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Monday, February 29, 2016

Donald Trump is a Liar






It has been my experience that people who are habitual liars are most prone to accuse others of lying. This tendency is the product of a peculiar moral code in which liars seem to think that there is nothing wrong with telling a falsehood, if they are able to find errors made by others.
Donald Trump is a liar. FactCheck.org conducts an annual independent survey evaluating the truthfulness public statements made by political leaders. They stated that “in the 12 years of Factcheck.org’s existence, we've never seen his match.... He stands out not only for the sheer number of his factually false claims, but also for his brazen refusals to admit error when proven wrong.”  They go on,”this year the evidence is overwhelming and, in our judgment, conclusive. So for the first time, we confer the title ‘King of Whoppers.’”

Politifact is another independent fact checker, and they came to the same conclusion. They reviewed 94 statements made by Trump.  Sixty two of them were either false, mostly false, or what they call “ Pants on fire”. Of the remaining 22, 15 were half truths and 6 were mostly true but not completely.  Of the 94 statements, Trump made only one that was completely true.

We have always valued truthfulness, and our leaders have disappointed us many times, but it is important to us.  Bill Clinton was impeached and almost lost his office, and what for?.  The principal charge against him was not that he engaged in an extramarital affair, but because he lied about it. That was one lie. We can expect lies from Trump on a regular basis.

The thrust of this message is to urge voters , regardless of their political persuasion, to place character on a high priority in determining who you will support.  Frankly, Donald Trump fails the test.