The perfect defense: Trump lies all the time, so it doesn’t mean anything sinister when he lies about Russia
This is the position of the esteemed philosopher, ethicist and genius, Rick Santorum: “He lies about everything all of the time, so, what’s the difference?”
Now your first impression will be that Santorum is nuts, but if you think about it, you’ll realize Santorum is 100% correct. The liberals posit that since Trump lies constantly about Russia, he must have something to hide. Santorum counters that with impeccable logic: Trump lies about everything. He lies when he has something to hide, and he lies when he doesn’t. Therefore, since there is no correlation between his lies and his need to hide something, his lies about Russia imply nothing of the sort. They just represent Trump being Trump.
Some ignorant fool, clearly too weak-minded to understand Santorum’s flawless Aristotelian argumentation, responded, “Is that really the best defense you can come up with? ‘Well, he lies about everything.'”
But that is, in fact, a solid defense.
It’s not exactly a sterling endorsement of the character of the nation’s President, and it won’t inspire you to break into a rousing chorus of “Hail to the Chief,” but it is logically correct.
If I recall correctly, one of Mike Tyson’s arguments at trial for why he wasn’t guilty of rape was that he was so well known as a rough and violent person that the victim would never have come to his room if she wasn’t willing to have sex, therefore it must have been consensual. The problem with an argument like that is even if a juror buys it (a dubious proposition) they may just vote to convict because the defendant is so reprehensible. If that reporter didn’t want me to grab her by the …
I guarantee, that if you do some research, you will find that Trump is not the only President who “lies about everything” and certainly will not be the last (especially if Hillary Killary gets in. You want to see lying by a President? She will turn it into an artform!).
Lying by a President, whether he/she is a politician or not, is an essential talent, one that if they don’t have it by inauguration, they will surely develop it within their first year.
But Scoop is right, “He lies all the time” is a very good defense. The age old question is, if he lies all the time and then tells you he is a liar, is he really a liar or is he lying about that, also?
Personally, I don’t care. I don’t follow words, I follow actions and Trump has been very good for this country in his first 2 years. Hell, he just arranged for the US to sell RICE to CHINA!!
To compare Trump’s degree of dishonesty with that of other politicians is in itself dishonest. He is practically incapable of making a truthful statement. If he believes even ten percent of what he says, that would make him a clinically delusional person. However, I think his primary neurological disorder is malignant narcissism.
Logic only goes so far. See Goedel.