Liar

Throughout my entire life, over 60 decades, I have never met or known of someone who lies constantly about everything. There has never been an ounce of truth that flowed from the mouth of Donald Trump, almost like a river of total bullshit to get what he desires and control people that believe and trust him. I keep hoping his pants will catch on fire while he is wearing them.

All children grow up telling lies after observing the things that parents say or share with other adults. At a very young age, I can remember my mother telling people how beautiful they looked in a new dress or how lovely their hair was after they spent hours at the hair salon with Ms. Sadie. As children, we struggled to hide our giggles because Ms. Sadie was the worst hairdresser in our community, but she was the only one available. My sister hated going into the shop because she would come home with hair or ear burns from Ms. Sadie using the straightening or curling iron incorrectly and being too busy gossiping with everyone. My brother and I were thrilled to avoid all the torture. These were called ‘white lies’ because no harm was meant. Nevertheless, when we told ‘white lies’ as children the belt was never spared even when I presented a great argument with my mother. Yep, I got it worse than my brother or sister.

In social and cultural contexts, the perception of lying and liars varies. Some cultures may view certain types of lies, such as white lies or lies told to protect someone’s feelings, as more acceptable than others. However, persistent and harmful lies are generally condemned across cultures, as they erode the fundamental principle of trust that underpins human interactions.

A white lie is considered a minor, harmless, or trivial lie often told to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, to avoid minor inconveniences, or to be polite in social situations. Unlike more serious forms of deception, white lies are typically seen as socially acceptable and are often justified by the intention behind them. The primary motivation for telling a white lie is usually to protect someone’s feelings or to avoid unnecessary conflict. White lies are generally intended to be harmless. They are often used to smooth over social interactions, avoid awkward situations, or provide comfort. For instance, telling a child that their drawing is beautiful, even if it isn’t technically impressive, can boost their confidence and encourage them to keep drawing or give them a false belief. In many cultures, white lies are considered a normal part of social etiquette. They can serve as social lubricants that help maintain harmony and avoid unnecessary discomfort in everyday interactions. For example, pretending to be busy to avoid a social event you don’t want to attend is a white lie to prevent hurting someone’s feelings​. In my opinion, a lie is still a lie, regardless of the intentions.

So, what exactly is a liar? A liar is someone who deliberately conveys false information or deceives others by providing statements that are not true. The act of lying involves a conscious decision to mislead, whether by fabricating facts, omitting critical details, or altering the truth. Lying can be motivated by various factors, including the desire to avoid punishment, gain an advantage, protect oneself or others, or manipulate a situation to one’s benefit.

The definition of a liar encompasses both the intention and the act of deception. Unlike simple mistakes or unintentional inaccuracies, lying is characterized by the liar’s awareness that what they are saying is false. This awareness distinguishes a liar from someone who is merely misinformed or mistaken. The ethical implications of lying are significant, as it undermines trust, damages relationships, and can lead to broader social consequences when truth and honesty are compromised. When I listen to the orange candidate, it’s obvious that he is intentionally lying or creating fake stories to point the finger at others instead of taking responsibility for his negative actions and comments against others.

Psychological perspectives on lying suggest that it is a complex behaviour influenced by cognitive and emotional factors. According to research, lying often involves a cost-benefit analysis where the potential gains from deception are weighed against the risks of being caught and the moral implications. Additionally, habitual lying can become a part of one’s behaviour pattern, leading to the development of a deceitful character. Working as a broadcast media interviewer for over 10 years, I question why an interviewer would question Trump when it’s obvious that every response will be a lie or an attack on them or someone else. He will usually leave the stage or podium feeling like a winner, when in fact he is the biggest loser to ever mislead America, yet many believe and practice his lies.

At a very young age, my mother would often test me and my sibling on the various ways to ascertain if someone was a liar. During the process, she would sit and make up stories that always sounded true to us. She would laugh and move towards teaching us about verbal and non-verbal cues. Recognising when someone is lying can be a challenging exercise. Here are several indicators that someone might be lying:

1. Inconsistent Stories: Liars often struggle to keep their stories straight, leading to inconsistencies in their narratives. If someone’s account of an event changes each time they tell it, this could be a sign of dishonesty. Most liars are unable to remember what fake story they told before or if it was you, they told or someone else.

2. Body Language: Non-verbal cues can be revealing. Common indicators of lying include avoiding eye contact, fidgeting, and exhibiting nervous behaviours such as touching the face, hair, or covering the mouth. Liars might also display unnatural stillness or overly controlled movements​.

3. Micro-expressions: These are brief, involuntary facial expressions that reveal true emotions, even if only for a fraction of a second. Someone who is lying might show expressions of fear, guilt, or stress that contradict their spoken words​

4. Speech Patterns: Changes in speech can indicate lying. Liars may speak more quickly, slowly, or quicker than usual. Their tone of voice may change, or they may stutter or hesitate more frequently. They may also provide too much detail or be overly vague.

