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The sitting "president" of the United States is severely ill and his cabinet had better damn well be holding private meetings to decide how they are going to tackle the problem. From this morning's press pool, as Trump briefly took reporter questions in the Oval Office, here's his new description of his own administration's "zero tolerance" family separation policies:
"Just so you understand, President Obama separated the children. Those cages that were shown—I think they were very inappropriate—were by President Obama's administration not by Trump. President Obama had child separation," the president said.
Under past administrations, unaccompanied migrant children were indeed held in detention until other arrangements (for example, contacting a relative) could be made. Children were only separated from family members if it was determined their safety was at risk.
"Take a look. The press knows it. You know it. We all know it. I'm the one who stopped it. President Obama had child separation," he continued.
And at this point he goes off the rails, seemingly claiming that his own policies were actually Obama's, and that he put an end to it. This is not so much wrong or a "lie" as it is a delusion. The "zero tolerance" policy instituted by Trump, adviser Stephen Miller, and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been widely documented in the press since inception.
He seems to then use the theory that he "stopped" child internments (while, according to today's press reports, he continues to privately order officials to illegally expand the program) to assert that it was this new benevolence on his part that is now attracting even more families:
"I'll tell you something, once you don't have it that's why you have many more people coming. They are coming like it's a picnic, like 'let's go to Disney Land.' President Obama separated children. I was the one who that changed it,"
We could argue indefinitely as to whether this man is genuinely suffering from delusions or if his commitment to narcissistic lying is so severe and uncontrollable that it only appears so, but it is irrelevant. The supposed leader of the nation is appearing before the press and the public and inventing fictitious past histories that occurred only in his own head. He is not capable of performing the duties of his office; he cannot make rational decisions. This behavior is immensely dangerous.