate a lot of what is on the democratic platform. But Trump lying to your face and expecting you to believe it, simply because it's coming from his mouth, was too much for me. It's as if he thought his base was either too stupid or too delusional to bother with facts and the truth. I felt insulted, being lied to like that, and that's why I couldn't vote for the guy.
I just read the title, and I new they would come out the bushes after Sid.
It's really sad that so many have been conned into believing that the president really cares about anything or one other than himself. He will even throw Ivanka under the bus to save his on skin. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.
Sid you are a left winger and it shows in your writing.
@907
If you honestly believe that there was fraud in this election and that it was enough to steal the whole tamale, then you are beyond help. Seriously, you are either one of the stupid ones or the delusional ones in Trumps base and I feel sorry for you. That pain you feel must be coming from a dark place.
8:07 . I nominate you for post of the year.The sheer eloquence of the prose alone is breath taking.
I am guessing Biden carried the Battle Ground States by 200-300K.
Across several states and you are cheatinggoing to tell me their was , fraud etc. and those involved aren't talking, the states Attorney General's Republicans and Democrats can't find anything to investigate.
Joe and the Democrats aren't that smart nor do they get along well enough to pull off anything.
The people have spoken it's time to move on.
Trying to recall any adult, parent, spouse, CEO, salesman, County Supervisor, Mayor, Chief of Police, Sheriff, teacher, preacher, banker, or doctor who has not lied. Can't come up with anyone.
But now, if you're going to be a professional about it, then, we have lawyers and politicians for that.
BILL MOYERS: If you learned that Jimmy Carter had lied to us, would it matter to you?
BROOKS HOLIFIELD: No. Jimmy Carter is going to lie to us. I think my own religious vision of the world accepts that Jimmy Carter is going to make mistakes, he’s going to lie, and he’s going to do some ignoble things, precisely because he’s quite the finite, fallible, weak creature like I am.
BILL MOYERS: But your critics might say, “Yet this man campaigned across the breadth and the depth of the land in 1976 promising, ‘I won’t lie to you.’”
BROOKS HOLIFIELD: He should have listened to his mother. She told him to shut up.
At least Trump mumbled or tweeted what he really thought. First one in 100 years. If you think Joe Biden doesn't have 70 years of BSing and lying down to an art, just wait. Good Lord.
Wall Street and Hollywood are ecstatic. Business as usual. Oh, yeah. And Kammie the Kommie will put on her fake Southern accent (from Canada) to please the POC/SJW Brigade.
Thanks, Sid, Captain Obvious.
The Republican Party that hopped on board with Trump (who most had lambasted as a lying sycophant before his election) is not driving over the cliff. I'm glad I chose to hop off the ride in 2016. It's been sad watching people who I thought were somewhat credible humiliate themselves to please this sad man.
265,000+ dead from 'the cold' in 9 months.
that's all you need to know about how poorly Trump handled his first crisis in office.
It takes a leader to make hard decisions. Leaders take responsibility.
Whether you agree with Biden or not, he will at least make some decisions.
10:24 You're full of shot. We have 3 vaccines about to reach the market. Fastest vaccine development in history, and they eventually will be able to vaccinate anyone in the world who wants it.
Blame it on the Chinese for unleashing this on the world. Biden has been sucking up to them for his family's personal profit for years.
Sid is really a closet liberal democrat, he never tells all of the story, only the part that fits his slant. But he pretends to be one of us only to keep his fat job and royalties for his the well crafted garbage he puts out.
Go back to your day job, Sid
Come on, man. I heard you liked me...
Senile Joe just passed 80 million votes. A crazy senile kook and his dumbass running mate. Think about that. This thread proves what I said before that this board has been taken over by the radical left. Nice job Kingfish.
Like him or not, a non-politician is what the country needed and needs. Government (especially the U.S. Government) is a large corporation that needs business-minded people to run them.
