The media has a Trump veracity problem. Specifically, many mainstream sources (I’m talking to you, Matt Lauer!) for whatever reason seem to have trouble researching what Trump has said over the years about himself, his political opponents, the issues, etc., and then informing the public when he is being less than honest (read: lying). That’s a problem for all of us, as voters, who are trying to figure out whom to vote for in the upcoming presidential election.
If moderators and interviewers can’t or won’t do their homework to know the facts off the top of their head and set the record straight right there on the spot, then we need to put an end to live press conferences, interviews, and debates so that fact checking can take place before airing the statements of a candidate known to play fast and loose with the truth. Just saying. The problem is that once a false statement is out there, it can take on a life of its own despite Monday morning fact checking. Trump, better than anyone who has ever run for public office, knows this and uses it to his advantage—ringing the bell over and over again.
So what’s a voter (who actually cares about the truth) to do? To that end, here is a down and dirty guide to Donald Trump’s—for lack of a better term—lies that he and his campaign have been telling us. (Click on the hyperlinks for more information.)
And you’re welcome.
Art of the Deal, The
The ghostwriter (no, Trump didn’t even write the book) for his best-selling book, The Art of the Deal, will be the first to say that the book greatly exaggerated Trump’s business acumen. Supposedly a business whiz, Trump has filed for bankruptcy four times. And by the way, Trump lied when he said “Art of the Deal” was the best selling business book of all time.
Birtherism
Here’s the timeline of this long-lived falsehood, which is tinged with racism.
- In 2011, Donald Trump started the untrue rumor that Barack Obama was not born in this country, could not prove that he was born in this country (despite having previously produced an authentic short form birth certificate) and, therefore, was not eligible to become president of the United States.
- He tweeted about it over the course of many years, allowing the completely baseless rumor to fester and spread to the point where an astounding 53% of Republicans now believe that our president of the past eight years was not born in the United States.
- Despite President Obama’s production of his long form birth certificate in 2011, Trump continued to tweet about the rumor and allowed it to swirl until very recently when he gave a perfunctory statement last week that—guess what—Obama was born in the State of Hawaii!
- But then, in the same “news conference” (in quotes because it was really a PR and photo op for his new DC hotel), Trump advanced the new lie that it was Hillary Clinton who started the birther rumor in the first place, and then gave himself a pat on the back for ending the rumor that he himself had started five years earlier. Now that's chutzpah!
Charitable Contributions
Trump claims to have donated millions to charitable causes over the years but, in fact, an investigation turned up donations of less than $10,000 over the course of seven years. His tax returns would shed additional light on his charitable giving (or lack thereof), but he has so far refused to turn them over (see below Taxes).
Crime Rates
Trump falsely claimed that blacks kill 81 percent of white homicide victims when the actual number is far, far less. He says that crime rates in general are on the rise, and that is completely false. Finally, Trump has said that inner city crime is at an all time record high, which is—you guessed it—a lie.
Doomsday Forecasts
Trump tells his supporters the whopper of a lie that the United States is in dire straits. According to Trump, our economy is in the crapper, we are losing jobs hand over fist, our generals are like “rubble," and we are a weak, ineffective country. He even said--falsely--that our gross domestic product was zero in June of 2015.
No wonder his supporters so desperately want to make America great again. To hear Trump talk, we are on the verge of Armageddon. Of course, the truth is not nearly as gloomy.
Drumpf
Even Donald Trump’s family name is a lie. John Oliver pointed out on his HBO program that the family name, which is plastered all over his business empire isn’t really Trump—it’s Drumpf. Guess the Trump family didn’t want people to realize they were, at one time, immigrants.
Election System
Trump likes to float the general premise that our election system is rigged, (except of course when he is winning). He has no evidence to support his claim, however, that our system of democracy is “rigged.” None.
