The Point: Donald Trump just accidentally told the truth about his disinformation strategy

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July 5, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski

Donald Trump just accidentally told the truth about his disinformation strategy

If you listen to him long enough -- no easy chore -- Donald Trump will tell you all his secrets.

Witness this line from his July 3 speech in Sarasota, Florida:

"If you say it enough and keep saying it, they'll start to believe you."

Trump was talking about alleged disinformation directed at him and other Republicans. But WOW does that quote explain everything you need to know about his approach to the presidency and life.

(Sidebar: One can only hope that Trump was unaware that his quote was a near-replication of this infamous line from Nazi Joseph Goebbels: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.")

Trump has spent a lifetime -- in business and politics -- repeating exaggerations, half-truths and outright lies to make himself look good.

The books he wrote prior to politics are littered with quotes extolling the virtues of making up a reality and then repeating it until people start to believe it.

"I play to people's fantasies," he wrote in "The Art of the Deal." "People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole."

"If you admit defeat, then you will be defeated," Trump wrote in "Think Big."

Once he came into the presidency, Trump, unsurprisingly, kept it up.

"Don't believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news," Trump told a VFW group in 2018. "What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."

Unfortunately, Trump's blueprint works.

Take the 2020 election. Despite zero evidence of any sort of widespread election fraud, a majority (53%) of Republicans said in a Reuters/Ipsos national poll in late May that President Joe Biden's victory was "the result of illegal voting or election rigging." More than 6 in 10 Republicans (61%) agreed with the statement that the election "was stolen from Donald Trump."

Siloed in news bubbles and social groups that sync up entirely with their own views and "facts," a large chunk of Republican voters have been convinced that the election was somehow stolen -- largely because, well, Trump told them it was.

To take advantage of trust people put in you -- as well as their narrow news diet -- is, of course, deeply irresponsible. And the opposite of what it means to be a leader.

But for Trump, "winning" is the only goal -- and the single measure by which he wants to be judged. Truth (and its consequences) be damned.

The Point: Trump's willingness to mislead people solely for his own purposes may well be the most dangerous attribute of a man with lots and lots of them.

-- Chris

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Tell all of your TikTok buddies to get vaccinated."

-- Dr. Anthony Fauci during a recent a series of conversations with TikTok personalities about the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine, particularly among young people. Vaccine coverage among young adults has been lower and is increasing more slowly than in other age groups in the United States, and the intent to be vaccinated is lower among younger adults, according to CDC studies.

MONDAY'S MUST-SEE TWEETS

1. Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush had a take on July 4

2. USA! USA!

3. This take on masks is 💯

4. Elon joins the "Free Britney" movement

5. How I celebrated the 4th

6. If anyone wants to buy me a present ...

7. Christian Yelich is a good dude

GOOD READS

The Atlantic's Tim Alberta has an important piece on what happened when an investigation into election fraud in Michigan turned up exactly nothing.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter just celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. WaPo's Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan, who just happen to be married to each other, wrote a stirring profile of the enduring love of the Carters.

This "critical race theory" explainer by the Texas Tribune should be required reading for just about everyone.

Masks -- wearing them and not -- seems to now say so much. This Times piece suggests it's all about social class.

Monty Williams doesn't get enough credit for the job he has done coaching the Phoenix Suns this year. WaPo's Michael Lee traces Williams' roots back to his mentor in the DMV.

A deep dive by The New York Times into a sports media star's Zoom hot mic moment.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Big Red Machine (The National's Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon) are on the verge of putting out their second album. In the meantime, we have "Renegade" -- featuring an up-and-coming artist named Taylor Swift.

A KEYSTONE SENATE FLIP?

All eyes remain on Pennsylvania in our latest installment of the 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2022.

More on why the Keystone State will be such a big deal come next year, from CNN's Simone Pathe:

"Pennsylvania -- where GOP Sen. Pat Toomey is not running for another term -- remains the seat most likely to flip, in large part, because it's an open seat in a state that Biden carried last fall. And while this race may come down to whatever the national environment looks like next year, Democrats regard it as their top pick-up opportunity -- even if they don't yet know who their candidate is going to be."

Read on for the nine other states rounding out the top 10.

ONE BIG FOURTH

Defending world champion Joey Chestnut broke his own world record Sunday, devouring 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes during Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4. God bless America!

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