Donald Trump's Lies

Kamala Harris said in the 2024 Presidential Debate of her opponent Donald Trump, (paraphrasing) "He is going to tell lies. It is what he does." She was proven correct. CNN reports former President Donald Trump delivered more than 30 false claims during Tuesday's presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. Even though the majority of commentators, news outlets, and major Republicans said he did horribly in the debate, Donald Trump proclaimed he won the debate. WHY! And why does many of his voting followers believe him and repeat he did well in the debate?

His lies are dangerous and vicious at times. Even when millions of people laugh at his OUTRAGEOUS lies such as, "People (Haitians) are eating dogs", he doubles down and continue to PUSH his lie. As with this lie, his followers spring into action, resulting in this case with bomb a threat to government facility. Why does he continue to LIE?

Mark Twain said that a LIE travels halfway around the world while the truth is still putting its shoes on. Actually, that itself is a lie – Twain probably said no such thing and the true origins of the quote remain murky. 

In a study published in early 2018 in the journal Science, three researchers at MIT analyzed around 126,000 stories tweeted by around three million people between 2006 and 2017. Researchers found that the lies travelled faster and farther than the truth. For instance, true tweets rarely reached more than 1,000 people, whereas the most widely shared false tweets reached as many as 100,000 people. Falsehoods were 70% more likely to be retweeted than the truth, and it took true tweets six times as long as lies, on average, to reach 1,500 people. 

Why would people lie for likes, retweets, shares, and comments whether good or bad? A ‘like,’ ‘comment,’ or ‘share’ on social media triggers the same dopamine-driven reward pathways in the brain that are activated by eating food, winning money, or even taking some drugs. Can Donald Trump get high from lying? Do other people on social media get high from likes? Many believe the number of followers you have on social media is what is most important. But if a post gets a lot of likes but the overall follower count is low, it's often a sign that the influencer has a highly engaged audience. I CRAVE more likes on my posts and blogs but I'm not willing to lie for them.

MIT team found that lies tended to be more novel and exciting than the truth. The lies were also better at triggering an emotional response – tweets that users sent in reply to a lie often contained words conveying their surprise or disgust. Radical ideas: We like being lied to - BBC Science Focus Magazine. This may be one reason Donald Trump is popular with his political base. Trump definitely surprises people with his comments as well as disgusts them.

This astonishing jump in falsehoods (lies) is the story of Trump’s tumultuous reign. By the end of his term, Trump had accumulated 30,573 untruths during his presidency. Averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day. What is especially striking is how the tsunami of untruths kept rising the longer he served as president and became increasingly unmoored from the truth. Trump averaged about six claims a day in his first year as president, 16 claims a day in his second year, 22 claims a day in this third year—and 39 claims a day in his final year. Put another way, it took him 27 months to reach 10,000 claims and an additional 14 months to reach 20,000. He then exceeded the 30,000 mark less than five months later.

On average, people tell 1-2 lies per day. This may seem like a small number, but it adds up quickly over time. If you do the math, that's between 365 and 730 lies per year. Donald Trump exceeds this yearly average. Research indicates pathological lying can occur because of low self-esteem and a false sense of self. People who lie pathologically may want others to view them positively, making things up to make them look better. Their desire to create a false sense of self could indicate that they are unhappy with themselves. Many have asserted Trump must have low self-esteem or a mental illness based on how often he lies.

You may be thinking everyone hates a liar. Donald Trump proves that is not always true. There are times and people who don't mind being lied to and sometimes want to be lied to. Here are a few instances when people don't mind lies.

• Novelty: Lies can be more exciting than the truth.
• Emotional response: Lies can trigger an emotional response.
• Sharing: Sharing lies can make people feel good.
• Social harmony: Minor lies, like saying "Of course, I'm not angry you were 40 minutes late," can be acceptable in moderation to prevent conflict or hurting someone's feelings.
• Vulnerability: People may believe lies when they feel too vulnerable to face the truth and its consequences.
• Appearance: People may lie to appear honest when telling the truth might make them look dishonest.

Often, people want to be lied to because they can't accept the truth. Lies give validation when they need it when the truth eventually emerges, to have 101 ways to justify their beliefs and to cast the other party as the villain. Supporters of Trump use the many falsehoods of Trump to justify voting for a convicted felon. Employers don't higher convicted felons because they doubt their character. The Right does not question Donald Trump's character but feed on his lies which gives validation to their fears and anger. Some may feel a kinship with a known liar.

60% of people lie at least once in a 10-minute conversation.

Men lie 6 times a day on average, while women lie 3 times a day on average.

40% of people lie on their resumes.

90% of people lie on their online dating profiles.

80% of women admit to lying to their partner about their spending habits.

50% of teenagers admit to lying to their parents about their whereabouts.

People are more likely to lie over the phone than face to face.

81% of people lie about their height, weight or age online.

Politicians lie on average once every five minutes during a debate. 27+ Lying Statistics: The Truth About Lying (2023) brightfuturesyn,com.

It seems lying is a part of the HUMAN experience. People lie. It is when people PREFER a lie instead of the truth is when we begin to lose our HUMANITY. If anything, Donald Trump proves he has lost his humanity. It is evident every time he speaks before a microphone or crowd.