> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.europeans.today/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Trump isn’t lying − he’s doing something worse - URL: https://www.europeans.today/2026/04/18/trump-isnt-lying-hes-doing-something-worse/ - Published: 2026-04-18T00:10:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-04-18T00:40:47.000Z - Description: A philosopher argues that Donald Trump’s falsehoods are not lies intended to deceive but expressions of contempt, which are now alienating his base as they feel the effects. - Author: Dr Robert B. Talisse - Tags: Donald Trump, Lying in Politics, Analysis, Trump 2.0, Political Philosophy, Voter Regret, Political Rhetoric, Disinformation, US Politics, Fact-Check, Populism, United States, Trumpism **What you need to know** 🔹 Trump’s supporters previously admired his use of untruthfulness during political campaigns. 🔹 Mounting regret now appears amongst his base regarding economic and war policies. 🔹 Lying requires an intent to deceive which may be absent here. 🔹 Falsehoods are interpreted as expressions of contempt towards detractors and supporters. F or much of his political career, dishonesty has [been without cost](https://sites.nd.edu/truth-and-politics/donald-trump-voters-we-like-the-presidents-lies/?ref=europeans.today) for Donald Trump. He entered into national politics with the [birther](https://www.politico.com/story/2011/04/birtherism-where-it-all-began-053563?ref=europeans.today) lie, claiming that Barack Obama was not born in the U.S., and that [did not prevent](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/gop-nominates-trump-now-standard-bearer-party?ref=europeans.today) Trump from winning the 2016 GOP nomination. His persistent false statements about [crowd sizes](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38707722?ref=europeans.today), [electoral](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-says-people-will-soon-be-prosecuted-for-2020-election-outcome?ref=europeans.today) [outcomes](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/fact-check-was-donald-trump-elected-in-a-landslide-with-a-broad-national-mandate/?ref=europeans.today) and the [birthplace](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/03/04/donald-trump-father-germany/88978261007/?ref=europeans.today) of his father barely garner press coverage today. What’s more, the admission that Trump lies seems to have had little impact. On the campaign trail during the 2024 presidential race, vice-presidential candidate [JD Vance acknowledged](https://www.ms.now/opinion/msnbc-opinion/jd-vance-make-up-pet-eating-story-haitian-rcna171326?ref=europeans.today) that Trump’s story that Haitian immigrants were [eating pets in Ohio](https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/dec/17/theyre-eating-the-pets-trump-vance-earn-politifact/?ref=europeans.today#:%7E:text=How%20an%20online%20rumor%20lands,to%20a%20presidential%20debate%20stage) had been “created.” That confession had no discernible effect on Trump’s popularity. In fact, some measures indicate that Trump’s supporters [admire his untruthfulness](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/trump-voters-like-lying-deception-feature/?ref=europeans.today). More recently, however, things have changed. Data now indicates mounting [regret](https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/04/politics/voter-regret-trump-2024?ref=europeans.today) and [disappointment](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/gen-z-trump-red-wave/686006/?ref=europeans.today) among his base. The administration’s failure to sustain convincing messaging about the [Iran war](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-claims-the-us-is-totally-independent-of-the-middle-east-he-s-overlooking-how-global-energy-markets-work/ar-AA200zRS?ref=europeans.today), the [Epstein files](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/11/politics/epstein-files-trump-claims-contradictions-analysis?ref=europeans.today), the [tariffs](https://itep.org/president-trump-says-his-tariffs-arent-paid-by-americans-corporations-are-indicating-the-opposite/?ref=europeans.today) and [inflation](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fact-check-trump-interview-nbc-news-rcna257084?ref=europeans.today) have left some supporters feeling [duped](https://navigatorresearch.org/focus-group-report-trump-regrets-theyve-had-a-few/?ref=europeans.today) and [abandoned](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-easter-message-iran-b2952167.html?ref=europeans.today) by Trump. The president’s recent [approval numbers](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5775061-trump-approval-rating-falls/?ref=europeans.today) are [registering](https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker?ref=europeans.today) this [shift](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-approval-rating-record-low-conservative-poll-11780700?ref=europeans.today). This might suggest that fact-checking efforts are paying off. But, as a philosopher who studies the cognitive and emotional aspects of citizenship, I think this is incorrect. There is a better explanation for why, at this point, Trump’s followers are reacting negatively to his assertions. ##### When falsehoods aren’t lies Although fact-checking can be successful in establishing the facts among people who have not already [made up their minds](https://eufactcheck.eu/blogpost/fact-checking-can-expose-misinformation-but-it-rarely-changes-the-minds-of-those-already-convinced/?ref=europeans.today), it is [generally ineffective](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inconvenient-facts/201905/fact-checking-is-ineffective-where-it-counts?ref=europeans.today) among true believers. Once someone has formed an opinion, debunking their belief can [backfire](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-010-9112-2?ref=europeans.today), driving them to [commit even more strongly](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12875456/?ref=europeans.today) to their mistake. To explain the emerging shift among Trump’s base requires looking elsewhere. Specifically, I think it requires abandoning the idea that Trump’s more outlandishly false statements are lies at all. I realize that this may sound odd. To explain, let’s begin by noting that it is surprisingly difficult to give an adequate [definition of lying](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41340787?ref=europeans.today). Intuitive characterizations – “A lie is something that isn’t true” – fall short. For example, lying isn’t merely uttering a falsehood. Honest mistakes and statements made from lapses of memory are not lies. You could say instead that lying is deliberately asserting what one knows to be false. