He lied. He lied from jump. He lied every time he answered a question, and he answered questions far less often than he lied, which was always. He lied by commission—about how every legal scholar back to Hammurabi thought reproductive freedom should be left to "the states," about how Democratic politicians support the murder of newborns, about how he earned his status as a convicted felon, about his well-adjudicated tryst with Stormy Daniels, and about a hundred other things, large and small. ("I never slept with a porn star," should be immortal and, beyond its inherent hilarity, it's a lie.) And he lied by omission, mostly by completely ignoring the questions he was asked and shouting about his own greatness. And yes, the president had a bad night and a terrible start. My biggest problem with his performance is that he seemed unable to push back against the lies, and the general threat to the republic that they represent. |
