It’s Time For The Media to Start Calling Donald Trump What He Is: A F*cking Liar

By Rachel DickerApr 5th, 2018, 5:37 pm
 

You may have noticed that the media is reluctant to call President Donald Trump a fucking liar. Let’s evaluate the myriad of possible reasons for this.

First, it may be considered a mite unprofessional to call the President of the United States a fucking liar. Agreed.

Second, it is not always the wont of the media to accuse someone of lying, even if they’re clearly lying, in such a direct way. As opposed to “fucking liar,” journalists prefer to use more hedgy words like “alleged,” “potentially,” “wrong” even “untrue” so as to avoid accusations of bias and the censure of more lawyers than is absolutely necessary.

Third, calling someone a fucking liar feels like going out on a limb, because it often is: A lot of the time not all the facts are available, or it feels an insult, i.e. “a shithole country,” which (alas) can be disproven on several counts.

But here’s the thing, media brethren and sister-thren: “Fucking liar” is not a slur or an opinion. It’s a fact, and it is a goddamn fact that is true of Donald Trump.

The most recent example of Donald Trump lying to a group of people came when he reiterated the idea that “in many places, like California, the same person votes many times… millions and millions of people,” at a speech in West Virginia.

This is a fucking lie. There is not just zero evidence to support this claim, it just isn’t true. And Donald Trump knows it.

CNN’s Brian Stelter tweeted politely that Trump is “spreading disinformation”:

Saying someone is “spreading disinformation” technically does mean the same as saying, “He’s fucking lying,” but the latter actually displays the outrage we all ought to feel over the fact that our president is consistently, unabashedly, and flagrantly fucking lying to the entire country.

And he’s not even fucking lying elegantly: So many of his fucking lies are easily disprovable, or he contradicts them later. At this point, perhaps it’s responsible journalism to put a big fat red alert before each segment showing a moment where he fucking lied and say, “The president fucking lied again, everyone. Don’t listen to this fucking liar. Here’s the truth instead.”

I am reminded of a time I was in a news meeting with a team that was trying to reckon with how to write about incoming White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. The team was debating whether to call him a “white nationalist” or “someone who is known to espouse white nationalist views” or “someone who has shown support for the white nationalist movement.” I couldn’t help but think: You know what feels like a good moral judgment in this case? Calling the guy a Known Racist Douchebag, but that, you could argue, was more my opinion than straight fact.

So it is with Fucking Liar Donald Trump. Isn’t it time we all cut the crap and the hemming and the hawing and tell it like it is? That is ostensibly our job. No need to use the expletive, though it certainly helps accentuate the point, but at least don’t avoid the word like it’s a curse. It’s a new era; journalists are being maligned by the very man who should protect and defend their right to report the truth. This calls for a stronger truth, a less veiled truth – a truth that’s as in-your-face as the lies.

What does that look like? Say it with me, now: “President Donald Trump is a liar.”

Now, watch carefully as this Liar with a capital “L” says he knows absolutely nothing about a certain $130,000 payment…

[image via screengrab]

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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