Trump's not a liar. He's a madman. / lie rate is increasing

[Demovictory9]

Early in this weekend’s monsoon of malarkey, New York Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted that Trump told “demonstrable falsehoods” — and she was roundly ridiculed on Twitter for failing to say Trump was lying. She defended herself by saying Trump’s pronouncements “can be hard to label” because “he often thinks whatever he says is what’s real.”

Haberman is right, but there’s another reason not to label Trump’s untruths “lies”: Calling him a liar lets him off easy. A liar, by definition, knows he’s not telling the truth. Trump’s behavior is worse: With each day it becomes more obvious he can’t distinguish between fact and fantasy. It’s an illness, and it’s spreading.

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Writing last week for NBCNews.com, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, along with a researcher, offered an explanation for Trump’s mendacity.

Noting that the daily average number of Trump falsehoods has been rising since he took office (as measured by The Post’s Fact Checker), the professor, Tali Sharot, pointed to the biological process of “emotional adaptation.” People tend to feel uncomfortable when they tell lies, but research has found that the discomfort is reduced each time a person lies — thereby increasing the frequency of lies.


Trump’s fictions are so pain-free that they may not feel like lies to him — honestly. And, ominously, they may seem less glaring to others over time. Sharot noted that people “may desensitize to the president’s falsehoods in the same way that they do to overused perfume, making them less likely to act to correct this pattern of behavior.”

You can see this in the repeated failure of congressional Republicans to call out Trump’s untruths, when they obviously know better. And you can see it in administration officials’ determination to support whatever Trump says, no matter how ludicrous. (The White House held a briefing Tuesday to support Trump’s attempt to blame Democrats for immigrant family separation.) Trump may not be able to separate fact from fiction, but those who knowingly back up his falsehoods are liars.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-doesnt-lie-he-does-something-worse/2018/05/29/fdd89d30-6372-11e8-99d2-0d678ec08c2f_story.html?utm_term=.d9e88d11aa65

[yallerdawg]

1. "Pathological" liar points to a mental condition.

Also, related to 'narcissistic personality disorder' of which the Dotard is our new poster child.

The hallmarks of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) are grandiosity, a lack of empathy for other people, and a need for admiration. People with this condition are frequently described as arrogant, self-centered, manipulative, and demanding. They may also concentrate on grandiose fantasies (e.g. their own success, beauty, brilliance) and may be convinced that they deserve special treatment. These characteristics typically begin in early adulthood and must be consistently evident in multiple contexts, such as at work and in relationships.

People with narcissistic personality disorder believe they are superior or special, and often try to associate with other people they believe are unique or gifted in some way. This association enhances their self-esteem, which is typically quite fragile underneath the surface. Individuals with NPD seek excessive admiration and attention in order to know that others think highly of them. Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder have difficulty tolerating criticism or defeat, and may be left feeling humiliated or empty when they experience an "injury" in the form of criticism or rejection.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder

[BigmanPigman]

2. He is also a sociopath.

He is a walking, talking mental disaster. Neither illness can be cured with medicine and prolonged therapy either.
https://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html

[elmac]

3. he is a con artist

that is what he does, all his life. If he didn't have daddy's money he would have spent most of his life in prison.

[LuvLoogie]

4. Fuck that. He knows he's lying. That's why he does all he can to undermine press & the fact checkers

He's lying more because his lies are having less of an effect and he needs to keep it up to avoid having the walls cave in.

[montana_hazeleyes]

10. I agree completely LuvLoogie.

He knows he's lying and his cult members want to believe him. He's a psychopath and that's what they do.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. His lie rate is increasing because he's getting away with his lies.

[Cha]

6. trump is a fucking LIAR and a Madman.. a GasLighting

Gasbag.

[cutroot]

7. They separated themselves from reality long ago,

They moved into an alternate world and bolstered themselves with their own alternate facts. The republicans benefit from this so they just try to keep the herd happy and slowly moving towards the slaughterhouse. trump is a useful tool and he can easily be dispatched once he has completed their dirty work for them. He twists the pretzel of logic into a shape that his cult can recognize and they simply believe him. No questions asked.
His entire cult of criminality would disappear if enough people stood up and made their voices heard at the voting booth.

[BobTheSubgenius]

8. Oh, FFS!!!

He recognized a rhinoceros when shown a picture of one. How is that not enough for you?

[mn9driver]

9. At some point, severe personality disorders cross the line into mental illness.

That is what we are witnessing now.