Lies you say? Sid, don't cast a stone at Trump only when politicians are known liars who will say and promise anything to keep their jobs and win re-election. Trump is brash and even belligerent at times - but he comes right at people and tells them what he's going to do.
Our country has a problem. The "swamp" does indeed need to be drained. George Washington is attributed with the statement "political parties will be the death of this nation". Political parties exist to push their agendas - BOTH political parties! When will our representatives and senators begin to push the agenda of making America strong?
The Republican establishment fought Trump in his election bid. When they saw the support he got, the Republican establishment changed to protect their collective political behinds. The Democratic establishment fought Trump because he was against the Democratic establishment's agenda. They did NOTHING to push forward the good of all Americans.
Folks, we have a problem. Sid, you are no better than the MSM (Fox News included).
I pray for our country. We are in for a rough ride.
11:25. Did you know the vaccine with zero health concerns didn't take one penny of US Government money? I believe in the free market...which if I'm not mistaken has risen to its highest point ever after the government started transitioning to the new president.
Let's look at the current president's tax returns-which were 'found' by the New York Times: he's in debt to Russia and China. a lot. a huge amount. very huge. almost a legendary amount. And that trade deficit with China--grew a lot the last four years. a big amount. really, really big. We only owe them 1.7 trillion or so but is anyone really counting? i'm sure now the debt is about to be an "issue" again.
our country needs innovation and forward thinking leadership. most likely it isn't going to happen in the next four years. didn't happen under trump either..
9:25 - stay tuned
If you like your 401k, you can keep it. Within Harris’ first term, provided they steal the Senate, the Communist will begin the taxation of 401k accounts in order to fund health care for illegal immigrants. Democrats are destructive evil politicians.
@ 10:24
What would have been an "acceptable" number of deaths and would you have voted for Trump had those numbers been reached ? The truth is you sheep caring the Dem party line about the virus wouldn't have voted for Trump if only two people had died from it.
Calling a spade a spade after he loses... Bold commentary!
It is so sad that so many people have such absolute fear, perhaps warranted, of the "other side" that they cannot admit the foolishness of having a president whose word means nothing. We have had presidents who made untrue statements in the past but none who do it recklessly, regularly, and without regret. Trump acted as if the presidency was just one more reality show or a business deal to be closed at all costs. There is a certain respect for the office and ostensibly the American people that we should not only expect but require. His lack of that integrity is what ultimately cost him the office. It's a damn shame because now we are left with a real sideshow.
Trump accomplished two things that matter to me: he put three on the Supreme Court that didn't come from the looney, criminal left.
And, in 2016, he denied Hillary the White House. Just for that he should win the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes and possibly the Heisman.
Research has shown that Covid has long term effect on the brain. Obviously several commenters on this thread have been infected.
A lot of sad facsimiles of humans posting on Thanksgiving Eve. Trump was the most selfish, narcissistic, ham-handed idiot our great country ever elected as President - and we’ve had plenty of idiots prior (from both parties, and some now non-existent parties).
As for me, I could use multi-year break from Trump leading the hate-mongering charge against fellow citizens. If his dumb ass had any tact, the minorities would have supported him in huge numbers (the ones who vote aren’t the Dems y’all think they are). Y’all seem to really want another civil war, another chance to again lose the lost cause or whatever. Why don’t y’all get the heck out of the land you stole?
Biden will be gone in four if not before four. Meanwhile, can we dial down the death-of-the-nation BS from all of you? What ever happened to ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE with liberty and justice for all? And no, it didn’t die because of libtards or whatever insult y’all hurl. Look in the mirror. Sheesh.
Amazing how conservatives get turned into the radical left they acknowledge truth. Some people consider FOX news the liberal media because they had the nerve to project Biden as the winner of the election. The nerve of those closet liberals.
