It is safe to say that Donald Trump's entire political career has been based on a bed of lies: from his questioning Barack Obama's birth certificate to his absurd brags ("I know more about Isis than the generals!"), Trump has never been a truth teller. Instead he insists his version of reality is the truth, no matter how absurd that may be.
The worst lie that Trump told during the campaign is the one that we've all heard so many times, and that he gave in the opening declaration of candidacy speech: "When Mexico sends their people over, their not sending people like you or you, they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people." Despite his almost child like attempt to walk back the racism of the statement with his last few words, his meaning was clear: many, perhaps even most, Mexican immigrants are criminals. It was this openly racist blast of hate, which will go down as easily one of the most divisive and frightening statements in American political history, and which was swiftly followed by his desire to build a wall on the border, that Mexico would pay for, and that, sadly, drove millions of white voters into his corner and ultimately propelled him to the White House.
The fact his statements about Mexican immigrants is a lie is easily proven: study after study has shown that immigrants (both documented and undocumented) are less likely to be criminals than people born in this country are. Most immigrants come here looking for a better life for themselves and their families; they usually work hard, play by the rules and benefit the country enormously. Are some of them criminals? Of course, but when you're talking about a group of millions of people, it's inevitable that some of them will be criminals; again, it bears repeating, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born here.
If Trump's lie was so easily disproven, why was it allowed to fester? Well, over the years, right wing media has programmed a segment of population to believe what they say over actual facts, or to put it another way, they want to hear what they believe is true, not what actually is true. And hatred of non white immigrants is an easy truth for them. There's a sad bit of irony in that many of the white Americans hating recent immigrants are themselves descended from Italian and Irish transplants who faced the same kind of hatred and xenophobia on their arrival. Sadly, the argument over who the "real Americans" are is still with us.
Another lie that Trump told has taken a longer time to unravel, but it seems to be reaching it's breaking point: during the campaign he stormed through middle America declaring that he would bring back manufacturing jobs to rural areas around the country. With many towns feeling decimated from factory and mine shut downs, this seemed like a dream come true, even if his vague promises of bringing back jobs had no specific plans. And while the economy has done well overall, his pledge to bring back manufacturing jobs has been shown to be another lie. A recent headline showing that the General Motors auto company is closing down factories in the US, putting thousands of Americans out of work, reveals in small part, a large truth: manufacturing jobs have been slowly disappearing in this country for decades, and no president can ever bring them back.
Once upon a time, you could graduate from high school in America and go to work in a factory or mine and make a solid, middle class living, but those days are gone. Either those jobs have been replaced by lower paid workers in other countries, or by machines. And since all corporations treasure their profitability, there's really no way to force them to hire more highly paid workers or get rid of modern machinery.
Yes, America is facing a transition job wise that is obviously difficult for small towns built around factories and mines. And while there are no easy solutions, job retraining, making it easier (and cheaper!) to get a college degree, and perhaps the idea of a living wage to cushion the blow of unemployment are things to be considered. But one thing is sure: it's foolish to bank this country's future on manufacturing jobs, as foolish as horse and buggy owners defying auto companies.
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