A post-Trump America will face having to cope with the damage to our nation that we are witnessing right now.
Last week I talked about the divisions being deepened by the Catholic Church and evangelicals who refuse to accept the reasonable compromise on abortion Roe v. Wade represents.
But there is another issue that makes the views of Trump voters/supporters even more mind boggling, one that will have a post-Trump effect beyond anything we have yet imagined.
It is Donald Trump’s complete and total disregard for telling the truth.
The only honest thing Trump has done is to earn the reputation of being a serial liar. The examples now number in the thousands, the latest being his phony “Spygate” story even Fix News that helped start it is now disavowing.
Think about what I am saying. The President of the United States has the reputation of not telling the truth, of lying about anything and everything.
The President is not just anybody. He represents our nation. He symbolizes our form of government, and is suppose to espouse the values on which our Republic was founded.
But what this President is known for more than anything else is that he does not tell the truth.
This is not about political spin, or presenting a point of view that makes him look good rather than bad. We are talking about telling untruths, openly lying, saying things he knows are not true.
But this isn’t just about Trump. It is also about the people who voted for him and still support him.
Because 84% of Republicans make up the 40% of voters who approve of the job Trump is doing, this is also about the Republican Party and its descent into political expediency beyond anything we have seen before.
The implications of 40% of Americans approving of the job a serial liar is doing as President are stunning.
Let me put it in context.
There was a time when we used to teach our children to always tell the truth, be honest, don’t lie, to remember that your personal integrity is more important than success or fame or money.
My, how times have changed.
I wonder what the parents who are in that 40% who approve of the job Trump is doing are teaching their children about telling the truth.
How could they with a clear conscious and a straight face tell their children always to be honest?
I would especially love to ask any Christian parent who supports Trump that question.
Do they believe Roe v. Wade is so bad that it justifies giving up their moral right to teach their children to tell the truth?
What about the rest of the Trump voters/supporters? Do they hate Democrats and liberals so much that they no longer believe telling the truth is important?
No one who cares about telling the truth can deny Trump has no regard for doing that himself. In his mind truth is whatever he says it is.
So people who support Donald Trump are unavoidably guilty by association of having the same low standard of integrity he has.
I think it is deeply, deeply troubling to think about what lasting impact there will be in after Trump is gone that 40% of the nation’s adults said by supporting him that they no longer believe in telling the truth.
Spin it as they might, there is no way they can escape being entangled in the web of lies and deceit Donald Trump’s presidency represents.
Every lie he tells, every distortion of the truth he offers, because they are his enablers, envelops them in his moral depravity, in his lack of personal honesty and integrity.
And all the while the nation’s children are watching.
I wish in a post Trump America we would be able to erase what they are witnessing from their memories, but like all the other damage being done, that will not be possible.
Instead, we will have to do our best to regain their trust as we try to rebuild the moral foundations of our national character so many Americans helped to erode by supporting a President who did not believe in telling the truth.
linnposts.com 
Thank you, Jan — you are right on, and I have many friends who have been Trump supporters and they do not see this at all. I am puzzled about how they can accept what he says and I don’t know what to do about it.
Coleen, I think we have to keep speaking up and not give up in the belief that truth will ultimately prevail. That may not seem like much, but it is more than you realize. Thanks for the comment.
I wonder how many leaders of the so-called “Religious Right” in your country (and not even excluding mine!) have ever read of or studied the lives of the earlier reformers, not just Martin Luther. I think of William of Ockham, John Wyclif – and the Czech reformer Jan Hus, whose watchword “Truth Prevails” has been the motto of the Czech lands down the years. I can remember going to the place in Constance where he was burned in 1415. He saw, as many need to see now, that a certain point will be reached at which civilised life will simply not be possible in a World without truth.
All honour to the school students in your country who saw this earlier this year, who marched for truth.
Nigel, your knowledge of history and deep appreciation for its lesson are both examples of what Americans need. I fear what is happening to us is exactly the reference you made to Jan Hus and his insight that a world without truth cannot survive. This is the America we are becoming – a country without truth. Our children hold the key to hope. Thank you for sharing your wisdom again.
Hi Jan! Would you please forward Part 2 of your 3-part “What a Post Trump America Will Look Like, The Aftermath of Trump’s Assault on Truth” to me? I plan to make copies and mail to some friends who will be happy to receive it and some friends who won’t be happy to receive it (relatives). I’m disillusioned that so many Americans voted for our terrible President. I mistakenly gave more credit to Americans before the debacle of the last election. Yes, we’re living in dangerous times. Stouts were here for lunch yesterday and gave Neal and me a cherished host gift…your personally inscribed new book. What a treasure! Thanks for all you and Joy do! We need to clone you both 😎 truly! We’ll have to get together this summer. Cheers! Laura
Thank you, Laura. I will send Part 2 via email, but you can also find it on the blog site. Ye, let’s get together this summer. And please let me know what you think of the book once you’ve had a chance to read it.
Thanks so much for speaking truth about power. The only way for conservatives to accept Trump’s lying is to watch only Fox news which ignores his actions (not reporting them) or creatively redefines them.
