Editorial: Hold Trump accountable for his serial dishonesty
Wednesday, July 11, 2018 -- Donald Trump's torrents of untruthfulness haven't been a campaign convenience or passing blip. It is unrelenting. He - and his enablers - are unaccountable and unapologetic. He is demeaning the office of President of the United States. Character of the president is important. It cannot be passed over or ignored as the bargain for certain judicial appointments or partisan political strategy.
Posted — UpdatedThe world has become numbed by President Donald Trump’s casual relationship with the truth. Just as troubling as is Trump’s serial lying is the failure of those we elect to hold him accountable.
How distant is Donald Trump’s relationship with the truth?
- The president of the United States has offered up false or misleading claims an average of 6.5 times daily since entering office, according to The Fact Checker.
- During a single speech on July 5 in Montana, 76 percent of the 98 “factual” statements from the president were false, misleading or lacked any supporting evidence.
- Of 578 Trump statements that PolitiFact has checked, 486 –84 percent – have been rated half true, mostly false, false or “pants on fire.”
- He has been anointed the “King of Whoppers” by Factcheck.org.
You cannot avoid PolitiFact and Factcheck. Don’t call it “fake news”.... Have the guts to read the above links.
Rex Tillerson, at the end of his brief but stormy tenure as Trump’s secretary of state, warned of the consequences of Oval Office deceit and dishonesty.
One glimmer of hope appeared when Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., stood up to Trump’s distortions and falsehoods. Burr, who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee, backed up the intelligence agencies conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections with the goal of helping elect Trump. The president has continually said the investigation into Moscow’s meddling, led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, is a “witch hunt” and a “hoax” concocted by Democrats to weaken his presidency.
Donald Trump’s torrents of untruthfulness haven’t been a campaign convenience or passing blip. It is unrelenting. He – and his enablers – are unaccountable and unapologetic. He is demeaning the office of President of the United States.
Character of the president is important. It cannot be passed over or ignored as the bargain for certain judicial appointments or partisan political strategy.
The members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation in the president’s party could speak with one voice about the importance of character. We have three questions for Richard Burr, Thom Tillis, George Holding, Walter Jones, Virginia Foxx, Mark Walker, David Rouzer, Richard Hudson, Robert Pittinger, Patrick McHenry and Ted Budd:
What standard of adherence to the truth do you have for the president of the United States?
Do you have a different standard of truthfulness for yourself than the president?
What are you going to do about our president who cannot be trusted in any way?
Silence is complicity, and your silence is deafening.
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