Trump: "I never said that!"

[MineralMan]

How many times has he said something like that, only to be presented with video of him saying exactly what he claims not to have said? Why do people still believe anything he says? Anything.

Now, maybe his memory deficits are so profound that he truly can't remember what he has and has not said. If so, that presents an entirely different reason to remove him from office. But, if he can remember but continually "says the thing that is not*," then he is simply a liar, which is also reason to remove him from office.

*Reference to Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels," in the chapter, "A Voyage to the Land of the Houyhnhnms."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. He's a liar. More accurately, he's a bullshitter.

If you haven't read "On Bullshit" by Harry G. Frankfurt, you should. Although it was written before Trump was (sort of) elected, it perfectly describes what he does.

...Bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

https://press.princeton.edu/titles/7929.html

[MineralMan]

2. Thanks for the link. I'll check that out.

[jcgoldie]

3. What kills me...

... even after being confronted with direct video evidence of whatever he was denying, he still never admits that he was wrong. In the past, politicians have been pressed to offer direct apologies for lies and misstatements when they were caught. This clown just goes on in an alternate reality knowing 40% of the population will live in the unicorn-verse so long as foxnews and talk radio backs up his lies.

[MineralMan]

4. He simply doesn't care.

He has no respect for truthfulness or any other positive actions that demonstrate character. In fact, he's has contempt for people of good character, generally.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. That's because he's a bullshitter. See post #1.

[dalton99a]

5. It is a lifelong habit, because he is a congenital liar who cheats and lies

(Trump’s attorneys answering questions about billing in a 1993 case)

Q: You had a meeting on June 16, 1990?

A: Right. Same identical entry. Right. Okay. For three quarters of an hour with Donald, right.

Q: Did Mr. Miller always do everything together with you when he was active in this case?

A: Not everything, but we—it’s always been our practice to make sure two people are present, and we don’t have a problem of people lying.

Q: You are meeting with your client?

A: That’s right. Your client. Hey, Trump is a leader in the field of expert—he’s an expert at interpreting things. Let’s put it that way.

Q: That’s interestingly put. As I recall in your letter to Mr. Descantis, which we marked yesterday, you indicated the policy of your office was to have two attorneys present for meeting with public officials?

A: Correct.

Q: Here you are meeting with your client?

A: That’s right.

Q: Was it necessary for both you and Mr. Miller to always attend the meeting —

A: We always do that.

Q: Always?

A: We tried to do it with Donald always if we could because Donald says certain things and then has a lack of memory.

[Aristus]

7. Nice reference. Trump is definitely a Yahoo.

[MineralMan]

8. Yes, indeed.