Sarah Sanders Leaves As 2nd Biggest Liar In U.S.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Americans at the end of last year that she would be leaving her post as the Trump administration's press secretary. Now, six months later, she is actually leaving that post -- although she hasn't held a press conference in the last three months.

When asked how she would like to be remembered, she said as "transparent and honest". That has to be a joke. The only person that has lied more to the American people in the last couple of years is Donald Trump. Sanders has told outrageous lie after outrageous lie in trying to defend her dishonest boss. And she even admitted to investigators working for Robert Mueller that she made up statements about the FBI. And she did it all with a straight face, acting as though she was telling the truth.

I would say her leaving was a good thing for the American people, but it is unlikely to make much difference. Trump will undoubtably replace her with another consummate liar.

White House Is Lying About Terrorists Caught At Border

(This caricature of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is by DonkeyHotey.)

The government shutdown has entered its third week. It is because Donald Trump refuses to accept any budget that does not include at least $5 billion to start building a wall between the United States and Mexico.

Most Americans don't want the wall built -- especially because it will be paid for by American taxpayers (and not by Mexico, as Trump had repeatedly promised). This is compounded by most Americans blame Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown, which they don't think is necessary.

What is the response of the Trump administration? They have resorted to their favorite tactic -- lying. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in an obvious effort to try to scare the public into agreeing with Trump, claims that about 4,000 terrorists have been caught at the Southern border. The problem with that is that it is simply not true. In fact, there is no evidence that even a single terrorist has been arrested trying to enter this country by crossing the border with Mexico.

Here is how Julia Ainsley at NBC News describes the reality:

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday that Customs and Border Protection picked up nearly 4,000 known or suspected terrorists last year "that came across our southern border."

But in fact, the figure she seems to be citing is based on 2017 data, not 2018, and refers to stops made by Department of Homeland Security across the globe, mainly at airports.

In fiscal 2017, the latest year for which data is available, according to agency data and the White House's own briefing sheet, the Department of Homeland Security prevented nearly 4,000 known or suspected terrorists from "traveling to or entering the United States."

According to Justice Department public records and two former counterterrorism officials, no immigrant has been arrested at the southwest border on terrorism charges in recent years.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Sanders' statement.

Ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting Friday afternoon with Congressional leaders to negotiate the end of the government shutdown, the White House issued briefing materials that stated "3,775 known or suspected terrorists [were] prevented from traveling or entering the U.S. by DHS" in fiscal year 2017. Nowhere did the briefing materials state the known or suspected terrorists were stopped at the southern border.

Ned Price, who served on President Barack Obama's National Security Council, said many of those 3,775 were stopped simply because their name matches that of someone on a terrorist watch list, which have grown in recent years, and not because they pose a threat.

The Three Biggest Liars In The United States

 (These caricatures of Donald Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Rudy Giuliani are by the inimitable DonkeyHotey.)

There is no doubt who the king of all liars  is in this country. Without a doubt, it's Donald Trump. Trump has told more than 3,100 lies in only about 500 days in office.

The truth means nothing to Trump. He just says whatever he thinks will resonate with his base -- regardless of whether it's just a slight departure from reality or whether it's miles away from the truth. He doesn't care. He lies incessantly and about everything.

But while Trump is the king of all liars, the question remains -- who is the second biggest liar in the country. My nominees are Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who lies to reporters (and the nation) several times a week in her official capacity as White House press spokesperson, and Rudy Giuliani, Trump's attack lawyer, who tells outrageous lies daily on any TV program that will give him a pulpit. Neither has any regard for the truth, and will tell any kind of lie to keep their boss happy.

I think both have seriously damaged their reputations. By endlessly exhibiting their dishonest buffoonery to the nation, they have shown they cannot be trusted. After Trump is gone, I don't think either of them could be hired by any reputable person or organization for any kind of job.

NOTE -- Honorable mention as outrageous liars also go out to Kellyanne Conway and Devin Nunes, both of whom have shown a willingness to lie for Trump at the drop of a hat.

A Plurality Of Americans Believe Sarah Sanders Is A Liar

After some of Sarah Sanders statements to the press have been exposed as lies, a lot of media talk has been about whether she has any credibility left as Trump's press secretary. It's a legitimate question, since I believe she regularly lies in her press conferences.

But what does the American public think? It turns out that a substantial 41% of Americans believe Sanders has lied to them (and 46% of registered voters), while only 22% say she has not lied. That's a negative gap of 19 points. The poll then asked those who believe she has lied whether she lies more than past press secretaries, or about the same or less. A whopping 64% said she lies more.

There's no doubt that her credibility is shot. Should she resign? That's what some are saying. I would disagree. At least with Sanders we know we are getting a pack of lies. If she resigned, Trump would just install a new liar in her place, and it would take a while for many to realize that.

Sanders has no credibility, but neither does the administration she represents.

The charts are from a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between May 6th and 8th of a random national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,232 registered voters), and both groups have a margin of error of 3 points.

Why Sean Spicer Was Pushed Out Of The White House

(Photo of Sean Spicer at a White House press conference is from gq.com.)

The official story is that former Press Secretary and acting White House Communications Director Sean Spicer resigned. That may be technically true, but it seems obvious to me that he was pushed out of his position at the White House. And he was pushed out by the liar-in-chief himself -- Donald Trump.

Although both are disingenuous, there is a difference between political spin and an obvious lie. Spicer, like most in Washington (of both parties) was rather good at political spin (the art of emphasizing the positives in something while ignoring the negatives). But Spicer was not good at defending obvious and outrageous lies -- and Trump has told a ton of them (expecting his aides to vigorously defend them).

When trying to defend an obvious Trump lie, Spicer often looked like a deer in the headlights of a Big Rig barreling down on him -- and that was obvious to both the general public and Donald Trump. And to his credit, Spicer never got any better at defending those obvious lies.

Trump was not happy, and the search began for someone who could better defend the many lies he told. They tried Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and she proved to be adept at it. She defended the Trump lies with gusto and with a straight face -- and watching her, one could think she believed those lies to the very depths of her being.

The job of Press Secretary became a two-pronged thing. Spicer still did some conferences -- but only the audio-only ones (where that "deer in the headlights" look couldn't be seen by the public). When the cameras were allowed, Sanders took over.

This was insulting, but Spicer was still the acting Communications Director. So he continued working at the White House. Then Trump hired a Wall Street buddy for that job -- Anthony Scaramucci. Scaramucci is a true believer, and in his first bout with the press showed he was both a stout defender of Trump lies, and an adept liar in his own right.

That left Spicer out in the cold. He was no longer the acting Communications Director, and although he still held the title of Press Secretary, in actuality that was now the job of Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Spicer was a third wheel, with no real job left. What little dignity he had left demanded that he submit his resignation -- and that was just what Trump wanted.

Trump has no regard at all for truth, and only a passing interest in competence. What he demands of an employee is loyalty -- and his version of loyalty means to vigorously and wholeheartedly defend whatever outrageous thing comes out of his mouth (no matter how untrue it may be). Sanders and Scaramucci are good at that -- Spicer was not. And that's why he was pushed out of his job at the White House.