"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," Trump stated on February 19.
"Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that," he denied his own words a week later. How normal is this?
Trump was re-elected, and for two months now he has been shaking things up both at home and abroad. I don’t understand much about American politics, but ultimately, it’s up to Americans to decide (although not only them). So, Trump is Trump. But here’s what I really want to understand: Trump lies so openly and on such a scale that it’s hard to believe. How do his supporters reconcile with this?
Because no matter how much I admired a politician, a situation like this would destroy his reputation in my eyes, even if he were my own brother. Honesty is more important than loyalty… Isn’t it?
One of the most popular explanations for why Trump’s lies aren’t a problem, as it seems to me, goes like this:
"All politicians lie. Democrats lie all the time. But they do it secretly, sneakily, behind closed doors, covering themselves with pretty words. Trump, on the other hand, does it openly, directly, from the heart, which is much more honest than the others."
Lies proving honesty???
The popularity of this response makes it seem like a cliché, a conveniently packaged thought for everyday use. Alright, let’s assume many people arrived at this conclusion independently, but how do they so calmly accept such an obvious violation of logic: blatant lies as evidence of truthfulness?
Remember the blessed times when politicians caught lying or in corruption scandals would resign? It seems that’s no longer in fashion.
By accepting the thesis "all politicians lie, but Trump does it openly, so he’s honest", Trump supporters acknowledge their leader’s systematic lying. The paradox is that they manage to see sincerity in it because "he says what he thinks, without filtering himself, unlike ordinary politicians."
In various formulations, this idea can be found in social networks and conservative U.S. media.
Below is an overview of how this idea manifested online — on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and popular conservative media — and what impact it had in terms of likes, comments, and shares.
X (Twitter)
On Twitter, this idea is repeated by both ordinary users and well-known right-wing speakers. A notable example is a post by former congressman and radio host Joe Walsh back in August 2017: "All politicians lie. Obama lied. Hillary lied. Trump, at least, is open and honest about his lying."
The post attracted a lot of attention. Users mocked the logical contradiction — openly lying means being honest? One tweet received 11,000 likes stating: "This is the saddest shit I've read all week."
Nevertheless, the mere fact that such a statement came from a conservative commentator indicated that part of the audience actually accepted Trump as a person whose honest intentions were confirmed by his blatant dishonesty.
Ordinary Trump supporters on Twitter expressed similar thoughts. Comments like: "Yes, he lies, but at least he doesn’t pretend to be perfect." were frequent. The significant number of retweets and likes on such tweets among Trump’s audience showed that this idea resonated with many hearts.
To be fair, there was more criticism than acceptance, but the "everyone lies" approach became a compelling defense for many Trumpists.
For example, in 2017, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly stated: "Well, I'm going to blow your mind with the answer: I think Trump is honest. I mean, he lies like all politicians lie, but there is a strain in Trump that's extremely honest."
Thus, on Twitter, the pro-Trump audience tended to like and share the thesis "open lying = honesty" whenever their idol made another false statement — despite the fact that critics immediately used it as an opportunity for sarcasm and ridicule.
In Facebook’s pro-Trump groups, similar sentiments were observed. While it is harder to track the frequency of the phrase here, the underlying message was clear: "We know that sometimes Trump hides the truth, but he’s always in the open, he doesn’t pretend."
Supporters often generalized:
"All politicians are liars. Trump is too, but at least he’s ours."
In 2018, observing the media landscape, Harvard professor Joseph Nye noted that many pro-Trump supporters forgive his lies because they consider them a normal political phenomenon.
In the comments under yet another questionable Trump statement, one could frequently find typical responses like:
"What, are the others any better? Everyone lies, but only Trump says everything directly."
Such posts gained the most likes during election periods and immediately after them. Memes with captions like "Trump says what everyone thinks but is afraid to say" spread widely.
Fans equated Trump’s blunt, sometimes false speech with the "tell it like it is" quality. But are these things really the same?
Even responsible people tried to analyze this phenomenon, but Trump’s reputation as an "honest liar" kept gaining traction in Facebook discussions.
Reddit & Forums
On Reddit, the thesis that "everyone lies, but Trump is honest because he lies openly" was frequently found in discussions. It was a common response to the question: "Why do Trump’s voters tolerate his falsehoods?" One Reddit user replied: "All politicians lie, but at least Trump lies for us."
The author of this comment received 79 upvotes, even though others flooded him with questions that should have debunked his reasoning instantly.
On another forum, the position was summarized as: "Maybe he’s a liar, but he’s our liar," drawing a parallel with the famous phrase "He may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch."
Even when Trump critics pointed out the unprecedented scale and frequency of his lies, which went beyond the usual political deceit, it did not convince die-hard Trumpists.
As a result, critics had to admit that this method of defense was highly effective: "Well, all politicians lie. Be realistic."
Moreover, some Trump supporters outright denied the existence of his lies, claiming that "he’s just trolling liberals" and "mocking the establishment".
