In a weird way, Donald Trump is the most honest American president in history

[ficuswhisperer]

To challenge the thesis of the OP: telling the truth is not the same as honesty.

[Brainspore]

@Yose

If he would just chase his family out, start talking and cutting deals with Democrats - things might get done.

That’s akin to saying “If only he was a completely different person with completely different values and a completely different temperament then he might be a great President.”

[anon20237047]

This crowd here is willfully obtuse. Neither MF nor The Intercept is saying Trump tells the truth about these things for altruistic reasons. He is only and ever concerned about himself. Still, it’s a fact that Trump’s ultimate response to the Khashoggi murder is 100% the ACTUAL truth about the US/Saudi relationship. If Obama had been in office, the ACTUAL result would have been 100% the same, the only difference being Obama would have mouthed some lip service “condemning” the murder and being “very concerned” about the new Saudi prince’s motives, all while continuing to sell arms and de facto supporting the Yemen war.

OF COURSE Trump is a catastrophe. But we should learn any lesson we can get from his presidency.

[LDoBe]

I think the issue a lot of us have is this:

Calling trump “honest” cheapens and reduces the idea of honesty so much as to make it meaningless.

Trump isn’t honest anymore than he’s altruistic or morally aware.

He’s occasionally truthful. But to call him honest breaks the concept of honesty.

[Wanderfound]

Very few here seemed to have clicked through to the Intercept article.

These are the first two paragraphs:

There’s no question that Donald Trump is the most flagrantly, compulsively, and voluminously dishonest president in American history — which is saying something, given the competition. He’s probably told 27 more lies during the time it took you to read this one sentence.

But as preposterous as it sounds, there’s a case to be made that he’s simultaneously America’s most honest president. Every now and then, in the midst of his unending eruption of prevarication, Trump will blurt out the truth about the United States in a way that no normal politician ever has.

[anon61221983]

But it’s so full of truthiness! /s

[Brainspore]

@Wanderfound

But as preposterous as it sounds, there’s a case to be made that he’s simultaneously America’s most honest president.

I understand the case that the author is making. I just don’t buy it.

[TooGoodToCheck_]

I think there’s some terminology weirdness in calling him “most honest”, even if we concede the arguments being made here

A ten pound bag of horse shit probably contains more nutrients than a single raisin, but no one would say that the shit is “more nutritious”

[cecilia_FXX]

Can I get an AMEN?

trump is a rabid liar. It’s just really obvious. He just doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a liar and scumbag. That’s not really “being honest”.
He’s just so used to lying he doesn’t know any other way to be.