You Can’t Handle the Truth
Three weeks into the tenure of the Trump administration, we know one thing to be demonstrably true: The president lies. You can debate whether these lies are merely strategic, or that they’re evidence of some deeper personality disorder. But at this point, one can no longer credibly argue that the leader of the free world is not a habitual liar. In NY Mag, Andrew Sullivan argues that it’s part of a deeper issue: “Then there is the obvious question of the president’s mental and psychological health. I know we’re not supposed to bring this up — but it is staring us brutally in the face. I keep asking myself this simple question: If you came across someone in your everyday life who repeatedly said fantastically and demonstrably untrue things, what would you think of him?” I’m curious as to what impact the lying and other bombastic media tactics are having on those of us on the receiving end. Sullivan addresses this factor as well: “Somehow, he is never in control of himself and yet he is always in control of you.”
+ “Researchers have found that familiarity can trump rationality — so much so that hearing over and over again that a certain fact is wrong can have a paradoxical effect. It’s so familiar that it starts to feel right.” Wired on how to make a lie seem true: Repeat it over and over.
+ Meanwhile, the media has come up with a slew of ways to avoid calling a lie a lie. My favorite so far is this headline from the NYT: Trump Says Refugees Are Flooding U.S. in Misleading Allusion.