Our New POTUS

Up until this administration, POTUS was an acronym that stood for President Of The United States. Within just a few short weeks, our current President has managed to change that acronym slightly to Pinocchio Of The United States.

There are many personality quirks of Mr. Trump that should make one pause and view him with more than a modicum of caution. For instance, as despicable as the Clintons’ offering nights in the Lincoln bedroom for a hefty donation was, or even more recently Mr. Biden’s pardoning his son when Biden repeatedly stated that he would never do so; I find that to have a President shamelessly flog gym shoes, watches, and Bibles, to be a new low of crass and undignified behavior for one reaching the office of Commander in Chief.

These shameless attempts to line his own pocket with the money of his followers (worshipers?) are, at least, isolated and may have ceased with his being sworn in. However it is his propensity to continually distort, engage in fantastic hyperbole, and outright fabrication that gets him my nomination for Pinocchio in Chief. Past presidents have also engaged in what is euphemistically called “misspeaking”. Clinton’s famous “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” in speaking of his affair with the intern Monica Lewinsky comes to mind. Or even President Biden when he repeatedly stated that he never talked business with his son, Hunter.

History is replete with instance in which Presidents told outright lies to further their careers, agenda, or to safeguard secrets that endangered those serving in the armed forces in time of war.

However, I would submit that there is no precedent for the number and magnitude of the exaggerations and outright lies that our current office holder spouts or writes almost daily. His followers and apologists often state in effect that it is just his way, no need to take him literally; or he says those things just to bring attention to the real crises that he faces on our behalf.

Lest one might think that these fabrications are infrequent, I would commend to you the following references that track and record the number of misleading statements he has made in both terms of office:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/
https://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1487&context=wwu_honors
https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/02/donald-trumps-huge-lies/