Does truth really matter at all anymore?

If you are a Donald Trump supporter you may have to acknowledge that you could not possibly care less about the truthfulness of your candidates’ public statements.

After all, Trump’s rallies are entertainment, not political promises or concrete proposals, right?

So would you even care to know just how often Trump fails to present the facts if he is entertaining enough? After all, the Trump appeal is to a guy outside the norm of politics who will “shake up” the system.

Certainly electing a candidate who has misrepresented the actual facts of his public statements two-thirds of the time when fact checked, is outside the norm, a world where candidates for president err against the facts by an average of 10 percent to 25 percent. Then doubtlessly, if Trump truly believes his fake facts, he will absolutely shake up the system, just not in a rational way.

Here is a partial list of Trump fake facts found from fact checkers kept busy following Trump’s amazing departures from truth:

Advancing his “Birther” claim against President Obama, Trump claimed Obama spent $4 million hiding his school and passport records. The facts? Zero evidence supports this claim.

Trump has argued his tax plan “would cost me a fortune.” In fact, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the plan would greatly decrease his taxes and those of his heirs. His claim is false and his tax policy self-serving.

Trump claims the Obama administration is allowing 200,000 Syrian refuges enter the U.S. In fact the administration is granting entry of 185,000 immigrants over two years from all countries, with 10,000 Syrian immigrants included. Trump’s claim, totally false.

Trump repeatedly has claim the Better Business Bureau gave his “bait and switch” school an A rating, when in fact the BBB gave Trump University a D- rating. The failed money making scheme remains under federal investigation as a trial looms ahead.

Trump claims he built his empire from a $1 million loan from his father. But the Washington Post fact checker explains that the loan was enhanced by a $40 million inheritance and a trust fund. Trump’s claim is then, entirely false.

Trump continues to claim that the Islamic State has seized the Libyan oil fields and is “making a fortune now” off of oil profits. This is entirely false. ISIS has not taken the oil fields and therefore has made no money from Libyan oil.

This is but a small sampling of claims Trump continues to make that are not simply overstated claims, but actually void of any truth content. So what does this tell voters about Trump?

Well, for one thing, it points to the need to see Trump’s most recent taxes. For if Trump fails to tell the truth repeatedly about a broad range of topics, is it not equally likely his representation of his charitable contributions, his claims of his wealth, and his liabilities might also differ greatly from his statements?

Can we know if Trump has invested heavily with the Russians, whose dictator president Putin, Trump repeatedly praises? Would Trump’s investments not color his policies given his background and history?

Or will his tax submissions show that one who would be president has avoided tax payments and faces continual fines for questionable reporting of income.

The Trump candidacy is compelling only if the Death of the Truth is what you value most highly.

If the truth still holds your interest, than you need to find another candidate to support before you enter the voting booth on Nov. 8.

 

Jim Crawford is a retired educator and political enthusiast living here in the Tri-State.