Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Donald Trump's 'Art of the Deal' Co-Author Explains Why Trump 'Lies About Anything and Everything Without Shame'

Donald Trump's 'Art of the Deal' Co-Author Explains Why Trump 'Lies About Anything and Everything Without Shame'
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 01: U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a meeting with leaders of the steel industry at the White House March 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. Trump announced planned tariffs on imported steel and aluminum during the meeting, with details to be released at a later date. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Sounds accurate.

President Donald Trump lies. A lot.

According to fact checkers at the Washington Post, he's made over 12,000 "false statements" in 928 days. He's told flippant lies, like repeatedly claiming his father was born in Germany (he was born in New York), to deeply impactful lies, like saying mothers rampantly conspire with doctors to kill their babies. Seventy percent of Trump's statements on Politifact range from "Mostly False" to "Pants on Fire."


It's no secret that Donald Trump lies to the point one has to ask if he's malicious or delusional, but the motivations for his lies are still up for debate.

Tony Schwartz—the ghost writer of Trump's famous book, The Art of the Deal—may be able to shed some light on that. According to Schwartz, Trump lies as a way of escaping reality.

Schwartz doesn't specify which aspect of reality the President is trying to escape, but it could be the same reality that millions of Americans dream of escaping every time there's news of another child pulled from their mother's arms. Or news of another white supremacist terrorist act. Or even a belittling tweet fired off with petulant pettiness unbecoming of a president.

It's possible he's inventing reality to escape having to escape acknowledging that most Americans didn't want him to be President, that he hasn't "fixed" the country—in terms of division, of discord, of decorum—he's a big part of the problem.

Schwartz is right that the lies work to Trump's advantage. His critics become overwhelmed with keeping them straight, while his supporters become more and more distrustful of the truth.

People agreed with Schwartz that the damage of this tendency hasn't yet been calculated.

Today, Trump lied (again) about the federal disaster aid Puerto Rico received in 2017, about Democrats inventing a story regarding bedbugs in one of his results, about the sadism of his own federal reserve, and about Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro "working hard" to fight the fires raging in the Amazon.

That was just from his Twitter feed.

More from People/donald-trump

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less