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Abraham Lincoln once said, “No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” To be a good liar you have to keep track of all the lies you’ve told, and to whom, in order to keep the truth hidden. But Honest Abe never knew Trump, or perhaps anybody like him..
Trump is a successful liar because he refuses to remember. Not only that: He refuses to anticipate that he will remember the current moment in the future. If you live mainly in the current moment, then the future consequences of your lies will not matter to you. And if you have lived your entire life this way, and to great acclaim and success, why would you ever want to change?
Trump was annoyed when Dr. Fauci stole the spotlight by throwing out the first pitch for Major League Baseball’s opening game. In response, he falsely claimed that the Yankees invited him to throw out the first pitch. His lie was roundly refuted a short time later. The incident recalls Trump’s false boast that the crowd attending his 2017 inaugural address was the largest in history. Objective photographic evidence decisively refuted that lie.
And yet Trump never pulls back on blatantly false statements — lies that are so obvious that they often defy the laws of physics, chemistry and common sense. Defying biology, even in the face of soaring coronavirus cases and mounting deaths, Trump claimed that the virus at some point is “going to sort of just disappear.”
The key to Trump’s psychology is that he moves through life as “the episodic man.” For Trump, each day is a temporary moment of time. Psychological research shows that nearly all adults develop stories in their minds about their own lives.
These stories — what psychologists call “narrative identities” — reconstruct the past and imagine the future. As you make daily decisions, you implicitly remember how you have come to be who you are, and you anticipate where your life may be going. You live within narrative time.
But the episodic man does not live that way. Instead, he immerses himself in the angry, combative moment, striving desperately to win the moment. But the episodes do not add up. They do not form a narrative arc. In Trump’s case, it is as if he wakes up each morning nearly oblivious to what happened the day before. What he said and did yesterday, in order to win yesterday, no longer matters to him. And what he will do today, in order to win today, will not matter for tomorrow.
What is truth for the episodic man? Truth is whatever works to win the moment.
For most people, and every other president in the history of the US, an episodic life would be unsustainable in the long run. There is a primal authenticity in Trump. He tells you exactly what he feels in the moment. He lies straight to your face, without shame, without any concern for future consequences. It is the stark audacity of untruth.
In an interview, Tony Schwartz, the journalist who wrote Trump’s “The Art of the Deal,” said of Trump “Lying is second nature to him, more than anyone else I have ever met. Trump has the ability to convince himself that whatever he is saying at any given moment is true, or sort of true, or at least ought to be true.”
Schwartz:, “He lied strategically. He had a complete lack of conscience about it.” Since most people are “constrained by the truth,” Trump’s indifference to it “gave him a strange advantage.”
Schwartz: ” When challenged about the facts, Trump would often double down, repeat himself, and grow belligerent.”
Schwartz described a man constitutionally incapable of logic, moral reasoning or self-reflection.
“There is beauty in truth, even if it’s painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don’t teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one’s character, one’s mind, one’s heart or one’s soul.”
–José N. Harris
@B. T. neither are thought crimes.
He’s successful because he is surrounded by an extraordinary number of sycophants. The Emperor Has No Clothes
“The top secret documents are the best top secret documents, the biggest top secret documents – top secret documents like you’ve never seen before. People come up to me and they say, ‘sir, sir, those are the greatest top secret documents’ – nobody has top secret documents like me”.
ya know, even the Republicans knew that Nixon was in the wrong when the time came. that is why Nixon resigned.
the fact that the Republicans continue to defend him should be a real cause for concern by the country.
“They can do it to you too”. Laughed out loud at that one. Has to rank up there as one of the dumbest comments ever. If I had any TS/SCI documents in my basement I’d fully expect them to do it to me too. That’s what makes us a country of laws. Those on the right have totally forgotten about that part.
@maximus fl yes we know the former president still gets briefings which is why people were warning about how trumps erratic behavior and loose lips were a danger to national security….Biden got heavily criticized for saying this as well
@*Stefanie* And that’s why you’ve removed yourself from the conversation because you’re right🤣🤣 interesting take stephanie
All aside, his followers will circle around him. The GOP needs to take a good look in the mirror. The damage this could and has cause internally plus the trust the U.S. needs to have with allies when it comes to sharing info is at risk, we work hand in hand with many nations and share info to ensure our safety. If we treat intel like a phone number on a bathroom wall, whos going to trust us.
With a president like Biden who can trust us?
If getting in trouble with law enforcement gets you nominated it says a lot about how lawless your party is
The FBI and DOJ and Garland will get what they deserve.
@Yakiv Popavich Is that a threat?
ah yes, the party of Law and Order (dun dun)
@Yakiv Popavich Me too. That is kudos for following the law and not the whims of a lunatic like the last administration.
