Why does Donald Trump tell such blatant lies?

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

he lies because it works for him. He knows he just needs to peel off a few voters.

Just yesterday, he stood before the cameras and lied about the federal gov not helping NC recover from Hurricane Helene. Even when he's called on it by the reporters, he continues to lie. 2 weeks ago, he was lying his ass off, a reporter called him on it, said that what Trump was saying was not true. Trump, without missing a beat "it is" and walked away.

https://theconversation.com/why-does-donald-trump-tell-such-blatant-lies-241192
Why does Donald Trump tell such blatant lies?
Published: October 21, 2024 11:30am EDT
Author
Geoff Beattie
Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill University

When it comes to lying in politics, Donald Trump is in a class of his own. According to the Washington Post, he made 30,573 false or misleading claims in his four years as president, increasing year-on-year from six per day in his first year to 39 per day in his fourth.

Although other presidents have lied to the public, none have lied like this. Some of Trump’s lies are trivial, and many are self-aggrandising (“Nobody builds better walls than me”). Then there are his more egregious lies, like the one about the 2020 presidential election being “stolen” – demonstrably and dangerously contrary to the facts, with serious consequences for the nation and public trust.

And these lies can cut through. Research by political scientists Kevin Arceneaux and Roy Truex found that this “big lie” about the stolen election was very “sticky”. Around 50% of Republican voters believed it, regardless of any emerging contrary evidence. The researchers also found that belief in this lie boosted Republican supporters’ self-esteem – as they weren’t “losers” after all.

Politicians who lie can gain a strategic advantage. If you can successfully embellish the truth or construct a new reality, this often tends to be more interesting and engaging than the complicated truth. The truth may be a bit dull and uninspiring; the lie can be whatever you want it to be. You know what your audience wants to hear.

To work, according to Hitler, big lies must also be able “to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings”. They are not aimed at our rational selves, but our unconscious and emotional selves.

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Perhaps Trump managed to convince himself that they really were eating the dogs and cats in Springfield. Or perhaps he thought to himself: “Plant the emotional image, that’s all you need for the faithful.”

[dutch777]

1. The frightening thing is that 50% of the voters either believe them or think its okay. Frighteningly Hitlerian.

[bdamomma]

10. Cause

those who do not know history are deemed to repeat it.

[essaynnc]

2. The really bad thing is...

If the media is focused on whether he was talking about Arnold Palmer's penis, we forgotten to focus on the insurrection or the covid lies or going after the left. We've been redirected to things that he wants us to think about, as opposed to the things The public needs to see and think about.

[Emile]

3. He is making fun of stupid Republican voters for

his entertainment.

[live love laugh]

4. Who knew there was a market for the reality averse? 😐🙄

[Kid Berwyn]

5. Truth is his Enemy.

Requires multiples more energy to correct disinformation than to create it.

And Putin wins.

[bottomofthehill]

6. Because they work

[Fla Dem]

7. Because he can. There are no consequences.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

11. exactly... he lied his way into the presidential office. Lied that he's a great business man to start

lied about Obama's birth status.

[jcgoldie]

8. I think the more ridiculous ones...

Its for attention. He sees his own crowd getting bored as anyone does when they sit and watch someone talk about themselves for an hour and a half, so the entertainer in him decides he needs to juice up the content to wake people up. And then he realizes it also gets him all the headlines the next day so he keeps doing it.

[SamKnause]

9. Because cult leaders lie.

That is how they get their followers.

If he told the truth he would have no cult members.

He is a con man, a grifter, a thief, a swindler, a crook, and a liar.

Apparently his cult members (working class) are gullible.

His rich cult members are in for themselves.

They like trump's tax cuts.

They don't give a fuck about this country.

You have to be a selfish fuck or gullible to support trump.