Last night’s debate on CNN showcased once again that the field of Republicans is jam-packed with whimpering, infantile candidates who are wholly unprepared to lead a bunny hop, much less lead a nation. It’s hard to imagine that, after watching that spectacle, anyone can picture any of these colicky brats with America’s nuclear missile launch codes.
As usual, Donald Trump dominated the brawl with his trademark insults and incessantly repetitive branding (“Make America build a wall of guns for Jesus, losers”). At this point it would probably be easier to list examples of Trump saying something truthful than to enumerate the many outright falsehoods he spews. But it wouldn’t be as much fun. Here are some of the blatant lies, as documented by Factcheck.org, that are contributing to the ever-growing Trump Bullshitopedia:
- Ted Cruz nailed Trump in an exchange where Trump denied that he had ever said he favored a health care plan that would be paid for by the government. In fact, that’s exactly what he told 60 Minutes just last year when he said that “Everybody’s gonna be taken care” and that “the government’s gonna pay for it.”
- Marco Rubio got his shots in by revealing that Trump had lost a million dollar lawsuit over his hiring of foreign workers. Trump whined that Rubio was “totally wrong,” except that he wasn’t.
- Trump claimed that he could not release his tax returns because they are being audited. This lie has several layers. First of all, he has been saying for months that he would release his tax returns “soon” without ever mentioning any audits. It seems like a convenient fabrication someone just thought of to try to get people to stop asking the question. Secondly, there is nothing preventing him from releasing his returns even if there is an audit in progress. And finally, he claims that he has been audited continuously for the past twelve years, so this lame excuse could actually mean that he will never release his tax returns because the audits could go on for years to come. – – – As an addendum to the tax return/audit lies, Trump told CNN that he believes the IRS may be auditing him because he is a “strong Christian.” Really? He thinks the IRS has it in for Christians? And how did they know he was one twelve years before he ever said anything about his alleged faith?
- Another feather in Cruz’s tri-corner hat was earned when he challenged Trump’s assertion that he had “never discussed” Libya or advocated removing Gadhafi from power. He apparently forgot that time he discussed it on his own website saying that “I can’t believe what our country is doing. Gadhafi, in Libya, is killing thousands of people…We should stop this guy…Immediately go into Libya, knock this guy out.”
- Here’s an oldie that has been debunked many times. Trump is fond of lying that Americans and American businesses pay the highest taxes in the world. That just isn’t true. It’s not even close.
As an added bonus, here is an item that isn’t technically a lie, but is frighteningly repugnant. At a post-debate rally Trump reminded his cultish followers about how bitterly he hates the media. And then he disclosed what he would do to his enemies in the press given the opportunity:
“One of the things I’m gonna do if I win… I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money…With me they’re not protected because I’m not like other people…So we’re going to open up those libel laws, folks, and we’re gonna have people sue you like you’ve never been sued before.”
In other words, Trump intends to repeal the First Amendment and, through his power as president, threaten and attack the press. Thin-skinned crybabies like Trump may not like any negative attention they get, but it is a Constitutional right for the media to have the freedom to express themselves. And like most rightist Republicans, they only revere the Constitution (or the bible) when they can interpret it to coincide with their preconceptions. It is the way cultists operate. See Fox News…
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
