Courtesy of the Bastrop Advertiser
Jan. 2, 2020
By Bill McCann
The new year inevitably generates news-media lists of last year’s top news stories, movies, songs, etc. Given the many tall tales spun by President Donald Trump, I decided to compile my list of Trump’s top whoppers in 2019.
I selected seven, although there were thousands to choose from, thanks to fact checkers at PolitiFact, the Washington Post, FactCheck.org, the Associated Press, and others. In 2019 alone, Trump made more than 7,700 false or misleading claims, according to the Washington Post.
Here’s my list in reverse order:
7) Reacting in November to a $2 million fine imposed by a New York judge to settle a lawsuit over his now-defunct charitable foundation, Trump falsely stated that the judge found only “small technical violations.” The judge concluded that Trump “breached his fiduciary duty” to the charity, partly to benefit his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump sometimes used the foundation as his “personal piggy bank,” the Associated Press reported.
6) When campaigning, Trump frequently promised to “drain the swamp” in Washington of special interests. In a June launch of his re-election campaign, he bragged that he was draining the swamp. That same day he named former defense-industry lobbyist Mark Esper as Secretary of Defense, replacing another former defense industry executive (CBS News). Esper was the latest in a long list of industry insiders and special-interest representatives to get top government jobs in Trump’s administration. Also, at least 10 Trump appointees have been named in scandals. Several had to quit.
5) In November, Trump falsely took credit for opening an Apple Mac Pro assembly plant in Austin, bringing “high paying jobs back to America.” The plant has been operating since 2013, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
4) In April, Trump falsely stated that noise from wind turbines causes cancer. He alleged without evidence that wind turbines reduce property values by 75 percent and said they are a “graveyard” for birds. Yes, wind turbines kill birds – as many as 328,000 a year in the U.S., according to one government study. But up to a billion birds die annually by hitting buildings – like Trump Tower.
3) In May, Trump told reporters: “There has never been, ever before, an administration that’s been so open and transparent.” That statement earned a “Pants on Fire!” rating from PolitiFact, which cited the administration’s numerous failures to cooperate with Congress on the Mueller and House impeachment investigations. This includes Trump barring government officials from testifying and from submitting documents to Congress, as well Trump’s lawsuits to prevent access to his business records. Meanwhile, Trump continues to break a promise to release his tax records. Those aren’t the actions of a transparent administration or of an innocent man.
2) In September, Trump responded to headlines about his phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky by saying the call was “perfect.” The call may have been perfect for those supporting Trump’s impeachment, but not for Trump. A White House call summary and congressional testimony by heroic public servants verified that Trump sought political favors from Zelensky in return for giving Ukraine military aid. Later, Trump said the claims by the government employee who first blew the whistle on the call were “almost completely wrong.” PolitiFact chose Trump’s challenge to the whistleblower’s veracity as its “lie of the year.”
1) On Sept. 1, Trump played meteorologist, tweeting incorrectly that Alabama was in the path of Hurricane Dorian. This prompted calls from worried Alabamans to the National Weather Service’s Birmingham office, which issued a correction. Rather than admit his error, Trump doubled down, even falsifying a weather map with a Sharpie to defend himself. That incident succinctly illustrated Trump’s lack of integrity, honesty, and self-discipline. It’s tough to fact-check that kind of crazy.
