Disclaimer: I can’t possibly keep up with all of Donald Trump’s lies. This is merely a compendium of the three most egregious lies of the past week.
Dishonorable Mention:
Time-Traveling with Artificial Intelligence
In a “press conference” (Trump’s phrase for “uninterrupted unhinged rant”) on Friday morning, Trump lied and lied and lied about the E. Jean Carroll case, claiming once again that he never met E. Jean Carroll, that her sexual assault never happened, that she came forward only to become famous — the usual litany of falsehoods that anyone following the case is already familiar with.
But the new twist is that he’s now claiming that the photograph in which he is seen with E. Jean Carroll was somehow generated by AI. Trump previously has relied on his cultists’ ignorance about artificial intelligence, claiming that photos and videos of Kamala Harris’ events have crowds that have been created by AI. That, of course, is absurd. Multiple news outlets — both right- and left-leaning — have captured hours of footage and hundreds of photographs of Harris’ events, and they didn’t all conspire to augment the size of the crowds simply to marginalize Trump.
This most recent paranoiac fantasy is that the 1987 photo of himself, his then-wife and now golf course fertilizer Ivana, New York City news anchor John Johnson, and E. Jean Carroll was somehow created by AI. The fact that the photo has been in circulation for decades and the fact that artificial intelligence technology didn’t even exist then didn’t prevent him from spewing this whopper of a lie.
As a side note, the prevaricating pig didn’t do himself any favors during this rant. In fact, he may have set himself up for further defamation charges. I guess the $83 million judgment against him wasn’t enough to convince him to shut his pie hole.
Bronze Medal:
Doubling Down on His Own Ignorance
Let’s start with some context. Trump and his cronies spent weeks whining because Kamala Harris hadn’t sat down for an interview since becoming the nominee, and then they whined about the interview itself when it happened. Trump, on the other hand, has been largely absent from the campaign trail and he hasn’t been questioned by any real journalists in many months, other than those partisans who have been favorable to him.
But on Tuesday, a little known Russian-American podcaster, Lex Fridman, released an interview with Trump on social media. Trump mumbled and lied his way through the interview of more than an hour, spewing falsehoods too numerous to keep track of.
In particular, he continued to lie about having no knowledge of Project 2025, despite dozens of people in his administration contributing to it, despite his long association with The Heritage Foundation (the organization behind it), and despite The Heritage Foundation boasting of their association with Trump and their influence on his policies.
Lex Fridman: So you've publicly said that you don't have any direct connection to Project 2025?
Donald Trump: Nothing. I know nothing about it. And they know that too. Democrats know that. And I purposely haven't read it because I wanna say to you, I have no idea what it's all about. It's easier than saying I read it and you know, all of the things.
No, I purposely haven't read it and I've heard about it. I've heard about things that are in there that I don't like and there's some things in there that everybody would like. But there are things that I don't like at all. And I think it's unfortunate that they put it out, but it doesn't mean anything because it has nothing to do with me. Project 25 has, it has absolutely nothing to do with me.
— Donald J. Trump, 09.03.2024
So. He knows absolutely nothing about it, but there are parts of it that he likes and parts of it that he doesn’t like, even though he knows nothing about it. Right. Got it.
Let’s get real. He thought he could outsource any responsibility for developing policy by adopting The Heritage Foundation’s right-wing wish list, present it as his own, and he thought all of that would fly under the radar. But he got found out. Now he’s feigning innocence and he’s scrambling to distance himself from Project 2025, not because he has any genuine interest in policy but rather because he knows it will damage him politically.
Silver Medal:
“When caught in a lie, never say die.”
Despite being caught in his lie, despite photographic evidence that he used this as a campaign photo op, despite wide ranging reporting on the event, despite being scolded by the U.S. Army, despite his account of the altercation being disputed by the Arlington National Cemetery, Dumb Donnie doesn’t seem to want to let go. Of course, that’s part of his playbook. What he fails to take into account, however, is that he may be keeping the story in the news but it’s not helping him in any way.
“There was no conflict or “fighting” at Arlington National Cemetery last week. It was a made up story by Comrade Kamala and her misinformation squad. She made it all up to make up for the fact that she and Sleepy Joe have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS for the INCOMPETENT AFGHANISTAN Withdrawal - THE MOST EMBARRASSING DAY IN U.S. HISTORY!!! They should have been at Arlington, not on a beach or studying for a Debate. Thank you to my friends, the GREAT GOLD STAR FAMILIES, for revealing the TRUTH OF A BEAUTIFUL DAY OF HONOR. Could not have been a nicer moment-And there were no fights or problems, only in the heads of those that are destroying our Country! MAGA2024”
— Donald J. Trump, Truth Social, 09.03.2024
For starters, what’s the obsession on the right with calling everyone “Comrade”? The implication is a not-so-subtle way of accusing people of being Communist.
The 1950s called. They want their “red scare” back.
Here’s the breakdown:
NPR broke the story. Kamala Harris had nothing to do with it; she does not make reportorial or editorial decisions for NPR.
Trump and his campaign goons broke federal law by taking photographs in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. Period. End of sentence.
In a statement, the Secretary of the U.S. Army reminded Trump (and all of us) that it’s illegal and disrespectful to take pictures in Section 60 of A.N.C. The Secretary also stated that “[a]n A.N.C. employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at A.N.C., this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption.”
Trump and his campaign flouted that law, even after having been informed of it by the Secretary of the Army, and used images and footage from that day in campaign propaganda.
Gold Medal:
Trump Boasts About His Crimes on National Television
“Whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election where you have every right to do it?”
— Donald J. Trump, interview with Mark Levin, 09.01.2024
In the wake of Jack Smith’s superseding indictment last week in the election interference case, Trump somehow felt the need to pretend publicly that interfering with a presidential election is within the scope of a president’s duties.
We’ve clearly reached the point in the arc of Trump’s timeline on the political stage where he simply no longer makes sense. This is really a tragedy, in the truest sense, in that it’s becoming more and more inevitable that the fatal flaws of the main character in this drama will at last be the cause of his own ultimate demise.
But sadly, this play already has been going on for eleven or twelve acts. The final curtain was due ages ago. Perhaps we can take comfort — or at least a sense of schadenfreude — in the unending thunderous applause we’ll hear when that curtain finally comes down.