On Saturday, Tomi Lahren, an avid supporter of President Trump, sat down with comedian Chelsea Handler at Politicon. During their discussion, Handler made the claim that President trump lies “almost daily.”
The audience challenged Handler to name a single Trump lie, to which the comedian replied: “He said China was a currency manipulator, and now China’s not a currency manipulator.” She also mentioned his change of opinion on Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
Tomi Lahren said that opinion changes aren’t lies, and then recounted one of former President Obama’s biggest lies: “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” The audience cheered.
It’s hard to believe that Handler couldn’t think of any of the president’s elaborations because, frankly, there are many to choose from. For future reference, here is a list of what I believe are President Trump’s most audacious … untruths.
1. Trump implied Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the JFK assassination.
In May 2016, Trump told Fox News: “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being — you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don’t even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it. … I mean, what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It’s horrible.”
2. Trump claims he only lost the popular vote because of illegal voters.
As of yet, there is no evidence that illegal ballots were responsible for Hillary Clinton’s 2,865,075 vote margin of victory in the popular vote.
3. Trump claimed Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped.
No evidence has been put forward that Obama had Donald Trump or Trump Tower wiretapped.
4. Trump claimed the murder rate was highest in 47 years.
In February 2017, Trump told a group of sheriffs that “the murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.”
This is false.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice:
From 1991 to 2016, the murder rate fell by roughly half, from 9.8 killings per 100,000 to 5.3. The murder rate rose last year by an estimated 7.8 percent. With violence at historic lows, modest increases in the murder rate may appear large in percentage terms.
5. Trump says he came up with the phrase “priming the pump.”
During an interview with The Economist in May 2017, the president said:
We have to prime the pump … We’re the highest-taxed nation in the world. Have you heard that expression before, for this particular type of an event? … Yeah, have you heard it?…Have you heard that expression used before? Because I haven’t heard it. I mean, I just … I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good. It’s what you have to do.
According to Merriam-Webster, the phrase “priming the pump” was first used in the early 1800’s. It was used in reference to the economy by The Wall Street Journal in 1933. It’s common parlance.
From the seemingly inconsequential (coining the phrase “prime the pump”) to the outrageous (Rafael Cruz linked to JFK assassination), President Trump has woven some seriously non-truthy tales.
This is your reference guide, Chelsea Handler.