Spare me. Whatever Trump did or you think he did, Clinton did the same and I bet you were defending him back in the 90's. Remember when he and hillary drew up bogus charges and prosecuted the innocent employees of the travel office so they could give the business to their friends, the Bloodworths? Juanita Broderick. Kathleen Wiley. The perjury. Did someone mention Chinese and nuclear secrets? Charlie Trie, Lippo Group. Want me to keep going? Remember the selling of pardons to scumbags such as Mark Richt? Pardoning puerto rican terrorists.
The point is many of the same people bashing Trump were defending the Arkansas trash to the death back in the 90's.
How anyone could vote for Biden is a mystery to me. Salter is now on my Do Not Read Ever list. Save your $ Fish.
This ain't the '90's Clinton type stuff and you know it.
The biggest lie was the election we just had. The biggest liars over the past 12 years have been the mdia.
There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth when Trump is sworn in on 1/20/2021. Wailing and gnashing of teeth. The tears will be sweet. Their groaning will be as music to my ears. Their anger and sorrow will be as a pleasant essence drifting up from their twisted expressions. I can hardly control my expectations. For this is a sure thing, it will be brought to pass.
12:24: They didn't take government money but it's easier to make that decision to invest billions of dollars in research for the vaccine when you know you are going to get a $2 billion government contract for the vaccine. The Government assigned teams to work with companies producing different type of C19 vaccines. Three different methods, six total companies. Pfizer and Morena (sp?) were to
New York Times has a pretty good story this week about Operation Warp Speed.
One thing that should concern Biden supporters. Kessler is on the Covid-19 Task force for Biden.
Reading the posts regarding the election is somewhat amusing. But as always I try to learn something from events like the 2020 election. This time the claims of election fraud from Republicans in only certain cities in certain states just affirms why the residents (people of Color) in those cities and counties won't have anything to do with the Republican Party. Same as Jim Crow laws only white people votes matter if Black people vote they cheated. Look at your lies.
Oh no did you get the Rona too Kingfish, show sounds like it comparing Clinton to Trump.
Funny how these lefties will not believe that an election can be stolen, but will believe the lie of cops “hunting and killing blacks” and systematic racism.
The left will believe anything they need to believe to keep getting their free handouts and giveaways.
Want to talk about lies and bad ideas, then just talk about Cars for Clunkers and “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor”. Obama was a dumb President and a racist.
The smell of hypocrisy on this board is nauseating. The fact that some somehow feel "their" supposed "party" leaders are morally superior to the other side, lends support to my preconceived notion that insanity is the normal state of the population. Only a fool would dare to posit that illogical thought and then go on to defend it. None of the streetwalkers in politics can morally lay claim to righteous high ground, none. The way I see it you have competing views, from the "parties" on the direction of this country. These views differ very little. An illusion is given of a great divide of the "parties" but the truth is, it is closer to being a uni-party. That is how Trump came to be the President. He gave voice, real or not, to people that loved what they thought this country represented. Not democrat or republican. This group of people desires to maintain this vision. That is not the goal of either "party." The other view that struggles for dominance have expressed hatred for this country. Their desires are to deconstruct this country and change it to something that has failure written all over it. If this second group succeeds America as we know it will be no more. For all of her warts, her past sins, known and unknown, her failures, great and small, she's still the grandest lady of them all. I sincerely hope that God Almighty blesses the first group to overcome.
9:13 - that was Pogo, not Peanuts. Meanwhile: I'll wait for Kingfish to mention Sid's PERS account which is soon to bust loose.
@3:53 So the topic was the 2020 election and election fraud. Was the election stolen? (This must be what Jim Jones followers sounded like.) Still can't get over a two term Obama presidency. This has no relationship to the 2020 election. Please stay on topic.
Let us remember all of the men, women, and children murdered by decree of Attorney General Janet Reno and President Bill Clinton at Waco. Let us also not forget the family of Randy Weaver who were also murdered by the Clinton DEA and FBI.
And let us never forget that Kingfish fully supports worldwide zionist globohomo with his censorship.
While you sheeple argue over left vs right paradigms, the central bankers have stolen the future of generations in the form of debt slavery. But yeah let’s keep doing red carpet blue instead of usurer versus you.
