When a president lies it raises a question: “What happens when a president cries wolf so many times? Can anyone believe him — even on matters like wars, national tragedies, and natural disasters? As NBC's Benjy Sarlin wrote over the weekend, Trump alleged what would be an historic scandal about Obama, and barely anyone reacted with urgency. What, Sarlin asked, does that say about the White House? About his capacity to relay accurate information to the public? And his propensity to believe conspiracy theories?”
President Trump cannot continue to lie, lie, lie. It diminishes the office of the president and our standing in the world. Mr. Trump claimed without any evidence that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower last year—a claim which the FBI and intelligence officials have rejected as false. He said that 3 to 5 million people voted illegally. Another lie. He said “it looked like a million and a half people" at his inauguration. Not even close. He said his 2016 victory "was the biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan.” Also a lie. And Mr. Trump has been lying long before he was president when he started the “birther” conspiracy against President Obama in an attempt to delegitimize our country’s first black president. The United States will not be respected or taken seriously around the world if Donald Trump continues to shamelessly lie.
By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
