John Oliver nailed it in 2016 [quoting self]:
[John Oliver shows a picture of a cute lemur clutching a banana] “Donald Trump’s relationship with the truth is like this lemur’s relationship with quantum string theory: ‘Who cares? I’ve got my banana.’”
I believe that some people noticed in school that they didn’t understand the lessons but could get decent marks anyway by regurgitating the correct answers. For them, the praise was more fun than learning. Since then, “truth” hasn’t mattered much because they get rewarded for saying what people wanted to hear, and this fires off a dopamine hit. “Truth” isn’t even a question that comes up.
People like Trump have a gift for saying what people want to hear. Not what your or I particularly want to hear, but those people at the rallies looked pretty happy. I used to wonder how he could lie so easily, but now I believe that he and his circle never wonder about this “truth” thing.
