What I learned about lying from Donald Trump.

Facts are not important. What people will believe is.

The anatomy of a lie is, to most people, something constructed around the concept of truth. This is not the case in Donald Trumps world. Truth serves no purpose. What people will believe is the only important factor. The masses will consume lies in much the same way they will consume drugs, or junk food, or anything else that is packaged and served up and confirms their own beliefs.

If auto workers want to believe that cars with huge engines are just wonderful for the environment, then tell them so. If miners want to believe jobs in the coal belt are a good idea and will actually help the environment, tell them so. If gun owners want to believe background checks for people buying automatic weapons are an infringement on their rights, then tell them so. They’ll all agree so enthusiastically that they’ll even let you deport their friends who happen to have a slightly different skin pigmentation to you.

The ‘alternative facts’ don’t lie! Oh, wait a minute… They do.

People are not interested in being told they’re wrong. You can be sure a lie is about to be laid down when you hear Donald preaching to the choir. There’s simply no need for the truth, so he’ll go with something more self serving.

Say it loudly and often.

By repeating the story (however wrong it is) it gains currency. Better still, by adding ‘everyone knows’ or ‘people are saying’ you add a further apparent force multiplying effect. There’s just one problem. Few if any people ‘are saying’ anything, and those that do are merely repeating the lie they heard from the President.

When pressed on who these people might be the liar can almost never provide an example. Margaret Thatcher famously turned this round during an interview which can be heard here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFh3pu0uGxQ

It doesn’t really matter though, because if you wait long enough the news cycle moves right along. Trump knows that in this respect time is on his side. The next distraction is just around the corner.

There is however a major problem with this. Once people hearing the story notice you keep saying ‘everyone knows’ then it becomes an indicator that a lie is coming. We used to hear the phrase ‘believe me’ from him in the same way, but Donald has been told to stop using the phrase as it so often precedes a lie.

A clear indicator of a lie is often how many times the president repeats it. His most common phrases ( ‘no collusion’, ‘I’m a stable genius’, ‘Mexico is going to pay for the wall’ and ‘It was a perfect phone call’ ) are a great examples of this. If one were to look for common phrases in his Twitter feed one could likely establish a list of his largest lies.

One of the problems with lies is that they need to be voiced. Unfortunately for Donald no one told him that they should not be repeated.

The wing man factor.

It is said, in influential circles, that when single one should go out with a friend who is either hideously disfigured, has a severe speech defect or is hopelessly afflicted with some form of skin disease. This is wise counsel, and is also a kindness to that small but precious group, as they don’t otherwise get to go out very often. Inevitably this makes one look better, seem attractive, and can even signify that through goodness of heart you choose to share your happiness with those less fortunate than yourself. This factor explains why Trump can be seen with the likes of Kelly Anne Conway, Sebastian Gorka, Mike Pompeo and Steven Miller.

This crowd of ne’er do well supporters serve one purpose alone — to make Trump look better than the incompetent spoiled child that he is. They deflect attention as people watch thinking, ‘Is this idiot real? Can this really be?”

Only after clutching my makeup stained forehead — that contouring is beautiful but delicate — and shaking my head in consternation am I able to then listen to words of Donald Trump and suddenly they seem almost palatable.

If listened to in isolation anyone would doubtless reel in horror and think that the President’s medication had got all mixed up (again). However, in the context of following the meaningless babble of these wing ‘persons’ — and that is being very charitable to Kelly Anne — Trump’s spiel becomes unusually banal, yet not by any means the madness that one is filtering out from the likes of Sebastian Gorka et al. To put it bluntly, when surrounded by idiots, the least idiotic appears almost rational. Unfortunately he’s still a racist, homophobic ignorant douche.

There’s one last thing I have learned about lying, from Donald Trump.

Trust is not easily won. And once it’s lost it’s the devil’s own job to replace it. And that’s why people are sick and tired of the noise. We know you’re lying.

Fiona.

http://FionaDobson.com — The crossdresser’s blog you’ll love even if you’ve never worn your sister’s panties.