Facts About Trump and His Presidency

Now that the impeachment is over, the president can get to the important stuff, like firing the people who testified in the House hearings or said dumb things like, yeah there was a quid pro quo you fool, get over it. One can also expect the stream of lies, unwarranted emotional manipulation and incoherence to continue with vigor and enthusiasm. In other words, fake reality is going to get even faker. It's time for some epistemology about reality and important related whatnot. Let’s start with deeply confused concepts like facts, truths and logic as opposed to lies, deceit, BS, untruths and motivated reasoning, a/k/a/, flawed logic. Pictures are always popular, so here’s one:

An epistemological definition of knowledge

We can reasonably expect the rhetoric that will flow from the president, his charming minions and many or most of his rank and file supporters will be some combination of lies of commission and/or omission, BS, false beliefs and emotional manipulation. Most of that, say about 95%, will not be in the scope of the truth or knowledge circles.

In a recent exchange with a Trump supporter, I pointed out some of what I saw as some of the  negative aspects of the president or what he has done so far. I mentioned things like lots of added federal Trump debt, a society torn apart and full of unfounded hate, rage and bigotry, a stock market reflects the irrational exuberance that the trickle up of wealth to the top has fomented, an economy based on wanton pollution, deep corruption and/or disregard for the massive damage to democracy and the rule of law, the rise of some sort of kleptocratic tyranny, and disregard for America's fading infrastructure.

In response the Trump supporter responded with things that all fell outside truth and knowledge circles. For example, supporter asserted the falsehoods that (i) America today is just as torn apart as it was under Obama, and (ii) race relations have improved dramatically under Trump. Other whoppers raised in defense of Trump were false assertions that (i) income gains under Trump have favored the poor twice as much as they have favored the rich, (ii) EPA rules under Trump are the same under Obama, (iii) the corruption comes from the Dems in the bogus impeachment and the Deep State in trying to oust Trump, (iv) Mueller exonerated Trump, and (v) the only kleptocracy is from Obama and the Bidens, i.e., “the entire family.” Also a whopper, was the assertion that Obama was responsible for America’s bad infrastructure. All of those fake reality assertions can be shown to be false and/or logical fallacies.

I was flabbergasted and discombobulated at the sheer incorrectness of the false assertions and the incoherence of whatever logic was rummaging around in that poor person's confused mind. Nonetheless, this is what passes for facts, truths and logic in Trumplandia. I just didn't want to spend the time looking all the sources up to show that confused mind all the fact, truth and logic errors its beliefs were based on. That takes a lot of time. It also unfairly shifts the burden of proof to minds better grounded in facts, truths and logic.

THE EPIPHANY!!

Then, out of nowhere, both of Germaine’s neurons fired at the same time and an idea was hatched. My thinking was something like this: “Self, this is nuts. I can't keep just keep going out to look for the evidence that shows Trumplandia is a construct built on fake facts, alt-reality and deranged logic. I will put all the evidence together in one happy post so that when some Trumplandia pops up, I can just provide the link to this OP with links to real facts, reality and logic.”

And that, gentle reader, is what this OP starts to do. I'll add to this OP over time to have a fact, truth and logic basis for responding to at least the fairly common Trumplandia blither, numb nuttery and Tomfoolery that is raised in defense of the president.

Request for help: If anyone has a link to reliable info that would help provide a basis to respond to build a fact, truth and logic compendium for the whole world to refer to, feel free to put it in a comment. Also, if I get something wrong, let me know and I'll fix it. If you have a topic that should be included, let me know. At least for now, this is organized by source of Trumplandia nuttery, e.g., deceit and lies or social division and discord. Over time this could get to be pretty long, but whatever. As the philosopher Popeye says, I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam.

THE TRUMPLANDIA ANTIDOTE COMPENDIUM

Deceit and lying to the public

Facts: As of Dec. 10, his 1,055th day in office, Trump had made 15,413 false or misleading claims, according to the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement he has uttered. That’s an average of more than 32 claims a day since our last update 62 days ago. 12/16/19

The Fact Checker has evaluated false statements President Trump has made repeatedly and analyzed how often he reiterates them. The claims included here – which we're calling "Bottomless Pinocchios" – are limited to ones that he has repeated 20 times and were rated as Three or Four Pinocchios by the Fact Checker. 1/19/20

President Trump’s State of the Union speech once again was chock-full of stretched facts and dubious figures. Many of these claims have been fact-checked repeatedly, yet the president persists in using them. Here, in the order in which he made them, are 31 statements by the president. 2/4/20

WASHINGTON (AP) — Exacting swift punishment against those who crossed him, an emboldened President Donald Trump ousted two government officials who had delivered damaging testimony against him during his impeachment hearings. The president took retribution just two days after his acquittal by the Senate. First came news Friday that Trump had ousted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the decorated soldier and national security aide who played a central role in the Democrats’ impeachment case. Vindman’s lawyer said his client was escorted out of the White House complex Friday, told to leave in retaliation for ‘telling the truth.’ ‘The truth has cost Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy,’ attorney David Pressman said in a statement. Vindman’s twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, also was asked to leave his job as a White House lawyer on Friday, the Army said in a statement. Both men were reassigned to the Army. 2/6/20

