Their lies gush forth like oil from an uncapped well, polluting the entire country.
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Grim Entertainment
Everyone knows that politicians lie, but not enough attention is paid to their specific techniques for fooling people, or how well they do it. After all, lying is considered an art form, and one should, in the great critical tradition, rate the liar’s performance.
In this paper, I concentrate on right-wing liars. Of course Democratic politicians also lie, but I think not as aggressively. Their lies tend to be mostly about themselves rather than on the hard facts of science, history, or current events. False information on those issues requires a harder sell.
The right-winger’s techniques are so similar they must have certified coaches on the art of creating confusion with words, and, with their behavior, dominating a discussion: interrupt constantly; talk on top of others; talk longer; talk faster; talk louder; change the subject; repeat lies again and again; ignore inconvenient facts; deny those facts; disparage reliable sources; abuse “out of context” concept; wrap a lie in a true but irrelevant generality; deflect from truth with shiny but irrelevant detail; and intimidate — the ugliest method of all.
Most practitioners employ only some of these methods, depending on the combination that works best with their personality and level of intellect.
Below is a small — by no means comprehensive — grab bag of liars doing what they do best. These cases are classic examples of right-wingers trying to prevent the spread of facts and logic.
Related: Lies, Liars, and Lying – WhoWhatWhy
Whopper of the Week That Was
At a time when Pete Hegseth knew that the full contents of a Signal chat containing detailed war plans — including dangerously sensitive information on exact times, places, and weapons — were already in the hands of a journalist, Hegseth lied about those contents. This provoked the journalist, who was sent the message by mistake, to publish the entire chat. But even then — Hegseth continued to lie.
Think about it:
That cat was already out of the bag. Fellow Republicans were debating whether it was actually a cat. Or whether it was actually a bag it had been in.
But Hegseth continued to insist there was no cat, nor any other animal that looked like one. Even as that cat was yowling and scratching around in the litter box at his feet.
With eyes flaring in righteous outrage, he shouted, “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that!”
Right. And Bill Clinton did not have sex with that woman. But what an excellent performance. Those flashing eyes, that noble brow, knotted in bewilderment at such an accusation. You could believe that he believed what he was saying, even though he had to know the war plans were texted. He, himself, did the texting.
Dry Cleaning the Emperor’s New Clothes
I much prefer Hegseth’s painfully naive approach to press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s rude, crude, condescending, overbearing, drive-by-shooting technique using ammunition supplied by others, even the witless insults.
Yet, sometimes she must think on her feet. Here’s a fine specimen. In the following exchange, CNN’s Peter Alexander exposed a false claim about DOGE’s “accomplishments” that Leavitt was peddling — but then Leavitt almost made the truth disappear:
Leavitt: In fact, according to an IG report from the Social Security Administration, there was $71 billion worth of fraud in a single fiscal year that we know about. That is a lot of fraud, Peter. So this administration is committed to finding even more of that fraud, waste and abuse.
Alexander: To be clear that $71 billion was from 2015 to 2021. So it wasn’t in just one year and it was in… [Trump’s first presidency: 2017–2021]
Leavitt: $71 billion!
Alexander: But it wasn’t in one year, just to be clear. It was in one report over multiple years from 2015 to 2022.
Leavitt: So are you defending $71 billion in fraud, Peter? That’s a lot of money. Why is the media so against cutting waste, fraud, and abuse from the government? I don’t get it.
Fascinating. She was so sublimely confident that no one would notice what Alexander said. Leavitt has no integrity — the lack of which is a requirement for the job — but she also hasn’t much intellect, which really should be required of someone charged with so much to whitewash. But all she can do is use her voice like a blunt instrument.
An Embryonic Lyin’ Queen
Nine years ago, Leavitt published an article in her college newspaper on how the American media distorts the truth for political objectives. But in her article, she did the very thing she accuses the media of doing — “purposely misinform the American people by leaving out important details of events.”
After a night filled with riots, fires and violent outrage in the streets of Milwaukee, CNN anchor Rachel Maddow opens up her show with “there were minor disturbances in Milwaukee last night.” To say “minor disturbances” is just utterly and completely false. People setting things on fire and yelling in the streets “Where are the white people? Let’s kill them!” are far from minor disturbances and the exact opposite of peaceful protest. In my opinion, that is violence and racism.
It’s so suspicious that Leavitt omits dates, making the above comments impossible to verify, but here’s a shortened version of what Maddow said on her show of August 16, 2016:
In the two days since that shooting… protests, some of which have turned violent… four police officers were injured… protesters threw rocks and bricks and glass bottles. One person was shot and hospitalized… On Saturday night there was gunfire… cars overturned… local businesses burned out….
So where did Leavitt get “minor disturbances?” From a later Maddow show, after the riot had died down? Maybe that’s why she gave no date for the show.
I’ve known 10-year-olds who were more clever when lying to their mothers. Bad show.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
In 2020, Donald Trump’s former press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, published a book about herself and her favorite president — Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom, and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House — and apparently hoped to talk about it when she was interviewed by
Australian reporter Leigh Sales.
Things didn’t go well when the reporter tried to get a straight answer out of Sanders… on anything. If you haven’t time to watch this entire spectacle, the following will give you a whiff:
Sales: Your book makes it clear that you are heavily guided by your Christian faith and family values. How do you reconcile that with having been spokesperson for a president who has misled the American people on everything from coronavirus to climate change, who boasts about grabbing women on the pussy, who paid hush money to a porn star to keep her quiet about their alleged relationship, and who has maligned the men and women of the America’s armed forces?
