As a rule, when the president talks about imaginary conversations, his descriptions are vague. Occasionally, he slips up.
Look, I realize this framing is trite, but for all of the obsessive focus on Biden’s age and mental acuity, he never went around sharing the details of imaginary conversations that he claimed to be having in the here and now.
Trump, meanwhile, does it all the time.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-30T17:59:37.440Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-shares-a-conversation-with-sharpie-maker-that-apparently-never-occurred
Partway through the meeting, the Republican took several minutes to talk about his appreciation for, of all things, Sharpie pens. The Associated Press reported:
During a Cabinet meeting Thursday that discussed the war in Iran, record-long security lines at many of the nation’s top airports, rising oil prices and skittish stock markets, the president interjected by holding up a custom-made black and gold Sharpie and offering a long story about how his preferred marker came to be a White House fixture.
‘See this pen right here?’ Trump said at the start of a roughly five-minute, on-and-off diatribe on the Sharpie. ‘This pen is an interesting example.’
What followed was a lengthy and detailed description of a conversation the president claimed to have had with the company that makes the pens.
Trump: "See, this pen right here. This pen is an interesting example. It's the same thing. So this pen is very inexpensive. But it writes well. I like it. But I can't have the pen the way it was. You know what it is. I don't want to give too much publicity but they do treat me well. Sharpie."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-26T15:34:25.401Z
.....The day after the Cabinet meeting, The Washington Post reported,
“The company that makes the permanent markers said the exchange never happened. … Presented with a transcript of Trump’s account, a spokesperson for Sharpie maker Newell Brands said it did not occur.” When the Post asked the White House to clarify who the president had spoken to and when, it received no response.
Trump already had a “Sharpiegate” mess in his first term, and the sequel is about as absurd.
But what troubles me about this is the familiarity of the circumstances.
As a rule, when the president talks about imaginary conversations, he sticks to vague descriptions that make fact-checking difficult.....
I realize this framing is trite, but for all of the obsessive focus on Joe Biden’s age and mental acuity during his term, the Democratic president never went around sharing the details of fictional conversations that he said he was having in the here and now. Trump, meanwhile, does it all the time.
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