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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAs Trump Accuses Iran, He Has One Problem: His Own Credibility
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/us/politics/trump-iran-credibility.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
WASHINGTON To President Trump, the question of culpability in the explosions that crippled two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman is no question at all. Its probably got essentially Iran written all over it, he declared on Friday.
The question is whether the writing is clear to everyone else. For any president, accusing another country of an act of war presents an enormous challenge to overcome skepticism at home and abroad. But for a president known for falsehoods and crisis-churning bombast, the test of credibility appears far more daunting.
For two and a half years in office, Mr. Trump has spun out so many misleading or untrue statements about himself, his enemies, his policies, his politics, his family, his personal story, his finances and his interactions with staff that even his own former communications director once said hes a liar and many Americans long ago concluded that he cannot be trusted.
Fact-checking Mr. Trump is a full-time occupation in Washington, and in no other circumstance is faith in a presidents word as vital as in matters of war and peace. The public grew cynical about presidents and intelligence after George W. Bushs invasion of Iraq based on false accusations of weapons of mass destruction, and the doubt spilled over to Barack Obama when he accused Syria of gassing its own people. As Mr. Trump confronts Iran, he carries the burden of their history and his own.
</snip>
WASHINGTON To President Trump, the question of culpability in the explosions that crippled two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman is no question at all. Its probably got essentially Iran written all over it, he declared on Friday.
The question is whether the writing is clear to everyone else. For any president, accusing another country of an act of war presents an enormous challenge to overcome skepticism at home and abroad. But for a president known for falsehoods and crisis-churning bombast, the test of credibility appears far more daunting.
For two and a half years in office, Mr. Trump has spun out so many misleading or untrue statements about himself, his enemies, his policies, his politics, his family, his personal story, his finances and his interactions with staff that even his own former communications director once said hes a liar and many Americans long ago concluded that he cannot be trusted.
Fact-checking Mr. Trump is a full-time occupation in Washington, and in no other circumstance is faith in a presidents word as vital as in matters of war and peace. The public grew cynical about presidents and intelligence after George W. Bushs invasion of Iraq based on false accusations of weapons of mass destruction, and the doubt spilled over to Barack Obama when he accused Syria of gassing its own people. As Mr. Trump confronts Iran, he carries the burden of their history and his own.
</snip>
Truth might be the biggest casualty of the Trump era.
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As Trump Accuses Iran, He Has One Problem: His Own Credibility (Original Post)
Dennis Donovan
Jun 2019
OP
global1
(25,278 posts)1. If There Was Ever A Time For A Foreign Adversary To Attack The U.S. ......
we're there.
With so much disinformation. With so many lies created by the mind of Trump. With so much upheaval in our government. It appears that we're very vulnerable.
It's getting scarier by the day!!!!!
Dennis Donovan
(18,770 posts)2. Terrifying. I never thought we'd see the day...
...where an entire political party would be corrupted by a foreign power. AND, that party would STILL be a majority in one of our houses of Congress.
The book, when it is written, will read like political thriller fiction. But it will be non-fiction too incredulous for people to believe.
global1
(25,278 posts)3. A Real Life James Bond/Ian Fleming Novel - With....
Trump as the villain.
rampartc
(5,439 posts)4. the book will be written by the winners
I hope it is us, but the world moves faster than our election cycles.
uponit7771
(90,367 posts)5. THIS !!!!