Hi Amy. I should thank you. Who you are inspires me to keep going. You are the hope for the future. Your comment means so much. I will keep using my voice as I know you will yours. Jan
Jan, I hang on to a thread of hope that the President’s nauseating behavior doesn’t necessarily have to cause irreversible damage. There is still a significant majority of people that believe honesty and integrity matter. Clearly most republicans and evangelicals aren’t among them.
Wilbur, the essential questions is whether or not the people who do still believe honesty and integrity matter will vote in November. If they do, there is hope. If they don’t, they will have helped enable Trump to continue extinguishing it.
“The core responsibility of a journalist is to have an open mind toward any information you might find, to have no agenda, and to have no preferred outcome. In other words, I don’t care what the truth is. I just care what the truth is. That’s the deal you make with your readers.” – Robert Parry, accepting the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence, October 22, 2015
Parry died this year. He was only 68. i can’t help but notice that his award was for Journalistic “Independence”. As institutional journalism has been increasingly compromised to serve the encroaching corporatocracy only independent journalists seem to offer the public open minded glimpses of the truths of our world.
It seems in this era of numerous micro and macro socioeconomic changes fear ridden and ideologically driven people are employing every means available to assert “their truths” – the myths which help them make sense of the world. Hence fear and ideology make lies and propaganda acceptable to win a person’s or group’s war for supremacy. I fear it is a path we all will have to travel before the resulting pain and suffering shakes us back to sanity. Thank you for this post.
I think you named one of the great dilemmas we are facing, Bob – all of us having to travel this path to near destruction, not just the ones who are causing it to happen. That is why voting in so important. Let’s hope all of us realize that.
I think it must be difficult in the extreme to raise a child in this environment, whether one be a Republican or Democrat parent. The supposed top role model seems to undermine common, basic morals of the Judeo Christian tradution. Thanks, Jan.
Cheerz!
Gene
I agree, Gene. Republicans have gone off the cliff and Democratic leaders like the ones we have in Minnesota are apparently talking only to themselves and have no idea what voters care about the most. The one thing the nation needs most is to defeat Trump and the Republicans. I have my doubts whether Democrats have enough common sense to do that. Sad indeed. What will our children and grandchildren think of us?
As deplorable as Trump is, and he is, there is an even larger and more sinister threat of which he is only the visible tip. Since the 1970’s, at least, the Koch brothers Charles and David have carried out a well financed organized campaign to make their extreme libertarian ideals part of mainstream society. They have set up phone charitable organizations to buy political influence, set up brain trusts and gotten endorsements from respected universities, bought the Republican Party along with the constellation of issues – abortion, gun control, immigration, voter depression, gerrymandering, and so on. After Obama won they moved to finance Republican candidates in the states so we have Republican governors and Republican-controlled legislatures in most states. They paid for chairs in law schools – so we have lawyers and judges who believe that world view that the rest of us call fake reality – leading to the horrible Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court so now we have unlimited monies affecting every election. Trump puppets the party line they have worked for so long to promote. At the bottom of it all: denial of climate change and to make legislators doubt the reality taught by scientists all over the world – because – they are big oil and they are willing to sacrifice the wellbeing of the species on the planet for more money. We should all be crying FOUL.
David, you name two demons that have corrupted our national life for selfish gain, namely oil money. I hope the next generation curses the Koch brothers and John Roberts’ Supreme Court whose decision to call corporations people set the stage for undermining our form of government and indirectly the killing of the planet. “Foul” is a euphemism for many words I can think of, but won’t put in print. Thanks.
What about him? He’s rich and liberal. But does he engage in covert money-laundering schemes, hide and lie about political activities, or scheme to infiltrate academia, or take over a political party?
If we are speaking about the corruption of big money in politics we are in perfect agreement. It’s been a problem throughout our national life and will continue to be so until we no longer have money and power and the combination of the two. If the question is about what is the common good then we have room for a conversation about vision, ideals, world-view and adherence to something greater than oneself. There may be a difference between the Kochs and Soros there. Just saying…
David. you do not want to engage this person. It becomes an endless exchange where they use my blog to post their persistent arguments. The email address is being used with different names, which means it is likely not legitimate. I usually delete them, but this one has been getting through before I can. I have requested an explanation about why different names appear on the same email address, but have not received a reply. Until I do, and it satisfies me, I will continue to delete their comments. Sorry you got caught up with them.
I have grandchildren, the oldest is ten who are old enough to be aware of the news how the president speaks. My children, their parents are having to talk with them about that issue. And so do I. It is a difficult task. Not just the lying part but the whole issue of differing opinions on government. Reasonable people can disagree on issues and the role of government. I respect the opinions of people who disagree with me. The refusal to tell the truth or accept the truth is something that is harder to explain. How do you explain to your 8 year old that politicians fon’t tell the truth.
Somehow missed this comment. Your dilemma is one many of us are wrestling with. Since telling the truth is what we need from our leaders, I think the best thing we can do for our children and grandchildren is to tell them the truth about the failure of those leaders in doing so. Kids can handle the truth as well as adults can. The challenge is telling them in a way they can understand. I suspect you can do that just as well as anyone else. Thanks for your comment.