Trump: Liar-in-Chief

Lies, lies, and more lies; large lies, small lies. This is a problem that America unfortunately is faced with under the leadership of Mr. Trump. The ability to trust an ally has to be a major concern of allies who, in times of crises, form partnerships in order to accomplish their mutual interests.

If there were to be a crisis, how could our allies trust what Trump promises or says? At the recent Helsinki Summit, in answer to a journalist’s question regarding the culpable party in the election attack, Trump said, “I don’t see any reason why it would be Russia”. The next day, he said that what he meant to say was, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.” Despite having several staffers with him (who were in the position to correct any erroneous statements immediately after the speech, or on AF One) the “misstatement” was not corrected until about 24 hours later. The response was made due the furor in the USA and abroad over the peculiar statement. When partnering with allies on an international concern, you can’t say: “I commit 50,000 troops to this important initiative”, only to “walk it back” at the time of delivery saying, “Well I meant to say 5,000, not 50,000.” That doesn’t work. When leaders speak publicly, especially on the world stage, their words must well thought-out and precise. Furthermore, important speeches should be reviewed before delivery, and after, in order to insure that it was delivered exactly as intended. Many believe it is possible that the Trump speech was delivered as intended, but conveniently “corrected” after the public uproar.

The majority of American citizens know that Trump is a pathological liar and the poster boy for extreme narcissism. These are not the preferable traits for an American president.

Some eighteen months into the Trump Administration, we have been lucky because there hasn’t been a major crisis requiring our teaming up with allies to confront the issue.

Besides his history of lying at every turn, Mr. Trump has shown a cruel disrespect for some of our key allies, like Angela Merkle, Justin Trudeau, and Elizabeth May, representing Germany, Canada, and England, respectively. Further complicating the Trump issue is the fact that Trump is a subject and perhaps a target in the Mueller Investigation. Given the current news-of-the-day, the possibility that the Trump Campaign, the Trump Administration, or Mr. Trump himself,  colluded or conspired with Russia with respect to our last Presidential Election appears more-and-more probable as each day passes.

In addition to the truth issues regarding Trump, there are several lawsuits pending against him and it is possible that more will follow. Therefore, Trump and his presidency are in a precarious condition at best.

Trump’s lies go a long way to divide America, especially along racial lines. He also alienates the press with such false statements as “the press is the enemy of the people”. He says that you can’t trust the intelligence community, and other government entities, but you can trust him. He sounds more and more like some totalitarian dictator rallying the citizenry, than the head of the most successful democracy on earth. His words are very dangerous and divisive, and I am not exaggerating!

Trump’s demonstrated allegiance to Mr. Putin is hard for many to understand, especially in the aftermath of Russia’s 2016 election crimes perpetrated against the USA. Yet, Trump continues to embrace Putin and denigrate our traditional allies. Many are asking, “What gives”?  

Trump’s strange deference to Mr. Putin was dramatically demonstrated at the Helsinki Debacle in July. The Helsinki Debacle show cased Trump kowtowing to Putin on the world stage. Trump suggests that he wants to get along with Russia because together, the US and Russia holds 90% of the world’s nuclear capability. Without definitively saying so, Trump seems to be trying to conjure up the image that an association with Russia cushions us against a possible nuclear catastrophe.

Trump likes to say that America is the “laughing stock of the world”, but fails to recognize that this is because of him. Trump has brought pathological lying to a new high, and America to a new low.

We can go on forever talking about Trump’s lies and misdeeds, but suffice it to say that Trump must be replaced by a capable person of vision, who possesses high morals and unquestionable honesty.  We don’t need another “Liar-in-Chief” with dictatorial tendencies. See you at the ballot box!