Flip Flops
Aside from the granddaddy of the flip flops--the birther lie--Trump has flip flopped over the years on numerous issues regarding domestic policy, including: the war on drugs, abortion, taxes, gun control, health care, social security. He has even flip flopped on his views regarding his opponent, Hillary Clinton, whom he once called a "fantastic senator."
Foundations
Trump points to the Clinton Foundation and says it’s a “scam." In fact, the Clinton Foundation, has done a great deal of good for disadvantaged folks around the world. By contrast, we now know that Trump’s own “charitable” foundation spent $20,000 for a yuge six-foot painting of himself.
Gaslighting
Trump is such a seasoned liar that it can make even those who know the truth firsthand start to question it, which the Huffington Post has likened to psychological phenomenon known as "gaslighting." For example, Trump repeatedly said that John Oliver had begged him to come on his show when nothing could be further from the truth.
Golf Courses
One of many reasons why Trump is balking at turning over his tax returns could be issues concerning his Florida golf course. He can’t seem to be able to decide on the truth when it comes to what any of his golf courses are worth though. When bragging about how great a businessman he is, they’re worth much, much more than he says they’re worth when arguing they be taxed at a lower rate. Hmmmmm…
Health
Trump has suggested that Clinton has serious health issues or lacks the stamina that would prevent her from being a successful leader. This is a lie. There is no evidence at all that Clinton has significant health issues of any kind. In the meantime, Trump has failed to provide his own health records beyond two page doctor’s note that was scribbled in five minutes while Trump waited in his limo.
Hyperbole
I would argue that Trump is the king of hyperbolical rhetoric, and hyperbole is typically not true. For a laundry list of particularly egregious cases where Trump has engaged in puffery of the worst kind (e.g., claimed he was the best of the best), click here. Incidentally, did I mention this is the best list of Trump lies on the entire Internet, hands down?
Iraq War
Trump has repeatedly lied when he says that he was opposed to the Iraq War. The record shows that in fact, like many Americans at the time who were duped by the Bush Administration, he was in favor of the war.
JFK Assassination
During the primaries, Trump floated the completely false notion that his opponent Ted Cruz’s father had somehow been involved in JFK’s assassination. He further lied when he said that Cruz never denied his father was photographed with Lee Harvey Oswald.
KKK (Ku Klux Klan)
In the now-infamous interview with Jake Tapper of CNN, Trump said he didn't "know anything" about David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan who has endorsed him. In fact, Trump likely did not want to turn off the many white supremacist groups supporting him and his candidacy.
Lawsuits
Trump likes to call Clinton “crooked,” however, he is the one who has been named in at least 169 federal lawsuits, an astounding number by any measure. He has been sued for fraud in California and New York over Trump University, has been sued for Fair Housing Act and Civil Rights Act violations, and has had ties to organized crime. For plenty of examples of where Trump lied under oath when being deposed in connection with a lawsuit, click here.
Mexicans
Trump has repeatedly said negative (and false) things about Mexicans, Mexican immigrants, and the Mexican government, starting with his now infamous rapist and drug trafficking comment.
Miller, John (or John Barron)
This is the name of Donald Trump’s fabricated publicist (in reality, the Donald) who, during the 80s and 90s, bragged to reporters about himself and his sexual conquests. Then more recently Trump lied about engaging in the ruse in the first place.
9/11
Trump lied about seeing "thousands and thousands" of people cheering as the World Trade Center collapsed. In fact, Donald Trump bragged on 9/11 that he then had the tallest building (Trump Tower) in Manhattan.
Obama
Among the many lies Trump has told about Obama (aside from his birther farce—see above) he said falsely that the President “founded” ISIS (along with the “crooked Hillary Clinton”). As part of the fanciful narrative that Obama lied about his background, Trump also falsely claimed that people who went to school with Obama didn’t know or remember him.
