That truth stuff has never been his thing

This COVID-19 is serious stuff and we can no longer mess around. We missed six weeks when we should have been investing in things we would need rather than naysaying it and selling stocks like my Senator did. As for the whitewashing now going on that the president never did downplay the pandemic, we should not forget that the president has long had a problem with that truth stuff. So, even when it appears he is being more truthful than before, it is a deep hole to climb out of. And, one truth does not make up for an ocean of lies.

Per his biographers, Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn told him to never apologize and sue everyone. This is yet one more example of too many. Trump cannot say he was caught with his shorts down and downplayed the pandemic. He even denies saying he called it a hoax, when there he is on camera calling it a hoax.

But, on the latter Cohn teaching, Trump’s campaign has sued TV stations to not air the truthful ad that shows him downplaying the pandemic. This is modus operandi. Lie. Lie about the lie when the lie does not work. Sue anyone who says you are lying.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s attorney and fixer, said many egregious things under oath, which simply have been ignored by Trump sycophants. I quote often the main theme that he said “Donald Trump is a racist, he is a con artist and he is a cheat.” But, what Cohen also said under oath is he was instructed on more than 500 occasions to send cease and desist orders to entities that had less flattering information in its possession. They ranged from unflattering footage of “The Apprentice” to colleges or prep schools with bad grades to sexual assault accusations, etc.

But, the most egregious thing Trump attorneys did is sue people to avoid paying them for services rendered to his properties. This man of the people has screwed contractors, sheet rockers, painters, electricians, plumbers, etc. on countless occasions. Before the election, out of over 4000 lawsuits, over 200 were to screw the common worker. These folks had to take less money or file for bankruptcy.

Thomas Wells, another attorney who worked for Trump also said many things in an op-ed piece before the election. My favorite is “Donald Trump lies everyday, even about things of no consequence.” But, he also said Trump “always” claimed bad service to avoid paying people. To me, that shows Trump is a cheap SOB. But, don’t take my word or Wells’ word on this. I watched a contractor in a voter panel in 2016 tell the facilitator about working with Trump companies, “The word on the street is get your money up front.”

So, taking the president at his word is a fool’s errand. And, if you do work for him, get your money in advance.

Advertisement

A letter to a conservative editorialist who says we just don’t like Trump

As an independent and former Republican (in fairness, I was a Democrat for a few years after college), I am bemused at how Trump supporters are dismissive of people’s criticisms because they just don’t like him. That does not give him a hall pass to be untruthful, be a bully, name call critics, or act in a corrupt manner.

What I find telling is conservative groups like “Republicans for the Rule of Law,” “Checks and Balances,” and “Christianity Today” who have called out this president for impeachment for his abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Plus, the Mueller report, which I read, has several examples of obstruction of justice and lying.

But, we also should heed the voices of respected Conservative voices like George Will, David Brooks, Michael Gerson, Eric Erickson, Ross Douthat et al, who have shared concerns about the president.

Donald Trump got elected because he is a great salesman. He got folks to look more at his opponents’ imperfections than his own. He is acting as president no differently than he ran his business. As Thomas Wells, an attorney who worked for Trump, wrote before the election, “Donald Trump lies every day, even about things of no consequence.” And, we should not forget the words of Michael Cohen under oath, “Donald Trump is racist, he is a con artist and he is a cheat.”

So, excuse me if I take the word of a parade of dutiful, honorable public servants who courageously testified under oath of their concerns about the president’s actions rather than a president known to be less than truthful.

Do I like Donald Trump? Not really, but it is mainly due to how weary I am of his tendency to lie, demean, bully and make too many things about himself. I also have concerns about his acting like an autocrat and treating our treasured allied relationships like transactions.

I personally find Donald Trump the most corrupt and dishonest president in my lifetime, and that includes Richard Nixon.

I am sorry to push back on you, but I am frustrated with the ongoing rationalization of this incumbent. My question to you is the same one I ask of our Senators. What will you have to defend next week, next month, and next year?

Toys in the ATTIC

When Republican presidential candidate and former Congressman Joe Walsh made it to Fox News for an interview, even he was stunned when the host said he did not think the current president lies. The truth is not only does the president lie, he lies more than he does not with a tally of over 12,000 lies and counting while in office.

While many of the lies are akin to a toddler denying he said or did something (even with his hand in the cookie jar), the ones that trouble me most are those that impact policy or our global standing. On the latter, the US is less trusted because the president is untrustworthy. On the former, people are harmed physically or financially.

With this in mind, here are five lies that may be “toys in the attic,” to the childish president, but are detrimental to people. ATTIC is the acronym to help even a Fox News host to remember them.

A = Amazon: Trump blew off the G7 meeting on the burning Amazon forests and climate change saying he was meeting with the leaders of Germany and India. Trouble is they were in the meeting he blew off.

T= Tariffs: In a repetitive lie, the president continues to say China is paying for the tariffs and each time it is refuted by economists. US importers pay the tariffs and pass most of the cost to consumers. The Congressional Budget Office says the average American (not Chinese) citizen will pay an extra $1,000 due to tariffs.

