Mark Salter -- John McCain Alum
Why he supports Harris-Walz in 2024
Donald Trump lied the other day. But then he lies every day, every hour, every time he opens his mouth.
This particular lie concerned the Biden Administration’s response to the terrible damage wrought by Hurricane Helene in the southeastern U.S. He said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp couldn’t get President Biden to take his phone call. Actually, Kemp himself had publicly acknowledged he had spoken to the President and expressed his appreciation for the President’s help. So did Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, loyal Republicans all.
Why would Trump lie about something that was so easily disproved? Because he doesn’t care if it can be disproved. Lie big enough and long enough and enough people will believe it is true or should be true or like him, they won’t care if it’s true or not. To Donald Trump the truth is only preferable to a lie if it serves his self-interest, if it flatters him, if it wins him more admirers, and in Trump’s case the truth rarely makes him look good.
And so he lies all the time. He lied about COVID. He lied about his attempted extortion of Ukrainian President Zelensky. He lied about Vladimir Putin’s interference in our elections. He slandered the CIA, the FBI, our NATO allies. He lied about his economic policies. He lied and still lies about immigrants. He lied about Mexico paying for the border wall. He lied about abortion rights. He lied about January 6, when he directed a mob to storm the Capitol and overturn a free election. He lies because lies are his currency. The truth has no value to him.
If he’s again elected President, he’ll lie every day he’s in office. When Russia conquers all of Ukraine after he cuts off support for brave Ukraine, and Putin turns his attention to the Baltics and Poland, and invades their territory, Trump will lie about who’s responsible and blame the victims, our allies. When Xi Jinping gives the order for China to invade Taiwan, he’ll blame Taiwan for not listening to him, and wash his hands of the affair, leaving Asia far more dangerous for us and unstable than it is now. When his massive tariffs on foreign goods and massive tax cuts for people like him fuel another, worse round of inflation, he’ll lie about that and complain Democrats are blocking his policies from working. When more Democrats are elected to office in the next mid-terms, he’ll accuse them of cheating, and order his Department of Justice to investigate.
People say all politicians lie. Some politicians do, and some embellish, exaggerate and fudge in ways that are less than truthful. But no politician has ever lied like Trump. Not in my lifetime. Not even George Santos can keep up with Trump’s dishonesty. And he’s found a partner in deceit in his VP pick, JD Vance, who pretends to be any version of himself – Trump critic or Trump sycophant -- that gains him power.
I’m voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, not because I agree with them on most issues. I do on some issues, important ones. On others, I don’t. But I know, they’re more honest than not and in a crisis they’ll try to do the right thing. They know the difference between right and wrong. They know that truth has value.
We can’t afford another four years of Donald’s Trump’s constant lying, and the chaos and cruelty and danger they cause. We won’t be the same country afterwards. We’ll be even more divided, less secure and less certain of our future. We’ll be the country a selfish liar deceived and tried to turn into a reflection of him. God help us.
Mark Salter was formerly Chief of Staff to Senator John McCain.