British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is credited with famously saying that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.
He was criticizing the use of statistics to support weak arguments — the seeming mathematical precision implying proof when there wasn’t.
In today’s British and American politics of Brexit and Donald Trump, the legendary Conservative prime minister might well have substituted reality TV for statistics.
Reality TV creates programs intended to seem real even if they aren’t. Trump, as one of the best-known stars of the genre, has brought his mastery of it to politics.
Trump’s statements seem real even when they aren’t. All politicians stretch the truth, and some lie, but few do so in such epic proportions as the star of “Celebrity Apprentice.” Consider this sampling of his campaign statements over the past year and a half:
- President Obama wasn’t born in America
- Cable TV showed American Muslims dancing in the streets of New Jersey after 9/11
- Vaccines cause autism
- Ted Cruz’ father was seen with Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of John F. Kennedy
- The U.S. military is a disaster
- Climate change is a Chinese hoax to undermine the U.S. economy
- America is in the midst of a crime wave
These pronouncements and many others from Trump have been debunked time and time again. The media is exhausted with fact checking him. But just to be safe, let’s examine these seven.
The first was among the more outlandish claims. Obama was in fact born in Hawaii in 1961, but Trump was a leading promoter of the “birther” movement from 2011 until Friday. That’s when he called a major press event to say “President Barack Obama was born in the United States. Period.” But he then claimed (erroneously) that Hillary Clinton started the controversy.
As for the other six claims, there is no video showing American Muslims dancing in the streets after 9/11, the British study connecting vaccines to autism was an elaborate fraud, Ted Cruz’ father was not seen with Lee Harvey Oswald, the U.S. military budget is equal to the next 14 largest countries combined, climate change is real though the causes are disputed, and violent crime has been trending down for two decades.
Though undeniably false, these statements seem true the way Trump presents them. Many Americans would like to believe them anyway. They fit the narrative of a declining country led astray by out-of-touch elites.
Trump supporters will quickly say that his opponent is a liar, citing Clinton’s testimony about Benghazi, the investigation over her private email server, and various flip-flops on issues. Let’s accept that criticism. But possibly lying about one’s actions in very specific instances is far different than making bold statements suggesting an alternate reality.
Creating an alternative reality in which NAFTA is bad for America, coal is the solution to energy problems, Mexican immigrants are overrunning our Southern border, the economy is rigged and NATO is a burden has been fundamental to Trump’s political success. Like a reality TV show, he paints a believable picture for many Americans, even if it isn’t true.
This is great political reality TV. That danger arises when the show ends and the hard work of governing begins. That’s when a President needs to confront hard truths about the world.
If Trump is elected President in November, let’s hope he embraces reality — and not the TV kind.
Chris Jennewein is editor and publisher of Times of San Diego.
