In his lies, Trump tells many what they want to hear
Perhaps the greatest lesson emerging from the tapes of President Donald Trump speaking with renowned journalist Bob Woodward about the coronavirus is that those hoping to sway public opinion should have always followed one simple prescription: Pay far less attention to the president’s shameless lying and far more attention to the things he is lying about.
It’s tempting, I know, to wonder how our fellow citizens can support a president who so often tells us things that aren’t true. Don’t Americans revere “Honest Abe?” Doesn’t our most iconic presidential legend hinge on the phrase “I cannot tell a lie” even though, ironically, the story of George Washington’s cherry tree turned out to be a fabrication? Certainly, we admire straight talk. But buried deep within our psyche are many reasons why we sometimes root for leaders who play fast and loose with the truth. President Trump skillfully exploits them all.
He acts as the Warrior President: Imagine a general headed to a delicate negotiation seeking an end to a cruel war.
“What will you do, if I don’t agree,” the rival general asks. “We have overwhelming troops ready to crush your forces,” our general responds, knowing that this is a lie. When the rival army takes the bluff and surrenders, we don’t castigate the dishonesty; we cheer the victory. This is what Trump is signaling when he launches his rhetorical fusillades against China and brags about the “Art of the Deal.”
Of course, it may seem different to lie to the enemy than to your own people, but this distinction only highlights the most striking aspect of the Trump presidency. Trump campaigns almost exclusively to his base because they believe they are at war with the fundamental direction of an America charted by the Clintons, the Obamas and now Joe Biden. Economic spoils in the United States are going increasingly to those who earn a living in comfortable offices. Educated young adults are leaving parents isolated in rural areas.
Secular tolerance, and sometimes celebration, of different ways of living, of the LGBTQ community and of rising multiculturalism are creating joyous zones of urban and suburban progress, while leaving many behind. Trump voters will embrace a president willing to lie like it’s going out of style if he can reverse these trends. Trump’s opponents will get nowhere calling out lies, unless they show voters how he’s exploiting these forces for his own gain without acting on their behalf.
Trump also acts as the Cheerleader President: During New York City’s fiscal crisis in the mid-1970s, its mayor, Abraham Beame, was accused of lying to investors about the state of the city’s finances. His optimistic pronouncements allowed the city to continue selling bonds and may have saved New York from even worse fiscal pain than it experienced. Does Beame deserve blame or credit?
Trump taps into a similar well when he claims to be playing down COVID-19 to boost the stock market. Sure, a rising stock market will help Trump’s re-election chances, but voters will all too readily forgive over-optimism if it staves off economic pain. The problem again is not that Trump lied; it’s that he did so while disregarding the consequences that downplaying the virus would lead to risky behavior that would cost thousands of lives. He also becomes the Prioritizing President: Our nation faces stiff challenges
daunting enough to scare any sane man or woman considering positions of leadership. Climate change, systemic racism, growing government debt, lack of affordable housing, crumbling infrastructure and lagging public schools are just the highlights. A president telling the full truth about these challenges simultaneously might be cheered for leveling with the American people. Downplaying less urgent challenges, even duplicitously, might convey a strong sense of priorities. Trump’s absolutely catastrophic gutting of our environmental regulations, for example, may hinge on lies about the actual impact. But his surface lies generate messages that we have more important things to worry about. The lie rings true no matter how false it is.
The bottom line is that no one should expect voters to reject Donald Trump simply for lying. Voters might, however, be moved by a recounting of how Trump’s lies
have affected their everyday lives. Manufacturing jobs have not returned from China. Trump’s tax cuts went overwhelmingly to the wealthy, leaving ordinary Americans and our children to pick up the tab. Student debt continues to cripple the prospects of the next generation. Trump’s lies about the Affordable Care Act threaten millions with loss of health care coverage. And his lies about COVID-19 have left us with the worst performance of any developed nation (the most cases and roughly 22% of the world’s deaths despite only roughly 4% of the world’s population).
Trump’s lies have left the nation weaker, sicker, more divided and less confident about our basic institutions. That is the most telling truth.