President Donald Trump developed a bit of a reputation early in his 2016 presidential campaign.
To put it simply, Trump lies.
He lies a lot.
The President lies about crowd size, his accomplishments, his opponents, what people say to him—many people are saying—and who will pay for his border wall.
He lies so often that several news and watchdog organizations decided at the beginning of his presidency to track his lies, misstatements and exaggerations. By August 2019, the total count was 12,000.
Some of the lies are simply exaggeration like his constant claims to have the "biggest ever" whatever. Others?
Well, those are whoppers that are so absurd that Trump creates fictional characters for his story to give the obvious lie legitimacy.
Many people are saying...
A veteran/firefighter/police officer said to me...
One of his latest whoppers required creating a "top general, maybe the top of them all."
The lie? Prior to Trump taking office, the military had no ammunition.
Watch Trump make the claim here:
Not that some people don't believe everything Trump says, no matter how outrageous.
Others who remembered President Bush's invasion of Iraq and President Obama eliminating Osama bin Laden weren't so easily fooled.
Some pointed out ways to spot the lies.
Like this one wasn't easy to suss out?
But some pointed to the pathological nature of the constant lying.
Although maybe...
Either way, the Trump claim was quickly and easily debunked.
In the words of Canada's top newspaper The Toronto Star:
"Historians say there has never been such a constant liar in the Oval Office.... And we think the sheer frequency of Trump's inaccuracy is a central story of his presidency."
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Have you listened to the first season of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!'?
In season one we explored the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.
We're hard at work on season two so be sure to subscribe here so you don't miss it when it goes live.
Here's one of our favorite episodes from season one. Enjoy!