Americans around the nation were pulled to their television sets recently to watch President Trump once again spread lies by exploiting the media, this time by appearing on the much-beloved 60 Minutes. The president’s baffling interview was relatively predictable, insofar as it was peppered with falsehoods and defined by absurdity, but can’t be brushed under the rug as another mere gaffe in a long line of them. More than anything else, President Trump’s media-misdirecting is what’s kept him afloat thus far, and it needs to be kept in check if the country is to survive his disastrous tenure.
Too many lies to count
One thing that journalist have done time and time again in the Trump era is hold the commander in chief’s feet to the media fire by diligently fact-checking each false claim he makes. Unfortunately, with this president there are simply too many lies to count, and contemporary journalist are so inundated with falsehoods that even their astute lie-detectors are now nearly worthless. We live in an era of information overload, where it seems any fact-checking exercise meant to curb the president’s excesses when it comes to the truth are fruitless.
Still, we can’t allow ourselves to be disheartened; after all, if we keep letting President Trump get away with ridiculous lies, our political culture will decay away entirely. Americans must continue to thoroughly pour over each of the president’s speeches and made-for-TV-soundbites, despite how vulgar they may be, unless they want to have to grapple with new lies without ample preparation.
In other words, Americans everywhere are sick and tired of President Trump’s ceaseless lies, but his supporters and the commander in chief’s enablers in the White House are hungrier for them than ever before. Appearing on 60 Minutes, the president fed lie after lie into the open jaws of his supporters, who continue to cheer and jeer him on each time he regurgitates a proven-false talking point at one of his rallies. If this kind of behavior is tolerated by those in the political center, the once-manageable politics of days past will never again return.
Things have arguably never been civil in American politics – from the dawn of our country to today, rife injustices and angry feuds all but define the American experience. Still, this country has always been heavily moored to the truth, anchored to reality and progress by its unwillingness to waver from the facts. In the era of Donald Trump, however, this national characteristic and commitment to the truth is fast departing.
For an unparalleled example in the failure of leadership, look no further than President Trump’s latest interview on 60 Minutes, where the president claptrap rhetoric about trade and NATO was defined by patently false drivel and bombasticity. It’s merely the latest in a long line of misdirection attempts aimed at undermining our unified trust in the facts. When it comes to his continued slights against basic facts and ceaseless crusade against a free press, President Trump’s animosity towards the truth can’t be forgotten.