Responses to Minneapolis ICE killing of Renee Good demonstrate how easily Trump, Noem lie blatantly, transparently
OK, I give up.
For the last dozen years, columnists and others have aggressively refuted statements made by Donald Trump and his supporters. It’s actually been easy; the lies are so blatant and so transparently false. Thousands of untruths have been exposed.
Perhaps there’s no point in doing that anymore.
Comments from President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem following the Minnesota ICE killing have demonstrated clearly that pinpointing when they are lying is a futile exercise.
Simply because they are always lying.
All three unequivocally misrepresented the incident in defiance of video that everyone could see. Then, when challenged, just dug in. If they will do that even this time, we can rightly assume they are doing it reflexively all the time.
This is not a revelation.
Trump, we know, cannot put two sentences together without lying.
Vance just regurgitates whatever Trump says.
Noem has misrepresented the rationale of her job from day one.
Our South Dakota people in Washington either repeat the lies or make excuses or just hide in the closet. They never, never, admit Trump is lying or even “mistaken.”
Will they this time?
Anyone who hasn’t already perceived this is not going to be convinced by more arguments. Bringing facts and logic and history to counteract untruths has had no effect. They refuse to acknowledge what is self-evident. If the obvious hasn’t gotten through yet, it ain’t going to.
Trump people know what they are doing and they know those with minimal awareness know what they are doing — and they don’t care.
Perhaps it’s appropriate to just stipulate they are always lying and wait for the consequences of their lies to catch up to them. The “tangled web” effect. Soon? Probably not unless Trump Republicans reach a breaking point.
Eventually? Yes, hopefully not too late — if it isn’t already. They will face the voters again.
Of course, we should still identify misinformation, if only among ourselves. There is some satisfaction in being on the right side with the truth, even though doing so doesn’t change anything.
This is one example. Despite repeated proof that very, very few of the thousands of individuals arrested, detained, deported and otherwise denied due process have any serious criminal history, Noem’s undisputedly false “worst of the worst” mantra persists. A new absurdity is “domestic terrorist” which, apparently, is anyone who disagrees.
She seems more engaged with what today’s hat-and dress-up outfit will be than doing her job. Given the ineptitude, self-dealing, and limited effort evinced as governor, her lack of qualification for a cabinet post was clear; now we see the results.
So, when she and the president say something, don’t accept it or think “I wonder if that’s accurate.” Just assume they are lying. They are always lying.
The Minnesota incident response proves it.
Mike Levsen is a former Aberdeen mayor and a regular contributor to The South Dakota Standard.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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