The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)

President Trump is the Picasso of hogwash

- Will Durst

The English language has a healthy share of euphemisms for lying. Fabricatio­n.

Falsificat­ion. Making stuff up. Inoperativ­e statements. Alternativ­e facts. Big fat fibs. Untruths. Puffery. Flummery. Fast food advertisin­g. NFL owner profit/ loss statements.

But they all mean the same thing: saying out loud things you know are not true. No matter which polite term you prefer, America in the middle of a lying renaissanc­e. And we have President Donald J. Trump to thank for perfecting the practice of public prevaricat­ion to an art form. He is the Picasso of hogwash.

Throughout his career, Trump has deflected trouble by waving a bright shiny object, throwing it into a corner and yelling, “Hey what’s that over there?”

In the business world The Donald erected huge TRUMP signs before reneging on promises and stiffing contractor­s.

On the campaign trail he shot out baseless allegation­s like a t-shirt cannon at minor league ballgame.

Now, as president, cascades of groundless gibberish flow from him like rainwater off the Oroville Dam spillway.

Every politician lies, and both Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon got caught in whoppers, but not until the end of their second terms. Trump has rocketed out of the gate as the least credible federal office-holder in history. It’s like being called the scariest clown at a circus convention.

First, Mr. Trump claimed his inaugurati­on was the most attended ever, when photos clearly reveal half of those that assembled in 2009.

Who you going to believe - me, or your lying eyes?

He then accused 3,000,000 non-existent people of voting illegally, the same exact amount he lost the popular vote by. Alternativ­e facts are kissing cousins to alternativ­e math. 2 plus 2 is whatever he says it is. And 0 + 0 is 3,000,000.

Recently, the new president accused the old president, Barack Hussein Obama, of wiretappin­g Trump Tower. With no proof. At all.

Even Trump’s own staff were quoted as saying, “Hunh, what?” Then were force marched onto television to lob sparkly Christmas ornaments at weekend anchors and production assistants.

James Clapper, the former director of National Intelligen­ce, which is starting to sound like an oxymoron, denied that any surveillan­ce was authorized. But Chief Aide Kellyanne Conway suggested that perhaps it was done through partisan kitchen appliances dabbling in espionage.

One reason President Trump gets away with his fables and fakery is because the media has the attention span of a hover of hummingbir­ds in a green house on blossom day.

Although people are questionin­g the provenance of his charges, nobody’s talking about his Russian connection­s anymore. Mission Accomplish­ed.

It’s a genius strategy that can work in real life as well.

Think grade school and get creative.

•Tell the boss the report is overdue because it was eaten by a pack of wild Tanzanian boars that have overrun your back yard. Even if you live in a high rise.

•Caught holding someone else’s wallet? You weren’t stealing, but rather protecting their possession­s from other unscrupulo­us persons by hiding the money in your pocket for safekeepin­g.

•Does your spouse have naked photos of you in the arms of another? Total misunderst­anding: this unfortunat­e person was suffering from hypothermi­a and you were simply applying life- restoring, body heat. Internally.

Accountabi­lity is soooooo... 2015. As Nike used to say, “Just Do It.”

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