It’s time to Break It Down!

Monday was Donald Trump’s 500^th day in office. The statement below, in his own words, tells the story of how he viewed that milestone:

“This is my 500th Day in Office and we have accomplished a lot – many believe more than any President in his first 500 days. Massive Tax & Regulation Cuts, Military & Vets, Lower Crime & Illegal Immigration, Stronger Borders, Judgeships, Best Economy & Jobs EVER, and much more…”

6:35 AM – 4 Jun 2018

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Let’s review a few key metrics.

• Presidential tweets – 3,496
• Meetings with world leaders – 94
• Calls with world leaders/heads of state – 250
• Direct interactions with Vladimir Putin – 11
• Unemployment rate – 3.8%
• Bills signed into law – 180
• Flights on Air Force One – 192
• Trips to Florida (Most frequent destination) – 19
• Trips to golf clubs – 102 excursion
• Days at Trump-branded properties – 159
• Senior officials who no longer serve in the administration – 44
• Foreign countries visited – 14
• Nights at the White House – 364
• Presidential pardons – 5

All of those are interesting numbers, to be sure. For the most part they are reflective of issues Trump would delight in owning, and discussing. Though there are some that casual observers might not view as positive, but that Trump and his partisans likely do; senior officials who no longer serve in the administration, and trips to golf clubs/his properties. Outside analysts might view the staff change as a marker for instability.

Team Trump, however, most likely sees the incidences of turnover as necessary churn for Trump to get the people he really wants in those positions. Naturally, that argument disregards the fact that he picked the people whom he subsequently fired, people whom ran off or people whom just couldn’t take it anymore. The golf outings and visits to his properties denote an inconsistency with claims he made while campaigning for the job. His supporters and defenders argue he’s “taking a few much needed and well-earned breaks. Don’t laugh; that’s really what they say.

Contrast those metrics with this one:

• False or misleading claims – 3,251

According to the Washington Post (The Fact Checker’s database, which tacks, analyzes, and categorizes every suspect statement uttered by the president), in his first 497 days in office, Mr. Trump made 3,251 false or misleading claims. That’s an average of more than 6.5 claims per day. When the WP started tracking this data, for the president’s first 100 days, he averaged 4.9 such claims per day. As Trump’s tenure has increased, the frequency of claims, some might call it his LQ, or Lying Quotient continues to mount. I suppose he deserves credit for gaining proficiency in his craft, as his has grown in experience.

This is a story about which I’ve written before. I won’t deign to get into the weeds (at least not today) about the individual details of these claims. The points, which I find totally off-putting, are that he so consistently flouts the facts, by most objective standards, and that his supporters, facts notwithstanding, remain in total denial, period, full stop. That’s it in a nutshell…”Trump By The Numbers: The Lies, False Statements, and Misrepresentations Though!”

I’m done; holla back!

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Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/500-days-trump-presidency-numbers/story?id=55635385

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/06/01/president-trump-has-made-3251-false-or-misleading-claims-in-497-days/?utm_term=.ae1ace9e3f75

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims/?noredirect=on&tid=a_inl&utm_term=.365aa8a6d311

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/04/trump-500-days-president-american-greatness

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/fact-check-trump-500-days-.html

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/uselection/2016/11/04/donald-trump-the-unauthorized-database-of-false-things.html

https://video.foxnews.com/v/5792899072001/?#sp=show-clips

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-500-days-american-greatness/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyDS2v1w2Gs

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/20-of-donald-trump’s-worst-lies/ss-AArYXsU