Trump’s lies are pure self-aggrandizement

Reading the letter comparing President Donald Trump's lies to those of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson regarding the Vietnam War left me somewhat confused and unsettled (“Trump’s lies are no worse than previous presidents; better, maybe,” May 30). The argument was that President Trump's lies were nowhere near the magnitude of the lies the government told about the Vietnam War because his lies have not caused thousands of casualties. While that is true, and there can be no excuse for the lies told about Vietnam, Mr. Trump's lies fall into a completely different category — his lies are for self-aggrandizement.

Mr. Trump has said that his inauguration was the largest ever (pictures proved it was not); because of voter fraud he lost the popular vote (no proof ); his tax cuts are the largest ever (Ronald Reagan's were larger); his administration accomplished more in the first 90 days than any other (Franklin D. Roosevelt accomplished more); signed more legislation than anyone else (not even close). He has disregarded the truth in saying the Post Office loses money on their deal with Amazon when it actually makes money. He has disregarded the truth saying there are thousands of immigration judges when there are actually fewer then 400.

While we are not naive enough to believe that all previous presidents were completely honest with the American people, I think we can conclude that they regarded the presidency as a privilege and a chance to serve the American people, not as merely an opportunity to self-promote.