S Jaishankar (Minister of External Affairs, India)
<< Senior politician whistleblowing that Trump never discussed mediation with Pakistan nor trade with India. >>
WHY IT MATTERS
It is not as if this is the first example of trump's pathological deceit. But it's a useful one. The absurdity of trump making this claim underlines the absurdity of trump himself - and all those who try to pretend he is some sort of genius saviour. And that's a good thing.
We have amongst us ...
1. people who know Trump lies constantly and find that unacceptable
2. people who still don't recognise that he's constantly lying - thus making his words meaningless
3. People who know he's lying, but believe that all politicians lie constantly (they do not)n- and don't recognise quite how serious the implications of a leader who is philosophically opposed to showing respect is
4. People who know that Trumps deceit is pathological - but they do not care because they are dealing with psychological damage that disables them from responding rationally to that fact.
Some of the people in each of categories 2-4 will ultimately recognise the problematic nature of Trump's character provided we continue to hold him accountable for his lies rather than allowing it to be normalised.
Jaishankar is of course - just one example of many foreign and domestic leaders disputing Trump's fake news -
Gavin Newsome - no call happened between the two leaders pertaining to the fabrication of riots in L.A.
Iran: no call happened
China: Xi denies a trade deal that Trump has tweeted about.
Etc.
In fact, it's extraordinary just how many foreign leaders have told us - if only we're prepared to listen - that Trump tells us of calls that simply are not happening! Certainly builds a very troubling picture. Are we OK with being lied to constantly? At what stage must we conclude that Trump's words have no meaning anymore?