Pants on Fire
Trump calls Clinton a liar but according to the Pulitzer Prize winning fact-checking source, PolitiFact, she is the most honest of all the presidential candidates this year and Trump lies all the time, receiving the “Pants on Fire” (you know: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire) distinction a staggering 18% of the time. 77% his statements have been deemed either Mostly False, False, or Pants on Fire.
For a complete list of Donald Trump’s statements that have been deemed “Pants on Fire” outright lies by PolitiFact.com, click here.
Pinocchio Noses
The Washington Post’s own fact checker assigns one to four Pinocchio noses to determine how truthful political candidates are, with four Pinocchio noses being used to describe outright lies. For all of Trump’s “4 Pinocchio nose” statements as of March 2016, click here.
Putin, Vladimir
Trump, who has an odd affinity for the Russian autocrat, has lied about his actual relationship with Putin, saying he either knows him well or not at all, depending on the interview.
Religion
“Barack Hussein Obama”—sounds like a Muslim name, no? So says Donald Trump anyway and his supporters have been sold—hook, line, and sinker—on the complete falsehood that President Obama is a Muslim. In reality, President Obama is a Christian.
He also claimed that there’s “nothing out there” about Clinton’s religion, which is also false. She is a practicing Methodist.
In the meantime, Trump claims to be a devout Christian, despite his misquoting the bible. According to his church, he is not an active member.
Second Amendment
Trump continues to perpetuate the lie that Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment, when in fact, she simply wants to regulate guns so they don’t fall into the hands of dangerous individuals such as terrorists.
Taxes
Speaking of taxes, he continues to refuse to turn over his tax returns despite overwhelming precedent for presidential candidates to do so. Clinton has disclosed tax returns since 1977, and even Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, has turned over ten years worth of his tax returns. Trump’s protestation that he’s been involved in an audit and that prevents him from revealing his tax returns is—you guessed it—a lie.
Unemployment Rate
To fan the flames of discontent among his supporters, Trump has a habit of lying about the unemployment rate in this country. He has claimed it is as high as 42%, which would be akin to unemployment during the Great Depression. In fact, the rate of unemployment in this country is far lower—about 5%, though underemployment is higher (around 10%).
University, Trump
“Trump University” wasn't a university, nor did it fulfill promises made to its students, such as utilizing instructors handpicked by Trump himself. The salespeople tasked with signing up students were trained to fleece them by encouraging them to max out their credit cards to pay the tuition. A classic scam by most accounts, employees have referred to the school as a "lie" and a "scheme."
Videotape
Trump admitted to lying about seeing a videotape of people taking money off of a plane to pay ransom to Iran in exchange for hostages. He blatantly lied about this at two rallies in early August.
Violent Criminals
Trump has lied about Clinton wanting to release violent criminals from prison. In fact, she does not.
Wall, The
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. It is the centerpiece of his campaign. When he met with the Mexican president, however, he lied that he hadn't broached the subject, when in fact President Nieto had told him “no way.” He has also grossly underestimated (read: lied about) the amount of money that such a wall would cost the American people.
Women
Trump wrongly claims that Clinton doesn’t do very well with women, when she is leading Trump among women by a historic margin. In the meantime, Trump claims "nobody has more respect" for women than he does despite a history of flippant misogyny and hateful comments against women.
Xenophobia
Trump received “Pants on Fire” designations for his outrageously false claims that Clinton has “not answered a single question” about her immigration plan and his wildly inaccurate assessments of the number of illegal immigrants in this country. He has used the latter lie to fan the flames of xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment in this country.
Zzzzzzz
Trump has said that Clinton "slept through" the Benghazi terrorist attack, instead of taking charge, which is an out and out lie according to factcheck.org.
Indeed, despite multiple GOP led investigations, no evidence has ever been uncovered to show that Clinton was to blame for the death of four American diplomats in Benghazi, Libya.
Unfortunately, this is by no means an exhaustive list. If you can think of more Trump tall tales and lies, and you have the source(s) to back them up, please share in the comments!
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