HARLAN RICHARDS

January 27, 2017

The Best Liar Ever: Kellyanne Conway

Has anyone watched Kellyanne Conway do an interview with the news media? I keep track of what goes on in politics and make it a point to know what has occurred. Yesterday, I listened to Ms. Conway responding to questions by a PBS interviewer and I was impressed by her sincerity and ability to present "alternative facts" as if they were the truth. If I had not known what really happened, her seemingly honest and informative answers would have left me feeling warm and fuzzy about everything President Trump has done since taking office.

A few days ago, Trump made reference to Nazi Germany's propaganda apparatus when he claimed that the leaked fake Russian report detailing his alleged pecadillos was a plot by his adversaries to discredit (Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels prove that if you repeat a lie long enough and loudly enough, eventually people will come to believe it is the truth. Ms. Conway's ability to do this puts Goebbels to shame). The absurdity of this claim astounds me. Trump is a master manipulator and Ms. Conway is his most powerful tool. He beats the drum of populism to keep his core supporters energized with engaging in the most radical right wing policies imaginable. His plan to cut taxes for the wealthy as a means of brining prosperity back to the U.S. has already been shown not to work. All it does is shift more of our nation's wealth into the hands of fewer people. The top eight wealthiest people (all white men) in the world together have as much money as the bottom half of the world's population (3.5 billion people).

Trump's plans to impose tariffs on Mexican goods to pay for a wall on the border will place the burden direction on to the poor and middle class in the U.S. They will be paying higher prices for consumer goods and a greater portion of their income which will contribute to the wealthy getting wealthier. His claim that the wall will help stem the flow of drugs is ridiculous. The majority of drugs coming in from Mexico are concealed in shipments of legal goods shipped to the U.S. by truck and railroads.

But getting back to my original point, Ms. Conway is adept at spinning the ugly realities of a Trump Presidency into a fairyland dream come true. I admire her for her ability; at the same time I detest her for her willingness to use her skills at deception to further Trump's hidden agenda.