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2026/04/0000678.jpg) President Trump in an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, 14-Apr-2026\. | FLICKR/[THE WHITE HOUSE](https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/55213915950/?ref=europeans.today) But that won’t work, either. President Bill Clinton lied when he claimed that “there is not a sexual relationship,” which, at the moment he said it, was true. At the very least, the definition of lying must include speaking with the aim of causing one’s audience to adopt a falsehood. But that would make stage actors liars. We should say instead that lying is a matter of speaking with the intent to deceive. Though difficulties remain, that’s a workable definition. ##### Betrayal by contempt Given the ease with which many of Trump’s false statements are debunked, I think it’s unlikely that he aims to deceive anyone. No one really believes that Trump has [stopped eight wars](https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/what-8-eight-wars-did-trump-end-fact-checked-pxg9h6kxx?ref=europeans.today), [defeated inflation](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/21/trump-inflation-defeated.html?ref=europeans.today), brought gasoline prices [below US$2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2026/02/25/trump-touts-low-gas-prices-during-state-of-the-union--but-prices-near-3/?ref=europeans.today), cut a deal with the [CEO of *Sharpie*](https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-sharpie-pen-iran-war-153a483dc7fcb6c110c69a47481287ae?ref=europeans.today) or has [100% approval](https://www.newsbreak.com/combat-rated-361333999/4550602570013-trump-says-he-has-great-support-for-deploying-troops-to-iran-cnn-came-out-with-a-poll-today-that-i-m-at-100-they-said-they-have-never-seen-a-poll-like-that?ref=europeans.today) for his military incursion in Iran – all things he has said. As he is not attempting to deceive, Trump isn’t lying when he makes such claims. Rather, he is doing something else entirely, something arguably more pernicious. From my perspective as a political philosopher, these and other similar claims indicate he is speaking falsely as a way of demeaning or taunting his detractors. By resolutely asserting unbelievable falsehoods, Trump is expressing contempt. He is deriding the enterprise of journalism, in effect forcing reporters to write stories about his incredible statements, thereby indirectly controlling the news cycle. It seems to me that his purpose is not to convince anyone, but rather to declare to the press, and perhaps also to his opposition, “You cannot stop me.” For a political movement rooted in the idea that U.S. politics is a [swamp in need of draining](https://www.c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/user-clip-drain-the-swamp/4839636?ref=europeans.today), Trump’s defiant style has been successful. But here’s the catch. It appears that Trump’s supporters are now beginning to feel that they, too, are on the receiving end of his contempt. His recent claims that [grocery](https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/how-prices-have-changed-in-trumps-first-year?ref=europeans.today) prices are [falling](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/trump-beef-egg-chicken-food-prices.html?ref=europeans.today), his [tariffs](https://www.salon.com/2026/04/05/a-year-later-trump-doubles-down-on-tariffs/?ref=europeans.today) are working, the [economy is roaring](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trumps-roaring-economy-meets-a-rough-start-to-2026-with-job-losses-rising-gas-prices-and-uncertainty?ref=europeans.today) and the operation in Iran is a “little excursion” that has already been [successful](https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trumps-claims-of-victory-clash-with-iran-wars-gritty-reality-8579bd28?gaa%5Fat=eafs&gaa%5Fn=AWEtsqdDhWhDLWWaD0OHHZzv7zePRtS%5FD4nuzyuHTfp3GX0zegTf8eUkMHMF&gaa%5Fts=69d2acae&gaa%5Fsig=3iPh1FyB3pQxUdHJmbHTWPpMRm4XNzCxwFImv1Xt0lrVqenwEPqtJYI5y3sN5wKgqcfTrSFPxYFzuf7cYcCEow%3D%3D&ref=europeans.today) are not only obvious falsehoods. In asserting them, Trump belittles those who must bear the effects of a struggling economy and an ill-conceived war. From this perspective, the shift among his base is not due to their realization that Trump lies. It’s that he has betrayed them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2021/09/end-flat-1.png) ### **GOING FURTHER** - ###### [Trump’s Conviction and the Future of American Politics](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/us/politics/trump-conviction-reaction.html?ref=europeans.today) | THE NEW YORK TIMES - ###### [The evolution of Donald Trump's rhetoric](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68930756?ref=europeans.today) | BBC NEWS - ###### [How Trump's legal battles shape his political narrative](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/15/trump-hush-money-trial-analysis?ref=europeans.today) | THE GUARDIAN - ###### [The meaning of Donald Trump](https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/01/18/the-meaning-of-donald-trump?ref=europeans.today) | THE ECONOMIST - ###### [Voter loyalty in the face of controversy](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-supporters-remain-loyal-despite-legal-woes-2024-03-12/?ref=europeans.today) | REUTERS - ###### [The psychology of the Trump supporter](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/trump-base-loyalty/677451/?ref=europeans.today) | THE ATLANTIC - ###### [Truth and consequence in modern populism](https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-trump-supporters-don-t-care-about-the-truth?ref=europeans.today) | THE NEW YORKER --- #### **Sources:** ###### ▪ This piece was originally published in [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/as-a-philosopher-im-convinced-that-trump-isnt-lying-hes-doing-something-worse-279093?ref=europeans.today) and re-published in Europeans TODAY on 18 April 2026\. | The author writes in a personal capacity. ###### ▪ **Cover:** Flickr/[The White House](https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/55212612652/?ref=europeans.today). 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