Trump lies about everything under sun, yet the news media still love to quote him

President Trump pushed back against mounting evidence that Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was writing for The Washington Post. Here, Cartoonist Kevin Siers of The Charlotte Observer and PoliticalCartoons.com shows Trump holding a bone saw.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. --  Whether at a combative press conference or in a quick interview before he boards his helicopter, President Trump can't help but lying.

Trump was so used to making false claims as a New York developer that he apparently saw no reason to start telling the truth during the 2016 presidential campaign or after he was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2017.

And now, even though reporters who cover the White House and accompany him on Air Force One know he is lying, they still quote him and his tweets extensively, and the electronic media send those infuriating sound bites sailing around the globe. 

The print media, notably The Washington Post and The New York Times, do a far better job than the electronic media in pushing back against the lies, but by the time their papers hit the doorstep, the damage has already been done, and Trump's supporters are howling with delight.

All of this might change on Jan. 3, when the Democratic majority and other House members are sworn in, and start investigating everything from Russian interference in our elections to Trump's finances to his ties to Saudi Arabia and other autocratic regimes.

Then, the president who loves to go on the offensive and insult world leaders, judges and just about everyone else will finally find himself on the defensive in the last act of his chaotic presidency.

Cartoonist Steve Sack of the Minneapolis Star Tribune shows Trump treating the people of California as cavalierly as he did residents of Puerto Rico, where he tossed rolls of paper towels to hurricane survivors. He blamed the California wildfires on poor forest management -- a complete and total falsehood.

Cartoonist Bill Day of Cagle.com returned to a familiar Trump claim for Thanksgiving: "No collusion!"