Inside What Even an Ally Calls Trump’s ‘Reality Distortion Field’
From nonexistent riots to conspiracy theories about migrants to false claims about his popularity and job-creating record, the president has offered a litany of falsehoods in the midterm campaign.
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President Trump at a campaign rally in Murphysboro, Ill., last week.CreditCreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
By Peter Baker and Linda Qiu
In the past couple of weeks alone, the president has spoken of riots that have not happened, claimed deals that have not been reached, cited jobs that have not been created and spun dark conspiracies that have no apparent basis in reality. He has pulled figures seemingly out of thin air, rewritten history and contradicted his own past comments.
The catalog of inaccurate claims ranges from the weighty to the head-scratching.
He has asserted that construction has begun on his border wall (it has not), that he is one of the most popular American presidents in history (he is not), that he “always” opposed the Iraq war (he did not), that the stock market reopened the day after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 (it did not), that his tax cut was the largest in history (it was not) and that the United States is the only country that guarantees citizenship to those born here (it is not).
As he embarks on a final eight-state, 11-rally blitz before Tuesday’s midterm elections, Mr. Trump has hammered Democrats — not just for their actual policy positions but for some they have not taken. He accused them, without proof, of helping to orchestrate a caravan of Central American migrants; complained that Democrats had opposed opioid legislation when in fact they universally voted for it; and asserted that they would not protect patients with pre-existing conditions — even though that was the heart of President Barack Obama’s health care program.
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Mr. Trump’s penchant for prevarication has been a well-documented hallmark of his presidency. He dismisses journalists who point out his falsehoods as nit-pickers who do not understand that he is speaking a larger truth that resonates with many Americans. Supporters at his rallies across the country tell reporters that they understand he may not be strictly accurate in his roaring stump speeches, but they see him as a champion of their values.
Still, even some in Mr. Trump’s orbit acknowledge that this campaign season has brought out a torrent of untruths that, they worry, distracts from a record he should be proud to outline factually. “If you want me to say he’s a liar, I’m happy to say he’s a liar,” said Anthony Scaramucci, who served a highly abbreviated 11-day stint as White House communications director last year and says he remains an enthusiastic supporter.
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Speaking on CNN last week as he promoted a new book, Mr. Scaramucci was invited to offer his advice directly to the camera as if he were addressing Mr. Trump. “You should probably dial down the lying,” Mr. Scaramucci said, “because you don’t need to do it. You’re doing a great job for the country.”
Mr. Scaramucci said the president created his own truth for the purposes of storytelling. “He definitely has a reality distortion field around himself where he curves facts toward himself,” Mr. Scaramucci said on NBC’s “Today” show. “He’s living in that bubble.”
Here are 15 of Mr. Trump’s most egregious falsehoods since Oct. 22, fact-checked by category.
Too long to past the whole thing, read the rest here.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/us/politics/fact-check-trump-distortion-campaign.html
From nonexistent riots to conspiracy theories about migrants to false claims about his popularity and job-creating record, the president has offered a litany of falsehoods in the midterm campaign.
Image
President Trump at a campaign rally in Murphysboro, Ill., last week.CreditCreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
By Peter Baker and Linda Qiu
- Oct. 31, 2018
In the past couple of weeks alone, the president has spoken of riots that have not happened, claimed deals that have not been reached, cited jobs that have not been created and spun dark conspiracies that have no apparent basis in reality. He has pulled figures seemingly out of thin air, rewritten history and contradicted his own past comments.
The catalog of inaccurate claims ranges from the weighty to the head-scratching.
He has asserted that construction has begun on his border wall (it has not), that he is one of the most popular American presidents in history (he is not), that he “always” opposed the Iraq war (he did not), that the stock market reopened the day after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 (it did not), that his tax cut was the largest in history (it was not) and that the United States is the only country that guarantees citizenship to those born here (it is not).
As he embarks on a final eight-state, 11-rally blitz before Tuesday’s midterm elections, Mr. Trump has hammered Democrats — not just for their actual policy positions but for some they have not taken. He accused them, without proof, of helping to orchestrate a caravan of Central American migrants; complained that Democrats had opposed opioid legislation when in fact they universally voted for it; and asserted that they would not protect patients with pre-existing conditions — even though that was the heart of President Barack Obama’s health care program.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Trump’s penchant for prevarication has been a well-documented hallmark of his presidency. He dismisses journalists who point out his falsehoods as nit-pickers who do not understand that he is speaking a larger truth that resonates with many Americans. Supporters at his rallies across the country tell reporters that they understand he may not be strictly accurate in his roaring stump speeches, but they see him as a champion of their values.
Still, even some in Mr. Trump’s orbit acknowledge that this campaign season has brought out a torrent of untruths that, they worry, distracts from a record he should be proud to outline factually. “If you want me to say he’s a liar, I’m happy to say he’s a liar,” said Anthony Scaramucci, who served a highly abbreviated 11-day stint as White House communications director last year and says he remains an enthusiastic supporter.
You have 4 free articles remaining.
Subscribe to The Times
Speaking on CNN last week as he promoted a new book, Mr. Scaramucci was invited to offer his advice directly to the camera as if he were addressing Mr. Trump. “You should probably dial down the lying,” Mr. Scaramucci said, “because you don’t need to do it. You’re doing a great job for the country.”
Mr. Scaramucci said the president created his own truth for the purposes of storytelling. “He definitely has a reality distortion field around himself where he curves facts toward himself,” Mr. Scaramucci said on NBC’s “Today” show. “He’s living in that bubble.”
Here are 15 of Mr. Trump’s most egregious falsehoods since Oct. 22, fact-checked by category.
Too long to past the whole thing, read the rest here.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/us/politics/fact-check-trump-distortion-campaign.html
