How Much Lying Can America Tolerate? STEVEN BESCHLOSS MAY 4 It still boggles the mind. Over the course of the Trump presidency, The Washington Post chronicled over 30,000 lies—30,573 to be exact. That is an average of about 21 a day. And as those four years unfolded, the “false claims” became more frequent: An average of six a day in the first year, 16 a day in the second, 22 a day in the third and 39 in the last year. Note that in the first 100 days he was in the White House, the Post catalogued 492. Yet by November 2, 2020, that single day before the 2020 election, they counted 503 “false or misleading claims.” America was drowning in this cesspool of lies, yet somehow remained afloat. While the lies convinced millions to fear or hate refugees or scapegoat people different from themselves—and later believe that their preferred candidate who lost the election really won it and still later claim that the violent January 6 Capitol attack was really a peaceful tourist visit—Americans and America could still agree on some basic facts of life. Imagine if our fellow citizens thoroughly rejected the rule that a red light means stop, that we drive on the right side of the road or that we should exit a building from the ground floor only, not a third floor window (or higher). On the other hand, so many thousands of families are still suffering the consequences of deceased family members who refused to believe that wearing a mask or taking the vaccine for the coronavirus could save their lives. I had a childhood friend who loved to concoct tall tales. He swore, for example, that there was a kid in first grade who was so fat that he couldn’t walk and the school’s principal let him drive a tractor through the halls to get to class. I knew his stories were pretty ridiculous, but I was impressed by his imagination. We all live in world where white lies—harmless comments usually meant to avoid hurting someone’s feelings—are an accepted practice: “That hat looks great!” “Sorry, I’m late: Bad traffic!” “It’s OK you missed our meeting.” But the compulsive drumbeat of a pathological liar is something else—a danger not only in the specifics (no, Mexico is not “sending” its rapists and criminals), but in the ways that it can and has untethered so many people from factual reality and society’s need for shared facts to function effectively. In the election interference/hush money trial yesterday, we learned that in the wake of the “Access Hollywood” tape Trump aide (and now witness) Hope Hicks urged her colleagues to “deny, deny, deny” to defend her boss’ involvement—until that lie became unsustainable. That may be dismissed as a campaign tactic for a struggling candidate—until it is recognized as part of a larger pattern of illegality that includes falsifying business records to ensure the voting public doesn’t know the truth. But beyond the outcome of this particular trial or any of the other criminal trials and felony charges that envelope criminal defendant Trump, I think it’s useful to consider whether the insidious nature of compulsive lying perpetrated by one of the most famous people in the world has caused long-term consequences. Court proceedings can clarify what is true and what is false—who is guilty of a crime and who is innocent—but the believers of the lies and the liar may never accept a court’s verdict or the actual outcome of an election. If a sizable portion of our country has abandoned facts to side with the narrative of their tribe and whatever their leader says, how long will our democracy remain afloat? What do you think? How much lying can America tolerate? Have we already passed a threshold that makes shared understanding of basic rules increasingly impossible? Has this climate of lies metastasized such that long after its chief practitioner is gone it will still be poisoning our body politic? And what about in your own life: Do you tolerate people who lie? As always, I look forward to reading your observations and for the opportunity of this thoughtful community to learn from each other. I think it really is one of the very best things about America, America. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.