How Should Journalists Deal With A President Who Lies - All The Time?

I, along with so many others, have watched President Donald Trump stand before reporters and cameras and lie with a straight face. The examples are way too numerous to recount here but all anyone needs to do is search Trump's comments on just about any topic - payments to Stormy Daniels, knowing Matt Whitaker, discussions with North Korea, tariffs, polls, faked videos, etc.

Initially the press has tried to confront him on lies or mistruths but they have a couple of things going against them. First, Donald Trump is tricky. He is fast on his feet. He makes rapid fire comments and gives rapid fire responses. Most of this trickiness is based on his acting and entertainment role as the reality 'apprentice' President. It's mostly an act and it's meant to entertain. It has nothing to do with any search for the truth. The other tactic he uses very effectively is something I call "question interruptess". Pay attention and you'll notice that he usually doesn't let the reporter complete their question. He'll start answering and if the reporter continues to try to clarify, he'll say something like "hold on, let me speak". That tactic confuses the reporter and any audience trying to figure out what's going on.

But the reality is that he lies and he lies often and with, as noted above, an absolute straight face. He seems to enjoy the lies and doesn't worry much about getting caught in them. Perhaps like many pathological liars, he thinks he's telling the truth even when the lies are obvious. So what are journalists to do? What is their best approach? Right now, they seem to be focusing on persistence and hoping that eventually Donald Trump will either slip up badly (which he doesn't care about), or that their truth seeking will win out over his lies. Unfortunately, none of this will work.

But there is an approach that may prove a bit more successful. When the press corp knows Trump is lying as he stands in the driveway talking over a helicopter's engine, perhaps there's only one unified choice. They should all just walk away from him and leave him talking to air and having to turn around and head for the chopper. It's not a protest, it's just a recognition that they have better things to do and better sources to interview. He loves their attention and views it as a challenge and a fight that only he can win. Walking away leaves him on his own with his lies. Yes, journalists have to stop feeding the beast. Feeding the beast just makes the beast bigger. Starve him and leave him flapping in the wind.

I'm sure there are plenty of truthful sources and people who can provide contradicting information to the lies that Donald Trump tells. That's the job for journalists in today's environment.