‘Continental Liar’ has nothing on Trump

As everyone knows at this point, the one thing that Donald Trump excels at is lying.

Sometimes people in public office inadvertently do not tell the truth and on occasion may stretch the truth. Outright lies, of course, do occur but are comparatively rare.

Trump, however, is in a class all his own. The Washington Post recently counted more than 7,500 Trump lies since he took office.

Donald Trump caused me to remember a campaign phrase I learned in college: “Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine the Continental Liar from the State of Maine.”

Blaine was the Republican candidate for president in 1884 (no, I was not alive then) and ran against Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, who was elected as president both in 1884 and 1892.

While an undergraduate at Yale, I took a course on American History and Diplomacy taught by the esteemed A. Whitney Griswold, who later became president of Yale. His wife, Mary Griswold, served in the state House of Representatives during the time I was a state senator and Senate majority leader. The day that Professor Griswold discussed the Blaine/Cleveland campaign was one when I was busy reading the sports section of the New York Times sitting in the back of the classroom, clearly not paying attention. All of a sudden Whit was in behind me asking about the Blaine jingle.

Fortunately, I remembered it. It has stuck in my mind ever since. Everyone in class had a great laugh at my expense since he also asked me about the basketball scores that I was checking up on. We later became friends and laughed again about my transgression.

That 1884 campaign also was famous for the news that Cleveland, the Democrat, had a child out of wedlock giving rise to the Republican chant, “Ma, ma where’s my Pa.” The Democrats cleverly responded, “Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha.” Cleveland was also attacked as being the party of Rum, Romanism and Rebellion. The Catholic vote sprung the election to Cleveland and the Democrats.

Trump, even when he is well aware of a lie, will continue to repeat it, embellish it and elaborate on it so many times the lie becomes what is now termed “an alternative fact.”

The ongoing mess relating to the “wall” coupled with Trump’s closure of a substantial part of the federal government is a great example of Trump’s incessant lying.

To begin with, he has from day one of his campaign for president foolishly lied that Mexico would pay for the wall. Now he wants the U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill for a highly visible yet grossly ineffective way of maintaining border security. All it would do is to further divide the U.S. from yet another ally and trading partner. The wall will not solve the immigration issue.

Trump clearly stated that closing the government was a mantle that he would proudly wear. He then tried a new lie, blaming the Democrats for the closure. When that did not work he went back to the old tired untruths that the Democrats are against border security. And he lied again, claiming that immigrants are murderers, thieves or rapists.

There is not enough space to outline all of his whoppers as it goes on day after day. Frankly, I really don’t understand why so many right-wing voters still believe him and, remarkably, even trust him.

How about popularizing a slogan for Trump? Dump Trump.

Dump Trump is a slogan that all of us who want a united country can agree upon. Dump Trump it is!

We cannot afford to have a congenital and at times irrational liar as president.

Associated Press An undated portrait of two-time U.S. president Grover Cleveland, whose opponent in 1884, James G. Blaine, was hit with the taunt, “Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine the Continental Liar from the State of Maine.”