“Believe me if I just THINK in my YUGE brain that it is declassified then it is, And if I then think it is reclassified then it is. The evidence is in my massive brain. Bigly. The biggest.”
If I had TS/SCI documents in my basement I’d be arrested and taken to a federal holding cell.
@Pacific Kai Homes, LLC your logic is on par with your grammar which competes easily with the Big Banana.
@Gavin Pope I see you have tds.
I’m pretty sure all you need to know are the levels of classification of the documents trump was holding off site. What’s in them is irrelevant; ask everyone else who’s been prosecuted for doing the same thing.
30000 email from killery
@anne carroll what TS/SCI materials did she have in her basement?
Classification doesn’t matter. He was proven to be withholding government property. There was no need for him to have them for the past 18 months.
04:53 – First the FBI does Search and Seizure all the time, the chance that they will do it to all cituzens is minimal at best, we do not have nuclear codes.
When I was working in the corporate world, we used to say: ‘The fish stinks from the head’ Why we said that,?
Because all the crimes and corruption took place at the top of the corporate ladder. They had the budgets and control of the money.
People used to joke that purging Republicans are a legitimate form of self-defense. Sadly Its not a joke anymore.
black neighborhoods… and poor, and poor rural areas could be affected negatively
One said to you-“If they can search Trump’s house for ‘nuclear weapon’ documents,they can do the same to you”…I would hope so.Duh.
@Perroden SPARTAN B-312 No its not, it all goes to the national archives, every time. Trump was given plenty of opportunity to give them back.
Are you adult by age. Just asking
WOW HERE IN CANADA WE ARE ONLY ALOUD TO HAVE A FEW OLD GUNS .
It’s funny to hear Donnie say this was unwarranted, when it was literally warranted 😆
@Dan Ozmatlan wont happen he said there declassified that means there declassified .. thats part of the presidents job .. pick up a book
@sean bragg There’s a process. Open that book.
Ironic.
Hey I was celebrating right along with Conway and cobert. Don’t judge me for expressing some joy at the possibility that Donald trump might not be eligible to be my president again. The guy that still can’t comprehend the difference between climate change and winter.
@Heather C I’m sure you will be sorely missed.
@Blue Clover 😂😂😂
The laws relating to classified documents in most countries are pretty much the same.
There’s absolutely no justification for holding classified material in a personal environment, this is serious stuff, I’ve
It’s worth mentioning that in the Rosenberg trials in 1953, Trump’s Mentor was the attorney on the prosecution team. Anyone else find that really interesting?
@William Daniels : Do you want to start talking about the vetting process General Hertling outlined in relation to the fact that Trump’s family members failed Whitehouse security services vetting but Trump directed that they be given top level security clearances anyway ?
@Jola Harvel Judges don’t have to be neutral; there’s also liberals and conservatives. What they need to do regardless is to be professional and impartial in their decision. So, AG Garland I suspect purposefully unsealed the warrant just to prove to any doubters that it was very legal and straightforward, a slam-dunk if you will; ergo any judge with half a brain would have signed it.
Let me assure you, there are no conversations you could possibly imagine, unless you live in Florida. Where every two people that stand together, are on different sides. Where I am the only Democrat in an office full of Maga Republicans, and one or two that wishes their friends had not turned into that.
So you might know what it feels like in a general level, this divide within the country. But it really does get so much more personal than that. And so much harder to live with on a daily basis, when you can’t rationally talk to anybody about anything anymore…
Maga Republicans – OK, a twisted, slanted abusive attitude before getting started. You do anything that ever uses a brain or is not hate?
Hello Florida girl
@Expletive Deleted She wasn’t asking for an example, but I’m sure you are doing your best.
Yes. If I am suspected of having classified compartmentalized documents in my home I fully expect to be investigated. Ffs.
“They could do it to you.” That’s hilarious. If I had classified information I wasn’t supposed to, I’d bet you’d want them to do it to me.
_”If they can do that to an ex-president, imagine what they can do to you”_
–
What’s so hilarious about that titanically STUPID talking point is that we’re all VERY aware of what law enforcement can do to us ordinary people. The whole issue is that *they don’t do it to people like Trump.*
Last fight https://youtu.be/7Gf6-IgljyE
And what if they deemed your information to be classified? Then what? Just like recession, the government is changing the definition of words every day. Recession, woman, what’s next?
5:35 “…and hopefully we can learn what was in the documents” – I guess if these were classified as TS/SCI we’ll never learn what is in them 🙃
Bottom line he was not to be in possession of the documents. Isn’t that enough to arrest him?
Yep! The statute does not specify they have to be classified or not. The fact they are just makes it so much worse.