Donald Trump Ups His Game, Moves From Lying to Meta-Lying

[Liberal_in_LA]

Here is the start of a Jake Tapper question to Donald Trump this morning. Trump has just gotten done lying yet again—and at length—about his support for the Iraq War, and Tapper finally decides to move on:

TAPPER: At a rally in Sacramento, you accused [Hillary Clinton] of lying about your foreign policy as it relates to expressingsupport for Japan being able to get nuclear weapons.

TRUMP: A hundred percent.

TAPPER: Well, let me just read from you....This is from an April 3 interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News. You said: "North Korea has nukes, Japan has a problem with that. I mean, they have a big problem with that. Maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea."

And Chris Wallace says, "With nukes?"

And you say, "Including with nukes, yes, including with nukes."

So...

This is followed by nearly a thousand words over the course of three minutes of Tapper vainly trying to get Trump to address his question at all. It's not that Trump tap dances or makes excuses or pretends he really meant something different. He just flatly insists on talking about something else and bowls over Tapper whenever he tries to get him back on track. Finally Tapper gives up and moves on again.

This is not a criticism of Tapper, who has been more aggressive than most about trying to hold Trump accountable for the things he says. But what can you do? Trump very plainly has expressed support for Japan getting nukes. It's on tape. He's been explicit on multiple occasions that we should withdraw our military presence from Japan unless they're willing to pay us a lot more money. That's on tape too.

____

Eventually exhaustion sets in and everyone just lets it go.

How do you handle someone like that?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/06/donald-trump-ups-his-game-moves-lying-meta-lying

[TeamPooka]

1. They need to say, "So you're never going to give citizens a straight answer on any subject?" nt

[DetlefK]

2. Easy to counter that:

"You have earned lots of votes in the primaries with your reputation of telling it like it is. Which seems really odd to me because I have asked you the same question three times now and every single time you changed topics. How many more times will I have to ask you until you give a straight answer? Two times? Three times? Four times?"

or

"Wow. I asked you three times and you are still dancing around the subject. You should work in the sales-department at Trump U."



EDIT:

or

"I'm asking this for the second time now..."
"I'm asking this for the third time now..."
"I'm asking this for the fourth time now..."
"I'm asking this for the fifth time now..."

[annabanana]

5. "So.. You are RETREATING from what you said".. and

"So.. You are AFRAID to own your own words..."

frame it like he's afraid and running away.. His little baby ego will NOT be able to take it.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Unfortunately, Tapper dropped it, and most people are gonna hear that exchange and go

"yeah, he makes sense, why are we paying to defend Japan and Germany?"

[malaise]

6. Walk off the set

That's how your handle Don the Con.

[Bucky]

7. When interviewing him, there should be a big scoreboard listing unanswered questions

All politicians will talk around a question they don't the framing on. Trump's talent lies in his dogged refusal to even engage the topic of the question, even as a launching point for whatever tangent he wants to talk about. He just digs in and repeats whatever excuse he believes will show that he's right and everyone else is wrong.

It's pathetic.

[rug]

8. "Did I quote you correctly?"

[greymattermom]

9. call him thin skinned

afraid to back his own statements, weak, stuff like that