T= Transgender: This is the president at his worst. Per the book “Fear,” by two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author Bob Woodward, defense staff and leadership awaited the president for a 10 am meeting to brief him on four options for handling transgender issues. While they waited, the president sent out two tweets around 9:05 am. The tweets said the generals had already briefed him and it was a consensus to choose the most aggressive option. This made Defense Secretary James Mattis so furious as it was untrue and wasted time and effort, he said he would not take orders from a tweet.

I = India: This was yet another unforced error the president brought on himself. While at a press conference with the Pakistan leader, the president said he was asked by the India prime minister to broker discussions between the two leaders over recurring tensions in Kashmir. Within the hour, the India PM put out a release saying “no such request was made.” The White House staff was eerily silent after the president’s comment and India’s response. In an interview on NPR, I heard how this damaged our relationship with India.

C = Co-pays: This lie relates to the president cutting funding to reimburse insurers for co-pays and deductibles for people making less than 2 1/2 times the poverty limit under the ACA. Trump said, untruthfully, this would only impact insurer profits. The CBO said it would increase the deficit by $10 billion per annum as premiums would increase. Further, those not getting a premium subsidy would see an increase. If that were not enough, BCBS of North Carolina noted they were not going to have a rate increase in 2018 before the president edict, but increased premiums afterwards.

Sadly, there are so many more to choose from. When I heard this supposed news person say the president does not lie, it was and is highly offensive. Three attorneys who worked for the president have said the following about the president’s lack of truthfulness.

-Thomas Wells said before the election in an article “Donald Trump lies every day even about things of no consequence.”

– Michael Cohen said under oath “Donald Trump is a racist, he is a con artist and he is a cheat.”

– Don McGahn, former White House counsel, resigned rather follow Trump orders to obstruct justice (and lie about being so instructed) per the Mueller report.

Lies are toys in the ATTIC to the president. He has so many toys, they just pile up. But, the truth is these “toys” are painful realities to us and the rest of the world.

Off with his head

Given former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci’s (the Mooch) recent comments that his former boss is “off the rails,” I started to write a post about the Mad Hatter. But, there is a more appropriate caricature of the president in “Alice in Wonderland;” he acts more like the Queen of Hearts.

Any one who dares to criticize the Queen, will lose his or her proverbial head. The Mooch has been criticized for his remarks and advocacy to see the president is NOT reelected. The president said he did not know (the Mooch) that well. Yet, one would ask why he picked him to be his Communications Director, which was such a square peg/ round hole placement that it lasted eleven days.

Eugene Robinson’s latest editorial is called “Trump panicking that reality presidency won’t be renewed.” His opening and closing paragraphs are priceless. Here is the opening:

“Uh-oh. President Trump is in such a state of panic about his dimming reelection prospects that he’s getting his lies mixed up and occasionally blurting out the truth.” Robinson goes on to note Trump said it is hard for Amazon to compete with Samsung when the former has to pay tariffs, forgetting his lies that China paid the tariffs.

When the liar lies so much, he cannot keep track of them. It makes his staff panic as well. And, it has consequences. The Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats had to resign because he told the truth. And, his number two in command had to go as well, as she copied her boss and told the truth.

The Queen of Hearts president cannot tolerate someone disagreeing with him, especially when that person speaks the truth. Only the president can disagree with himself. After changing his tune, he will say he never said that or it is fake news he said that. He does not seem to care that he is on record saying such.

Sadly, his sycophants (let’s call them by the less flattering synonym “toadies”) are too scared to push back as the Queen will turn his base on them. So, the toadies go silent or offer milquetoast criticism of the latest regal faux pas. They do not want to risk the vindictiveness of the Queen.

Or, the toadies will do worse and actively berate people saying uncomfortable truths. Right now, his toadies are piling on the Mooch for his remarks. Further, the Queen’s attorney fixer Michael Cohen was berated as untruthful to obfuscate his testimony in front of a House committee. But, the irony is they were accusing him of lying to protect Trump, while they were admonishing him to protect Trump.

What should have been heeded from Cohen’s testimony are two clear messages. First, Cohen’s job was to bully and threaten people and entities who knew of Trump’s poor behavior into not releasing it. He said he wrote over 500 letters threatening institutions not to release any of Trump’s history they possessed.

Second, the words he opened with should be heeded. “Donald Trump is a racist, he is a con artist and he is a cheat.” This man knows him better than many. Why did he say that? The reason these words are not heeded is an age old practice in Washington. If you denigrate the critic (i.e., cut off his head), then you need not pay any attention to what he said.

Yet, what Cohen said gibes with comments of others. Attorney Thomas Wells said about his former boss, “Trump lies everyday, even about things of no consequence.” Former economics advisor called his former boss a “prodigious liar.”

This is why each of us must push back when the president is untruthful, bullying or hateful in his actions and remarks. Showing Republican legislators there are consequences for their acquiescence and even toadiness to this person, is the only way to embolden them.