Sanders: Uh well… some of those things are just patently false, but I can…
Sales: They’re not actually.
Sanders: When the liberal mob… ahh was attacking me, when the liberals were kicking me out of restaurants, making fun of my hair, my make-up, my fitness to be a parent, saying I should be choked, telling me I am vile, not even human, it was the president who was defending me, not the liberal mob, not the elitists who claimed to be all about women’s empowerment, but Donald Trump was the one who supported me, defended me, and encouraged me, and gave me confidence to take on that job, and…
Sales: I notice you’re not addressing the central premise of my question which is how somebody like Donald Trump squares with the values you espouse.
Sanders: Look, I don’t look to any individual person to give me perfection. I’m not looking for a savior in politics. I have that in my faith. There is no perfect person, only one and as far as I know, he has never run for office. I have never seen Jesus Christ’s name on a ballot. If I do, I will be sure to vote for him…
If Adolf Hitler had defended her against people who said nasty things to her, would she have worked for him, saying “Nobody’s perfect”?
As for her performance — despite all her practice, Sanders has never been a good liar. She sat glowering at the reporter, babbling on and on in a monotone, clearly determined to not allow one word of truth to escape. Although she is not the least bit credible, her attempts at evasion are quite entertaining. She even brought Jesus into it!
Elon Musk should invent a special Rocket to The Rapture, one that would send Sarah and other self-serving fanatics into outer space to be closer to heaven.
Measles Anyone?
This next example is so extreme and campy, you’d think you were watching a Saturday Night Live take on a snake oil salesman.
CNN’s Pamela Brown tries to interview Calley Means — an adviser to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Means is also a founder of TrueMed, a company that helps patients get “letters of medical necessity” from TrueMed clinicians, enabling them to use health savings account funds on such things as supplements, mattresses, fitness equipment, etc.
The subject was measles, a highly contagious disease that can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, loss of vision, and other problems. The current number of confirmed cases in the US is 712. This number will surely grow.
At the time of this interview there were “only” 93 known cases in eight different states — 25 percent ill enough to require hospitalization. The vast majority of victims were unvaccinated. Now watch Brown try to discuss measles with him. Truncated excerpts:
Brown: With this measles threat, isn’t now a time to promote vaccines? Which, again, the CDC says is safe, effective, that two doses are 90 percent effective against measles… [At this point of the dialogue, Means is already creating distractions, making faces and shaking his head as she points out the effectiveness of vaccines.] Is it now a time to promote that [vaccines], especially among children who are being impacted by measles in places like Texas and in these six states who are unvaccinated, according to health officials?
Means: Pamela, with respect, why aren’t you asking me about the fact that 50 percent of teens have obesity? Why aren’t there? There are…. [unclear]
Brown: I have other questions for you. But we’re talking about this…
Means, aggressively interrupting: Day after day, after day, Pamela. It’s breathless coverage of five measles cases. [Five? There were about 93 confirmed cases at the time.] Why aren’t we asking why 16 percent of COVID deaths worldwide were Americans when we’re only 4 percent of the world population? Because the CDC said our immune system — no, it is related, Pamela, and let me say why. Because the entire coverage of Bobby Kennedy is around measles. The Democrats said the word measles 25 times in the first hearing and said the words obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease zero times. … Bobby Kennedy has said one thing about vaccines and one thing only: that they should be studied like any other product. … Bobby Kennedy is not concerned with measles. He wants good policies with measles. He wants to attack the 92 percent of deaths in the United States, which is chronic conditions.
Excellent entertainment value, and wonderfully unconvincing.
Assorted Exhibits
Some liars just have to be seen in action. Do your own reviewing of the following performances.
Stephen Miller
That voice! That phlegmy, snorty, nasal voice! Like a squealing, grunting hog! You don’t believe me? Here’s some excellent documentation:
Now watch Jake Tapper in the next video try to get a word of truth in — during all that grunting and squealing. It got so bad, Tapper threw him off his show, saying “I’ve wasted enough of my viewers’ time.”
Jim Jordan
CNN’s Dana Bash tries to get major MAGA motor mouth Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to admit Trump lied to his own lawyers on whether he declassified documents. Start at about 3:00
JD Vance
When Kaitlin Collins asked JD Vance (R-OH), whether a president could order the military to stage a coup, have their political opponent assassinated, and be immune from prosecution, Vance made a lot of evasive lawyerly noises until Collins gave up. However, he managed to slip into the fog one very clear statement, a lie: “Most people on January 6 did protest peacefully.”
Elise Stefanik
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), is a boorish, overbearing talking machine. If she were a slot machine and you put a nickel in, you’d get back a hundred dollars in change — all counterfeit. And, surprise, surprise: Karoline Leavitt is Stefanik’s former communications director.
In this interview, no matter what CNN’s Kaitlin Collins asks her, out comes a ton of stale propaganda on a number of subjects. On Trump’s outrageous handling of classified documents, she drowns out Collins. Start at 3:15.
One of the subjects Collins tried to ask Stefanik about was this tweet, bulging with lies:
Democrats desperately want wide open borders and mass amnesty for illegals allowing them to vote.
Likewise, during the Congressional Confirmation Hearings, Sen.Tim Kaine (D-VA) tried to get Stefanik to answer whether she thought any Democratic members of Congress believed such things.
In response, Stefanik, talking a mile a minute, conflated her false and offensive tweet with the benign concept of wanting border security — something no one would oppose. Start at about 3:5
We will be seeing a lot more of Stefanik in the future. President Trump withdrew her nomination to be US Ambassador to the UN because he needs her babbling away in Congress. I say bring back George Santos.
