A few days after Donald Trump’s first term ended and the Republican grudgingly left the White House, The Washington Post published a memorable report on the number of false or misleading claims he’d made during his first term. The total was incredible: “By the end of his term,” the report explained, “Trump had accumulated 30,573 untruths during his presidency — averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day.”
The report was striking, but it was not altogether surprising. To know anything about this president is to know that he effectively has an allergy to the truth. This was true during his 2016 candidacy; it was true throughout his first four years in the White House; it was true in the wake of his 2020 defeat; it was true during his 2024 candidacy.
It was also true during his first national address of his second term. During his painfully long remarks before a joint session of Congress, Trump peddled so many brazen falsehoods that it was difficult to keep up with them all. The president and his speechwriters must’ve known that his lies would be fact-checked by independent news organizations, but by all appearances, they were comfortable throwing caution to the wind.
Trump said, “We inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe.” This wasn’t true.
Trump said, “We’re going to have growth in the auto industry like nobody’s ever seen. Plants are opening up all over the place.” That wasn’t true.
Trump said, towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, were “destroyed” by immigrants. That wasn’t true.
Trump said, in reference to Europe and aid to Ukraine, “[W]e’ve spent perhaps $350 billion, and they’ve spent $100 billion.” That wasn’t true.
Trump said, “For the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction.” That wasn’t true.
Trump said, in reference to Biden-era inflation, rates were the worst “perhaps even in the history of our country, they’re not sure.” They are sure and that wasn’t true.
Trump said the Biden administration imposed an “electric vehicle mandate.” That wasn’t true.
Trump said, “I’ve stopped all government censorship.” That wasn’t true.
Trump said, “Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119.” Don’t believe it, because that wasn’t true.
Trump said the Biden administration “closed more than 100 power plants.” That wasn’t true. Trump said, “The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades.” That wasn’t true. Trump said that his first term economic agenda produced “the most successful economy in the history of our country.” That wasn’t true. These dozen whoppers are, of course, just a sampling of the most outrageous and obvious deceptions. But stepping back, the problem is not just that Trump lied repeatedly throughout his remarks. The problem is made worse by the apparent fact that he felt like he had to lie — likely aware of the unavoidable fact that the truth about his record and his vision simply isn’t good enough to stand on its own. Indeed, for all of the president’s bravado and chest-thumping, his avalanche of lies gave away the game: If he’d earned the right to boast about his accomplishments, he wouldn’t have had to lie quite so much. White House officials probably hope that the public won’t see the fact-check reports, and that many Americans will simply believe what they’re told to believe. In fact, one of Trump’s former press secretaries, Stephanie Grisham, spoke at the Democratic National Convention last summer and explained, “He used to tell me, ‘It doesn’t matter what you say, Stephanie — say it enough and people will believe you.’” But this doesn’t change the fact that a presidential vision built on a foundation of falsehoods will inevitably falter. It’s one of the reasons Trump’s first term was such a spectacular failure, and it’s one of the reasons his second term is on a similar trajectory.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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