Trump lost the election the moment he disrespected Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. It didn’t matter who ran against him after crossing that line. The fix was in buy the most high power in this world.... The Money Masters
That's fairly harsh to compare the liberals to Jim Jones' followers, but I will allow it. I will say it took Trump a minute but he finally got the country over Obama.
Salters the kinda guy that uncritically takes Twitter fact check warnings as gospel truth
The money masters and debt collectors have always ruled the world. Nothing new. Check your Bible...assuming you have one.
My grandmother's most oft quoted adage was that there are two kinds of people in this world. People with whom you deal and people with whom you have no dealings. Long before Trump entered the political stage, he met my every criteria for someone with whom I would have no dealings. In 2016, for the first time in my rather long history of voting, I voted for Hillary. There were moments that I had doubts about that decision, but, with time, Trump proved himself to be the legitimate low amoral megalomaniac I had suspected.
Biden stands for nothing but, his success fully expresses the failure of the Republican Party to advance good people. The party should have abandoned and opposed Trump with every ounce of their organization. They are now paying the price, and so are we all.
What did you learn from your grandpa or maybe even your dad? They weren't around? I loved my grandmothers, but I didn't learn about business from them. The thing I learned from dad, and my grandfathers, was to find the best person for the job. From the list of candidates for the position, Trump beat the others. In 2016 he was better than the entitled queen of the democratic party. In this election, he was superior to the senile professional grifter. I don't know maybe you should get a man's point of view, it may improve your decision making.
" Sid, Funny you could write this article about lying and deceit and never mention president-elect Joe Biden's lying about having any knowledge of Hunter's business dealings."
Good point.
Sid, you are a embarrassment to MSU!!!!
Had Trump won, he would have eliminated the remaining parts of our democracy and declared himself President fo life. Orin is is hero after all.
Breaking news. Trump will be your President on 1/21/2021. Trump did win the election. The Dims got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. I hate it for you.
Putin that is.
10:36: In your world is your reality simply what you want to believe as opposed to what is real and subject to fact check? You live in lala land👶.
That sun dude ain't to bright.
Reality is subjective and consist solely on perception. The fact remains that the individual creates their own reality.
For the past 4 years there has been a competing of 2 narratives to define reality in this country. Both claiming to be the genuine or authentic reality, with millions of followers in each group. Both groups of adherents, to each narrative, fervently believing and affirming their perception was authentic, or true. While both groups were steadfast in support of their perception, they were equally steadfast in their perception of the other side's deception, or delusion. As the various events have played out over the past 5 years, 1 group, firm in their perception, through nefarious means, attempted to impose their perception on the other group, without success. The latest attempt is commonly called an election. The same nefarious group seeks once more to impose its perception on the other group. Once again they will not be successful. The nefarious group, rightfully called deceivers, will fail as they have for the past 5 years. Trump will be your President on 1/20/ 21. That will be reality, not perception.
4:36 And the reality is; Trump will be declared president by his court, the United States presidential election will be erased, those millions who did vote for Biden will be disenfranchised and the world will know who is really in charge. And things can return to normal. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
You have no idea how many votes Bribem got. The sloppiness of the cheating has revealed the deception of the voting system, not only in this country, but, around the world. No, the courts will not declare Trump the President. I can tell you the proper procedure for the election of President with this type of disruption, but I won't. You as a citizen of this country should know this already. Educate yourself.
11:34 Why vote at all? It's all rigged. This thing called democracy don't work anyway. Not when a fine man like Donald might lose to those snakes. We have a procedure, we have a congress. Who needs that election? Right on.
The truth is the President has never been elected by the vote of the population. Read and study your Constitution. You fail to understand the form of government in this country. Educate yourself. Quit believing all the lies.
How many of you actually read this article? The article listed the untruths that EVERY president makes; however, most of the comments had nothing to do with the subject of the article. Kingfish should insist that the comments relate to the subject at hand.
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