I find it difficult to tell between these 3 motivations for Trump's lies over the last 3+ years:
1) He knows the truth, and chooses to lie to advance his agenda.
2) He just doesn't know, so goes with what feels true to him. And, he is not interested in finding what is true or not.
3) Delusional. Despite mountains of evidence that has been presented to him by credible sources, he prefers to believe in "alternative facts" (e.g. false conspiracy theories) that fit his unshakable, irrational, core beliefs.
Before reading the July 25th transcript, I thought that 95+% of Trump's lies fit into category 1 or 2. I have now come to realize that a lot more of Trump's lies fit into category 3. And, that's far more scary to me.
The July 25th call and all the subsequent testimony indicate that Trump believes that all the various intelligence and diplomatic agencies (of the US and our allies) are out to get him. Why else would he employ Giuliani and Barr to go around them?
Thus, to Trump's considerable mental challenges, we now have to add paranoia.
A few months ago, I read the GOP strategy wasn't simply to lie but to delegitimatize the major institutions (the press, FBI, the intelligence community, etc.) that could stymie the oval office occupant's hold on power. That strategy has the goal of weakening the trust by major portions of the electorate in the rule of law and other institutional guardrails while simultaneously creating so much uncertainty and fear that more people will increasingly cling to Dear Leader.
If you want to understand how authoritarian regimes overwhelm ostensibly democratic political systems, we're seeing the playbook unfold here in real time. My biggest fear is that far too many people are complacently becoming the proverbial frog in the slowly boiling pot and are failing to realize that their power and rights as free people are steadily disappearing. I hear first hand people saying "Well he just lies, what can you do", "he's just lying as usual", "I'm just tired of it all", etc. and failing to see the big picture of how easily we could fall into a fascistic tyranny.
We are living in parlous times. God help us all.....
I find it difficult to tell between these 3 motivations for Trump's lies over the last 3+ years:
1) He knows the truth, and chooses to lie to advance his agenda.
2) He just doesn't know, so goes with what feels true to him. And, he is not interested in finding what is true or not.
3) Delusional. Despite mountains of evidence that has been presented to him by credible sources, he prefers to believe in "alternative facts" (e.g. false conspiracy theories) that fit his unshakable, irrational, core beliefs.
Before reading the July 25th transcript, I thought that 95+% of Trump's lies fit into category 1 or 2. I have now come to realize that a lot more of Trump's lies fit into category 3. And, that's far more scary to me.
The July 25th call and all the subsequent testimony indicate that Trump believes that all the various intelligence and diplomatic agencies (of the US and our allies) are out to get him. Why else would he employ Giuliani and Barr to go around them?
Thus, to Trump's considerable mental challenges, we now have to add paranoia.
A few months ago, I read the GOP strategy wasn't simply to lie but to delegitimatize the major institutions (the press, FBI, the intelligence community, etc.) that could stymie the oval office occupant's hold on power. That strategy has the goal of weakening the trust by major portions of the electorate in the rule of law and other institutional guardrails while simultaneously creating so much uncertainty and fear that more people will increasingly cling to Dear Leader.
If you want to understand how authoritarian regimes overwhelm ostensibly democratic political systems, we're seeing the playbook unfold here in real time. My biggest fear is that far too many people are complacently becoming the proverbial frog in the slowly boiling pot and are failing to realize that their power and rights as free people are steadily disappearing. I hear first hand people saying "Well he just lies, what can you do", "he's just lying as usual", "I'm just tired of it all", etc. and failing to see the big picture of how easily we could fall into a fascistic tyranny.
We are living in parlous times. God help us all.....