Understanding the lying by Donald Trump and why the liars now dropped him

US President Trump must have seen for decades, all the lying politicians were doing and thought: I can do that much better. And he was right. As long as he could keep pretending that he was rich and successful, he didn’t care if he was called a liar or even seemed a liar. Even while most grownups don’t believe in Santa anymore, they still like the guy.

When he promised to take down the swamp in Washington, few of the common folks knew that he was the swamp. Swamp meant: corrupt politicians who are only interested in the egos and bank accounts of themselves and the super-rich. The difference was that Trump didn’t need to be bought — he was already part of the class that owns the US.

When he jokingly said that rich Jews were not going to support him because he doesn’t need their money, he wasn’t joking. He was trying to explain that he doesn’t need to be bought — he’s already “in.”

The manager and mafia boss he was didn’t know anything. He wasn’t a Republican nor a Democrat. He wasn’t religious and not even an Atheist. He has no loyalty “issue” — only a commitment to himself and “his” people.

He didn’t know politics, he bragged. (You sent your son to a psychiatrist for bed-wetting — did it help? Sure! He’s not ashamed of it anymore.) No idea about defense or economics. (The moneys he pushed around he got from his father and he never made a penny himself. Losing money and going bankrupt is much more profitable.) No clue about science and no clue about social relationships. (He’s not a White supremacist because he couldn’t care less about any philosophy about certain people. His coarse prejudices were enough to work with.) He is too smart and easily bored to read or listen (beyond entertainment — TV). He’d wing it. And he did.

He’s like the storyteller. You know it’s made up but you still listen. Like the magician. You know he fools you but how? Professional politicians would try to hide they’re lying — Trump doesn’t care. It’s the art of the deal.

Where did he go wrong? As a bully, he likes bullies. And the rest needs to fold when he says so. And so he messed up all relationships except with Jews who go 2000 years of training being a poodle to the powers that be.

This all went fine with as highlight an enormous “trickle down” tax cut for the super-rich that created an extra debt that will take workers decades to pay back. But his Waterloo came when he started a trade war with China.

The financial world order became a total mess, the US economy (a measure of how much the rich are making) started caving and reelection became questionable. This was a sign for the super-rich that Trump needed to go. He had been their useful idiot but now had become their unhelpful moron. He even could cause a socialist to be elected as his successor — perish the thought! Their enfant terrible, investment banker Anthony Scaramucci, has spoken. It’s time to retire Trump. It’s time for a calmer conservative, like the VP. To Make America Great Again.

The super-rich will be grateful for years to come for all the money gained but he’s fired. All the reasons that they’ll mention (he’s crazy, he broke the law, he’s indecent) were known before he got elected. They’re now used as pretexts. Trump was elected by deceit. He’ll be sacked the way he came.

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I am saddened to add that the reportedly most honest of Democratic contenders, Bernie Sanders, was less than upfront when speaking to a large gathering of Muslims in the US. He did mention his passion against discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation” and — to applause — that he’s a proud son of Jewish immigrants. But precisely at that gathering, sadly, he omitted stating the need to fight anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Instead, he envisions the US to “broker a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace process.” NB: “peace process,” not “peace”! Strangely, he talked about containing abuse in China and Saudi Arabia but not Iran, Iraq (deploring that the US started the war that took down Saddam Hussein), and Russia. So much for political integrity in the opposition against Donald Trump.

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On second thought, I think I may be mistaken in what I just wrote. Bernie would in front of any audience call for the fight against sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and leave out anti-Semitism. In any meeting he would say “safety for Israel is very important to me but.” At any forum he’d object against bothering the world’s greatest bully, Iran. Maybe I shouldn’t blame him more for his lack of solidarity with Israel than any leftwing Gentile.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1