5. Psychological Distance: A liar might use language that distances themselves from the lie, such as using fewer first-person pronouns (“I,” “me”) and more third-person pronouns (“he,” “they”).

6. Defensive Behaviour: Often when questioned, liars may become defensive, hostile, or overly assertive. They often try to change the subject or avoid answering direct questions​ the way Donald Trump does when being interviewed. A good example was when he attacked President Barack Obama behind his back starting rumours that he was not American or was a Black man and putting the notion into the minds of his followers to request the birth certificate of Obama. Just to be clear, two out of three of Trump’s wives have been immigrants from other countries. His present wife, Melania is from Slovenia, and his ex-wife, Ivana is from Czechoslovakia, but he often expresses his hatred of foreigners and/or immigrants who come to America. If you remember, he wanted to build a wall to keep Mexican immigrants out while proclaiming that Mexico would pay to have the wall built. Yet, another lie.

7. Lack of Natural Emotions: Genuine emotions tend to appear and fade naturally. If someone’s emotional expressions seem forced, exaggerated, or out of sync with their words, this usually indicates deceit.

8. Contradictory Behaviour: Watch for contradictions between what a person says and what they do. For example, someone claiming to be relaxed but showing signs of anxiety through their body language is probably lying​

9. Physiological Responses: Liars might exhibit physical signs of stress, such as sweating, shouting, talking over people, dry mouth, or changes in breathing patterns. These physiological responses are often beyond conscious control and can be telling indicators of deceit.

While these signs can help identify potential dishonesty, it’s important to consider the context and the individual’s baseline behaviour. No single sign is definitive proof of lying, and it’s best to look for clusters of indicators rather than relying on a single cue.

Have you ever worked with or been romantically involved with a narcissist? Narcs or narcissists aren’t always liars, but their personality traits often include a propensity for dishonesty. Narcissism is characterised by an inflated sense of self-importance, a need for excessive admiration, and a strong lack of empathy for others. Narcissism and lying intersect in the following ways:

· Self-Enhancement: Narcs often lie to enhance their self-image. They usually exaggerate their achievements, talents, and experiences to gain admiration and validation from others.

· Manipulation: Lying is a tool for narcs to manipulate and control others, usually without you knowing it. They may use deceit to maintain power in relationships, gain favours, or avoid responsibility for their vicious actions.

· Avoiding Accountability: Narcs often refuse to acknowledge their mistakes or wrongdoings. To avoid accountability, they may lie or distort the truth, usually shifting the blame onto others and maintaining their self-perceived infallibility.

· Creating False Narratives: Narcs will construct elaborate false narratives to support their grandiose self-image. These narratives can involve both outright lies and subtle distortions of the truth to fit their desired persona.

· Gaslighting: This is a form of psychological manipulation where the narc lies to make the victim doubt their perceptions, memories, or sanity. Gaslighting is a common tactic used by narcs to maintain control over their relationships.

· Lack of Empathy: Due to their lack of empathy, narcs may not see lying as morally wrong. Their primary concern is about their own needs and desires, which can lead them to lie non-stop without guilt or remorse. Narcs and professional liars believe their lies after a certain point.

To get an accurate picture of Trump who lies constantly, take some time to watch the interview he did with the National Association of Black Journalists in which he did everything to avoid answering any of the questions or telling the truth, even when questioned about his false information and lies. He is unable to remember what lie he told 15 minutes ago. Instead, he moves into attack mode, loud and over-talking the interviewer and feeling proud of himself, even though there is nothing that a sane person would be proud of. While not answering a single question, Trump lashed out to attack the ethnic background of Vice-President Kamala Harris. He claimed that is sometimes Indian or Black depending on the audience, which is untrue. He also asked for the definition of DEI and commented that Biden hired her as a DEI staff person. The biggest lie that he tells repeatedly is that immigrants will take the jobs of Black people and that he has done the most for Black people. If it wasn’t so offensive, it would be a joke. He is a man that hates everyone, especially people of colour (POC), and yet the people that he hates continue to support and believe his bullshit lies.

During his presidency, Donald Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims, according to The Washington Post’s Fact Checker database. This averages out to about 21 false statements per day over his four years in office​ (The Independent). The tally includes a wide range of topics and reflects an escalation in the frequency of these claims over time, particularly in the later years of his presidency. As of 2024, it has been documented that Trump has made thousands of false or misleading claims during his political career. These claims covered a wide range of topics, including immigration, the economy, and his fake achievements.​​FactCheck.org and PolitiFact have extensively fact-checked Trump’s statements, revealing a pattern of exaggerations and falsehoods. For example, Trump frequently made inaccurate statements about the state of the U.S. economy under his administration, as well as about his successor, Joe Biden.

Is this the man who you want to be the next President of the United States? If you do, then you deserve the disaster that will occur, and no one will be protected from the mass destruction.