Donald Trump has a very big problem. While some of the biggest and most damaging stories about him, his associates, his administration, and the White House break on a daily basis, Trump always has a snarky response and a tweet explaining away the story while accusing journalists of lying because they dislike him, but it is not remotely possible to believe anything he says now. When a person chooses to lie, on average, at least five times per day, they’re credibility is irrevocably damaged. Trump, at this point, will never overcome that, and it’s a problem.
For instance, no matter how many times Trump insists that sanctuary cities are “crime infested,” the facts do not line up with his statements. Sanctuary cities do not have higher crime rates and Californians do not overwhelmingly want sanctuary city policies to end. A majority of surveys conducted in the state of California show that its residents are not opposed to cities in their state having sanctuary city status. Trump is ignoring the facts once again, and it cannot be stated enough that he does so on a regular basis and should not be considered a legitimate source of anything based on his history of lying.
Trump also issued what is only his second statement about the scandal that surrounds him regarding his affair with adult film star and director Stormy Daniels (aka Stephanie Clifford). While he could say (although few would believe him) that he does not know the man in the sketch she revealed on The View, or that he and his “fixer,” Michael Cohen, never used intimidation tactics to silence her. He cannot say with any certainty, however, that the incident never happened, because he was not there.
While the president brags that the man he’s nominated as secretary of state flew to North Korea and met with a foreign leader on behalf of the U.S., he would be wise not to do so. Mike Pompeo has not been confirmed by Congress in the position for which he’s been nominated. He is the current director of the CIA, but that is not a position in which he is authorized to sit in on diplomatic relation meetings with foreign leaders. Trump is subverting Congress by sending him, and that is not okay.
As for Trump’s tweet about James Comey, debunking that is just too easy. Trump only has to refer back to his own statements on Comey’s firing. When asked on camera by Lester Holt if Comey’s firing was related to his investigation into collusion by the Trump campaign, the president said:
“I said to myself, ‘you know, this whole Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story.'”
The day after firing Comey, Trump told Russian officials that firing Comey had taken pressure off of him in the Russia probe. He has contradicted his own statements numerous times about Comey’s firing, but the statements he’s attempting to contradict are not from reporters. They’re from his own mouth.
Twitter also had some comments on Trump’s tweet. See some of their responses below:
Featured image via Getty/Mandel Ngan
