On Wednesday morning Trump was back to doing just what the giant robotic Trump in Trafalgar Square was doing—sitting on his thinking chair and tweeting away. And most of what Trump was tweeting wasn’t just his usual mix of lies; it was downright delusional.
According to Trump, there have been no big protests in London. None. Those all “flopped.” Instead, the big crowds, the real crowds, have been the pro-Trump crowds. And really, who are you going to believe, Trump or your lying eyes? Maybe Trump even believes it. Maybe Stephen Miller has been trotting along at his side, clamping a hand over Trump’s eyes every time someone untrumpy comes in sight. Maybe he has cast BBC News into the fake news lake of fire. But as The Washington Post reports, Trump’s denial is at flood stage.
“I heard there were protests,” Trump said during a Tuesday news conference. “I said, ‘Where are the protests?’ I don’t see any protests. I did see a small protest today when I came—very small. So a lot of it is fake news, I hate to say.”
The protests have actually run to tens of thousands. And in addition to the big toilet-sitting robot, they have featured the even bigger blubbering Baby Trump blimp. And banners. And signs. And just a whole lot of people. But then, Trump has always demonstrated a problem with counting things: people at his inauguration, money in his casinos, wives. Maybe it all looks smaller when glimpsed through the end of his magical telescope.
Or maybe it’s just that when you’ve already been protested by over a million people on your home turf, you expect the world to up its game. After all, everything is ratings to Trump. What? Over 75,000 protesters converging on Downing Street? I got better ratings with the Women’s March in a dozen cities. Sad.
And maybe it will work, After all, the U.K. is just Trump’s first stop. Ramp it up, Europe. Make him notice.