For Americans like me, Trump's questionable relationship with the truth makes it hard to trust in his Presidency - Independent

For Americans like me, Trump's questionable relationship with the truth makes it hard to trust in his Presidency

The routine lying by the President himself and his staff has reached a level where even the White House press corps questioned whether Sara Huckabee Sanders actually baked a pie

Thomas McLaughlin - 2/12/2017

President Donald J Trump is a liar. According to the Washington Post, my President has lied, on average, nine times a day in the past 35 days. It has become so common that we are oblivious to it. Perhaps if the lies were limited to personal issues it would be easier to brush off – but the scope and depth of my Presidents’ lies are wide ranging. There are lies in nearly every aspect of his tweets, speeches, off the cuff statements and interviews.

My President seems to lie about nearly everything.

On 13 November, while on a trip to Asia, Trump announced “We have made a lot of big progress on trade. We have deficits with almost everybody.” When the Australian Prime Minster corrected him, Trump said “well, everyone except Australia.” In fact the US has trade surpluses with 15 countries, including the UK.

On 6 November, Trump repeated his lie that “The United States is one of the highest taxed nations in the world.” The truth is, according the Pew Research data, is the US is below average compared with most developed countries.l

On 2 November, Trump continued to claim that “Drugs are pouring into our country. A lot of them are coming in through the southern border and the wall will be a tremendous tool to help facilitate the ending of the drugs coming in.” Another lie. According to several reports, drugs typically enter the US through seaports, tunnels or cars at border crossings.

On 20 October, Trump tweeted the lie “Just out report: 'United Kingdom crime rises 13 per cent annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror.” The report does not link terrorism to the increase in crime.

Those with psychoanalysis training would probably say President Trump believes his own lies. Liars have a difficult relationship with the truth. The truth is mere nuisance to their own reality which itself is a lie. When you believe your own lies there is no reason to tell the truth.

The danger is that most of us learned as young children that lying is wrong and deceitful. We teach our children the importance of telling the truth and that the truth is the default rather than lying. In fact, our democratic systems are based on the concept of truth. Courts and official inquiries demand oaths. Official documents require certifications of truth. Our systems depend on truth and truthful statements of fact are at the foundation of all governing. Criminal and civil laws exist where statements, which are lies, are prosecuted. People who continually lie can be jailed for perjury and untruthfulness. We need to return to a system where it is painful to lie. A system where there are real, immediate and punitive consequences for liars.

There are three fundamental problems with the lies my President tells. Firstly, it rattles our system of trust in government. Americans have always been suspicious of government but not from Presidents who are liars. Our suspicion has been historically rooted in government involvement in personal matters. This is a different level of mistrust. It is hard to listen to a liar when they speak, and it’s nearly impossible to believe them. I fear that if a national emergency happens and my President gives an address to the nation, I will not be able to honestly believe what he says. When my President gave speeches abroad and boasted trade deals in Asia, I did not believe any of those statements. I continue not to believe them.

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In fact, in January when my President gives the annual State of the Union address to the nation, I will struggle to find truth in his speech and I will find myself questioning much of what he will say, even before it occurs. Perhaps some meaningful things have been and will be said, but because of the routine and frequent pattern of lying, it’s difficult to find the truth.

Secondly, its impacts how other democratic world leaders interpret statements made by our President and his staff. Can world leaders believe statements from my President on issues relating to military deployments, economic and environmental issues when a majority of his statements are lies? Does the process of vetting what my President says to ensure there is a shred of truth cause hesitation in the decision making process? Of course it does. One only need to look at the important leadership work other countries have taken on the issue of climate change to understand the gravity of the impact of a lying President. Someone who lies cannot be part of brokering international treaties on important issues facing the entire planet.

America sits on the side lines as important protocols and policy are made because of the lack of truthfulness from my President. Trump’s lies have even eroded and planted great scepticism about statements made by members of his administration. The routine lying by the President himself and his staff has reached a level where even the White House press corps questioned whether Sara Huckabee Sanders actually baked a pie. If the press corps is questioning something as benign as the creator of a holiday pie, who is to believe any official statement from the White House on issues that matter?

Thirdly, unchecked lies pervade our society and culture. We teach our children there are consequences to lying. We read books about the importance of telling the truth and that truth is righteous. However, as my President continues to lie, the lesson they learn is there are no significant consequences for lying. This double standard creates a dangerous foundation for a society which relies on truthfulness. Left unchecked, will we create a nation of young people who also have difficult relationships with the truth?

Incessant lying creates doubt. This doubt means nothing is real, because most of it isn’t. America can do better. We can return to a place where lying is rare and when elected officials and their staff do lie, they are held accountable. That is the America I want to live in.