Apparently still angry about accusations in Michael Wolff’s new book Fire and Fury, President Trump declared the nation’s libel laws “a sham and a disgrace,” and warned that his administration would “take a strong look” at making the rules fairer—presumably for politicians.
But if that happens, he better lawyer up. Furious Trump forgets that anything Wolff wrote in his tabloid tell-all is more than mild compared to his own mistruths.
Wolff wrote about cable news binges fueled by greasy fast food, about scalp-reduction surgeries to correct male pattern baldness, and about general Constitutional illiteracy. Embarrassing, but all of it perfectly legal and really only of interest to a select few.
Trump, however, has not been so tame.
There were all those times Trump accused former President Barack Obama of lying about his birth certificate. He made that false claim mainstream years before entering politics. Then just two months before Election Day, Trump’s campaign suddenly denounced the claim and bizarrely took credit for bringing "this ugly incident to its conclusion."
Another time Trump implied Ted Cruz’s father may have helped a communist agent assassinate a sitting president. “I mean, what was he doing — what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting?” Trump told Fox News, referencing a forged photo of Rafael Cruz with JFK’s killer. “It’s horrible.” Trump has not yet offered an apology.
Most recently, Trump accused MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough of foul play, suggesting that the former Florida congressman played a role in the 2001 death of one of his female staffers. On Twitter, he demanded an investigation into the “unsolved mystery.” But there was no mystery and there was no reason for another investigation. Sixteen years earlier, police concluded that the aide died from an injury that occurred because of an abnormal heartbeat.
Obviously, each of these claims is demonstrably false. Each has also exposed the accused to groundless ridicule and done real damage to their careers, families, and reputations.
Luckily for Trump, the president won’t face any consequences (other than the injury the lies have done to his own soul). Any thanks are due to the Founders who empowered Congress, not the president, with making the laws.
Trump hasn’t gotten a complete pass, though. That great communicator has thoughtlessly engaged in the so-called Streisand effect. Each time Trump complains, obfuscates, or tries to censure a critic like Wolff, he unwittingly advances exactly what he means to squash. His latest libel suggestion only furthers the viral lifespan of the claims.
