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Obviously unfit

Following Donald Trump’s election victory, any criticism of his actions or statements was countered by his followers (Trumpsters? Trumpeters?) demanding that he be given a chance. I think looking at the events of his first week in office and seeing how he cannot tolerate any truth and fact that does not massage and stroke his humongous ego is more than enough proof that the man is unfit to be president.

All week long, the news organizations were busy tracking down one Trump lie after another. Politifact published 12 of the “most misleading claims” he made in his first White House interview. The fact checkers at the Washington Post found 24 lies or misleading statements that Trump made in just the first week in office. Unless you were in outer space the past week, we all know of his childish obsession with the size of his inauguration crowd. Even when presented with visual proof that his crowd was not the largest ever and not as big as Barack Obama’s, he simply could not accept the truth. After all, in Trump’s world he is the best and is always a winner. In his business career, he used lying to inflate his ego and to further a business goal. And now, unfortunately, he is employing the same tactic as president.

I hope Trump supporters don’t try to legitimize Trump’s lying by pointing out that other politicians, even presidents, have told lies. Yes, they have. But not even close to the scale Trump is engaging in. The creator of Politifact stated in a recent interview that “no one has come close to Trump in the high percentage of falsehoods.” Truth is the lifeblood of a democratic society. Truth is the enemy of all authoritarian societies.



Doug Rhinehart

Aspen Village