Trump's affinity for lies was known before the 

November 2016 election

Logic, truths & opinions-beliefs: Not only does the president make thousands of false or misleading statements, he refuses to correct his statements when the facts and logic are pointed out. From that, one can logically conclude that the president is a chronic liar. He cannot logically be given the benefit of any doubt that his statements are just mistakes in view of the sheer number of them, and his refusal to correct any of them. There is nothing mistaken in refusal to correct mistakes. Because he fires people around him who tell truths he does not want told, logic also supports a belief that the president has no concern over inconvenient facts, truths and logic. He simply ignores, denies or distorts whatever he wants that he judges to be inconvenient for himself. In view of the facts, one can reasonably conclude that there is no objective basis to believe anything the president says about himself, his private business dealings or his actions or rhetoric while in office. His determined efforts to hide truths, e.g., his tax returns, add to the evidence that the president is hostile to inconvenient facts, truths and logic, most likely because he has a lot to hide.

Trumplandia defenses: Common defenses (i) simply deny that the president lies, (ii) claim he doesn’t lie more than other politicians (as if that justifies any elected politician’s lies), (iii) claim the fact checkers are liars, socialists and/or democrats out to smear the president, or (iv) claim that his false statements are just exaggerations, not lies. The facts contradict all of those assertions. There is no significant evidence that undermines all of the objective evidence of the president's false and misleading statements. Exaggerations, often a mix of fact and lies or untruths, are intended to deceive or mislead, and can thus logically be considered as lies.

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Social division and discord

Facts: Social relations: The 2018 Presidential Greatness Survey by people who are expert in presidents and presidential politics ranked President Trump (1) last in terms of greatness, and (2) highest in terms of being polarizing and divisive. Jan. 2018

Three years ago, Pew Research Center found that the 2016 presidential campaign was “unfolding against a backdrop of intense partisan division and animosity.” Today, the level of division and animosity – including negative sentiments among partisans toward the members of the opposing party – has only deepened. 10/10/19

Race relations: An overwhelming majority of black voters — 85 percent — said in a new Hill-HarrisX poll that they would choose any Democratic presidential candidate over President Trump. The survey, which was released on Monday, found this sentiment to be particularly true among black voters along partisan lines. 10/7/19

Even before President Donald Trump’s racist tweets toward four Democratic congresswomen of color, Americans considered race relations in the United States to be generally bad — and said that Trump has been making them worse. .... And Americans think Trump is contributing to the problem. A Pew Research Center poll earlier this year showed 56% of Americans saying Trump has made race relations worse. 7/16/19

Logic, truths & opinions: The fact evidence supports a logical conclusion that


Trumplandia defenses: The president’s supporters claim that social and race relations have improved under Trump, reversing an alleged trend set by the divisive racist Barack Obama. Poll data does show that social and racial divisions increased under both Bush and Obama, with the trend continuing under the polarizing Trump.

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Health care malarkey

Facts:


Logic, truths & opinions:


Trumplandia defenses: 

Attacks on science

Facts: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/climate/trump-alabama-sharpie-hurricane.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/climate/rod-schoonover-testimony.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/climate/epa-scientists.html


Logic, truths & opinions:


Trumplandia defenses: 

Wealth trickle up

Facts: 



Logic, truths & opinions:


Trumplandia defenses: 

Booming economy

Facts: 



Logic, truths & opinions:


Trumplandia defenses: 

Pollution & environment

Facts: A New York Times analysis, based on research from Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School and other sources, counts more than 90 environmental rules and regulations rolled back under Mr. Trump. Our list represents two types of policy changes: rules that were officially reversed and rollbacks still in progress. .... In some cases, the administration has failed to provide a strong legal argument in favor of proposed changes and agencies have skipped key steps in the rulemaking process, like notifying the public and asking for comment. In several cases, courts have ordered agencies to enforce their own rules. updated 12/21/19

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to significantly limit the scientific and medical research that the government can use to determine public health regulations, overriding protests from scientists and physicians who say the new rule would undermine the scientific underpinnings of government policymaking. .... “This means the E.P.A. can justify rolling back rules or failing to update rules based on the best information to protect public health and the environment, which means more dirty air and more premature deaths,” said Paul Billings, senior vice president for advocacy at the American Lung Association. .... When gathering data for their research, known as the Six Cities study, scientists signed confidentiality agreements to track the private medical and occupational histories of more than 22,000 people in six cities. They combined that personal data with home air-quality data to study the link between chronic exposure to air pollution and mortality. .... But the fossil fuel industry and some Republican lawmakers have long criticized the analysis and a similar study by the American Cancer Society, saying the underlying data sets of both were never made public, preventing independent analysis of the conclusions. 11/11/19


Logic, truths & opinions:


Trumplandia defenses: 

The Mueller Report - Obstruction of Justice

Facts: The key question is how Robert Mueller and his team assessed the three elements “common to most of the relevant statutes” relating to obstruction of justice: an obstructive act, a nexus between the act and an official proceeding, and corrupt intent. As Mueller describes, the special counsel’s office “gathered evidence … relevant to the elements of those crimes and analyzed them within an elements framework—while refraining from reaching ultimate conclusions about whether crimes were committed,” because of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)’s guidelines against the indictment of a sitting president. 4/21/19

Logic, truths & opinions:



Trumplandia defenses: 

Federal debt

Facts: x




Logic, truths & opinions:



Trumplandia defenses: 

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