CNN Channels Churchill: Confronting Trump's Bodyguard of Lies

Unlike what Churchill had in mind in the midst of World War II the truth in question isn39t a secret battleplan or an impending invasion date Trump is concocting a defense against his removal from office The House Intelligence Committee has established that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Biden his political rival as well as obstructed its inquiry into the abuse of presidential power Now in the hands of the House Judiciary Committee its report provides the basis for articles of impeachment likely to be voted on before yearendTrump and his Republican front men should give Churchill his due Their defense against impeachment amp8212 a dog39s breakfast of lies debunked conspiracy theories groundless accusations alleged partisan plots and procedural flimflam amp8212 reflects Churchill39s proposed tactics to a tee In addition to voluminous reporting that has discredited the smear against Biden several US intelligence State Department and National Security Council officials have testified to Moscow39s authorship of Trump39s claim that Kiev not Moscow meddled in the 2016 election They also have warned that the GOP shills spreading the prevarications couldn39t do more to help Russia39s political warfare if Putin personally were handing them the scriptThat fabrications and falsehoods including Russianauthored disinformation that comprise Trump39s antiimpeachment alibi are of course hardly a surprise Indeed his fictions these days barely make the news To his credit CNN39s Jake Tapper did his best to disrupt that mindset last month with All the President39s Lies a thoughtful CNN special report that examined the breadth of Trump39s fabulist utterancesStill with Trump39s cumulative deceits approaching 14000plus lies since taking office it39s fair to say that even hardhitting documentaries such as CNN39s special report are unlikely to reverse their numbing pernicious effectsIn fact Tapper39s coda in All the President39s Lies makes the point the impact of the unprecedented level of presidential prevarication on Americans and their politics after he39s gone It39s not a rhetorical question Tapper didn39t pursue the issue in detail but his reporting pointed to what lies ahead From studies establishing that the repetition of lies brings their acceptance as readily as any truthful statement to the mountains of data confirming social media spreads falsehoods at warp speed Trump39s mendacity is already metastasizing in the American body politic as are its consequencesYale economist and Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller implicitly said as much One of Tapper39s interviewees he noted that presidential lying can have profound effects on markets and the economy While lying can boost business confidence in the short run Shiller said quotin the long run it39s not good to set up an atmosphere of lies and counterliesquotIt wasn39t an offthecuff opinion quotNarrative Economics How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Eventsquot Shiller39s latest book describes how popularized analyses erroneous or not can arise zombielike over the decades to affect decisionmaking in business and governmentWhile Shiller39s work focuses on consumers and companies his insights couldn39t be more relevant in beginning to assess the damage Trump39s lies have done and will do down the road It39s not a small task From exaggerating crime rates for undocumented immigrants and bogus claims about air and water pollution to gross misrepresentations of military burdensharing among US allies Trump has embedded untruths at the core of his signature policiesIf Shiller39s right however Trump exits the scene his lies will remain part of the country39s political narrative for years to come That should make Vladimir Putin happy It also should make All the President39s Lies a regular feature on CNNClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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CNN Channels Churchill: Confronting Trump's Bodyguard of Lies

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Kent M. Harrington

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CNN Channels Churchill: Confronting Trump's Bodyguard of Lies

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