The one thing that Trump was able to do better than anyone in America.

[kentuck]

That was to lie with sincerity.

Where did he learn it? From his father? From his attorney, Roy Cohn?

Deny everything. Admit nothing. Lying became the driving force of his character.


It was as if your house was robbed of your most prized possessions and one of your neighbors, whom you like very much, tells you that he saw who robbed your house. But, he didn't.

Another neighbor, who you do not get along with, and have had words in the past, saw what happened out of her window. She saw that it was friends of your best neighbor that robbed your house. She tells you but you do not believe her.

Your good neighbor begins to spread rumors and lies about your unfriendly neighbor. Your entire neighborhood becomes divided. The lies become a corrosive force.

Your lying neighbor ends up with all your prized possessions in his basement and your truthful neighbor ends up being ridiculed throughout the neighborhood.

That's the power of the "lie" at the most basic and local level. Trump did it at a national level. Nobody was better at lying than Donald J Trump.

[betsuni]

1. I disagree, he's a terrible liar.

He'll say one thing at the beginning of a sentence and the opposite thing, then end with an "I don't know." People just choose to believe what they want because it's entertainment.

[kentuck]

2. A lot of people still believe his lies.

You know he is lying but they refuse to see it. Why?

[betsuni]

11. Decades of right-wing talk radio, he's a talk radio god-celebrity populist in the flesh.

What's they've been waiting for.

[gab13by13]

7. He is the best liar, snake oil salesman, I have ever seen.

He can get people to pay a quarter 2 or 3 times to go in the tent to see the bearded lady.

He plays dumb, for several reasons; to connect with his base as if he is one of them. He would never have a beer with any of them, yet they believe he would. He plays dumb to avoid criminal intent when he is committing crimes.

The only thing he is good at is conning people, oh and laundering money for mobsters.

[betsuni]

15. I think that's because his supporters are conditioned to be extremely gullible and not

because of Trump's skill at lying.

[kentuck]

16. He is a con man..

...but lying is a trademark of a con man.

[betsuni]

18. I think the G.W. Bush criminals were far better at lying. They were sincere.

"We create our own reality." My nutty right-wing relative thought Dick Cheney was a good Christian man who loved America. He was the establishment.

Trump has none of that sincerity. I still think it's the audience conditioned by right-wing radio for decades, not show biz populist Trump.

[gab13by13]

3. Yesterday, Neal Katyal was on with Nicolle,

after the hearing. Neal flat out was pizzed, he said that Donald Trump should not be allowed in America, basically said he was a traitor.

Trump isn't the biggest problem, what he created, what he released, is. The Magat base is not going away if Trump dies tomorrow.
There are plenty of domestic oligarchs to fund the GQP, to control the narrative in the MSM.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. I would argue a parallel concept

That many narcissist sociopath-lite people can lie with impunity. They stack their self-interest and visceral emotional priorities ahead of anything and anyone else.

Trump's success at it is due to his money and power and CEO mentality. You don't get on top without a system that feeds the path.

But I will concede the true hypocrite believes his own shit without question because they are horrified if called on it.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. You omitted an important component.

For a lie to be effective, the recipient of the lie must want to believe it. Put aside cognitive dissonance. Want the lie to be true. Once the lie is accepted as truth, the twisted logic allows it to become a fact. You make the lie fit like a peg in a square hole.

[2naSalit]

6. Here's another...

He also managed to fuck everybody in the country, friend and foe alike.

[kentuck]

9. Yep.

[Best_man23]

8. That is the mark of a pathological liar

Pathological liars lie to get their way. TFG's purpose in lying is to get what he wants, whether its something on the side, tithes from the MAGATs (who'll go without food to send money for the next grift), or to remain in the White House.

One of the reasons my first marriage ended in divorce was my now ex was a pathological liar. Toward the end, her falsehoods became so deep and so frequent, I trusted nothing she said unless I could independently verify what she was talking about was true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathological_lying

[JHB]

10. He can't even fake sincerity

What he can do, what he's always done, is tell people what they want to hear in order to get them to do what he wants. Nothing matters except what he wants, so anything that gets it for him is what he'll do.

[kentuck]

12. Someone once said:

'The key to success is sincerity. If you can fake that you've got it made.'

[JHB]

13. But his marks do it to themselves because he dangles something they want

Everyone else can see the World's Most Obvious Con Man for what he is.

[kentuck]

14. They believe him.

Everyone else is "fake news".

[dwayneb]

17. The most dangerous populist propagandist in American history

Anyone who says that the Right wing propaganda machine in the USA isn't powerful or successful, is hiding their head in the sand. The fact that roughly 25% of the American population still believe that Trump "won" the election of 2020 proves it.

Trump doesn't just present falsehoods or alternative facts; he's a lot more like Jim Jones in that he delivers a clever mix of lies, exaggerations, obfuscations and confusing flip-flopping that mesmerizes his audience. This is not because he is stupid or does not realize he isn't consistent - it is a deliberate strategy to draw in the fools that will follow him over any cliff.

Never underestimate our enemies. Understand their strengths and weaknesses.

[fightforfreedom]

19. I find many of his lies foolish, child like.

He was taught to lie about everything, even if it makes you look stupid.

[kentuck]

20. Also, he understands that the bigger and more absurd the lie...

...the more the people have a tendency to believe it. (Just like Hitler and Goebels understood) Hence, the "Big Lie".