As journalist Eric Alterman observed in 2020: "Trumpists are not against his lies. They see them as a weapon in the information war."
That is, if all politicians lie, then Trump's lies are justified because they are aimed at the enemies of his supporters.
Conservative and Alternative Media
In right-wing media, the idea of "sincerity through lying" is accepted in a veiled form. Rarely do hosts openly say, "Trump is lying, and that's good because..." Instead, they subtly reduce the distance between Trump and "regular" politicians: "…well, others aren't saints either."
Another interesting explanation of this phenomenon was given by political analyst Mark Shields: “Supporters take him seriously, but not literally, while opponents take him literally, but not seriously.” This means that Trump's perceived intentions are sincere, even if his words are false — making his lies acceptable.
Conservative outlets — Breitbart, Newsmax, OAN, and similar ones — often defended themselves against accusations of broadcasting Trump’s lies by arguing that other (liberal) media also published lies, but about different politicians — Biden, Clinton, and others. The implication: “Everyone lies — so what’s the big deal?”
When fact-checkers reported thousands of Trump’s false statements, pro-Trump authors wrote op-eds about dishonest Democrats, creating a sense of moral equivalence. As a result, the conservative media audience absorbed the message: Trump is simply playing by the same rules as everyone else.
Moreover, propaganda rhetoric suggesting that "everything around is fake" and "no one tells the truth" only reinforced voter cynicism. This is a strategically effective approach — to make lying expected — if your goal is to normalize it. In that case, statements like “Our president lies to our faces — and that’s his honesty” no longer seem absurd. These narratives, repeated through talk shows and articles, only strengthened Trump's base further. People could no longer lose trust in their idol because they believed that “he may lie, but he does it for us and with good intentions.“
However, conservative media largely did not dispute anything. For example, on Newsmax and Fox News, it was common to hear hosts simply change the subject — instead of addressing Trump’s falsehoods, they would shift the conversation to dishonest press and treacherous opponents. In some cases, hosts justified Trump’s lies by claiming that they weren’t lies but rather “rhetorical exaggeration” or “a broader truth.” Whatever that meant.
Thus, gradually, these channels’ audiences began accepting their president’s words without critical fact-checking. Why bother? Everyone lies, and Trump is just playing by those rules — but he's playing for us. That’s why "Don’t listen to what he says, watch what he does."
As a result, no revelation could damage Trump’s reputation anymore.
Conclusions
The thesis of “honest lying” by Donald Trump has indeed gained widespread popularity in the pro-Trump information sphere. From the absurd “Trump is open and honest about his lying” to the succinct “Yes, Donald Trump may be a liar, but he is our liar. He is one of us,” or the claim that “he just says out loud what others keep hidden.”
The frequency of this idea’s repetition in social media and the media has made it part of the political folklore among Trump’s supporters, further increasing their tolerance for lies: “It’s nothing special, they all do it.”
The effectiveness of this message is confirmed by audience engagement. Posts and comments containing it received enough likes and shares to firmly embed themselves in the minds of those who needed them.
Polls have shown that a significant portion of Trump’s base consciously accepts his falsehoods as a means of defending their interests. “Trump lies for us” —what could be more morally justified?
Thus, at the national level in the United States, the moral principle of truthfulness has been subordinated to political loyalty to “one’s own.” The phrase “everyone lies” serves as the perfect justification for this loyalty: if no one can be trusted, then why not stick with the one who lies for you?
At present, the widespread acceptance of this phrase and its variations in pro-Trump discourse is a powerful and cynical component of political culture. On the one hand, it acts as a defensive mechanism: any politician can always compare themselves to Trump to reassure themselves that they are still within the bounds of decency. On the other hand, this rhetoric further polarizes society: opponents call each other’s statements absurd and false, frequently referencing double standards and hostile propaganda. In turn, this setup allows voters to stick with their own side against the tide of facts, relying only on their intuition.
For his supporters, Trump is not just a person, but a symbol. He provides them with a complete set of powerful group emotions: a common enemy, justified revenge, and national greatness. Additionally, Trump verbalizes thoughts and feelings that his audience was previously hesitant to express, thus legitimizing their beliefs. 50% of Americans love Trump not for his policies or economic performance but primarily because he embodies their emotions. Therefore, even when he lies, they are not concerned; what matters is not logic, but belonging to the group of “their own.”
It seems that to be a Trumpist, one must have a high tolerance for lying — otherwise, one simply won’t fit into this community. But it’s not about loving lies; rather, it’s about not perceiving lying as something inherently bad. Lies are just a tool, not a moral problem. If lying helps “our cause,” then it is a useful lie.
Truth for a Trumpist is not what is confirmed by facts, but what is beneficial to say for the success of the cause. This is a vicious practice that cannot be countered with logical arguments, because logic does not work when a person bases their reality on emotions rather than facts.
