Donald Trump’s lyin’ lips

In the weekly Gallup poll released July 29, 40 percent of respondents approved of Donald Trump’s performance and 55 percent said they disapproved. Gallup’s numbers from August 2-8, 2010, showed 45 percent of respondents approved of Barack Obama’s performance compared to 48 percent who said they disapproved.

This contrasts rather remarkably with Wayne Allyn Root’s assertions in his Sunday column that Mr. Trump’s approval rating just hit 50 percent. It is clear beyond any question that Mr. Root’s unhinged devotion to Mr. Trump flies in the face of any commitment to publishing correct information.

Recently, The Washington Post published a remarkable story on its front page revealing a recent spike in the number of “false and misleading claims” made by President Trump. In his first year as president, Mr. Trump made 2,140 false claims, according to the Post. In just the past six months, he has nearly doubled that total to 4,229. In June and July, he averaged 16 false claims a day.

On July 5, the Post found what appears to be Mr. Trump’s most untruthful day yet: 76 percent of the 98 factual assertions he made in a campaign-style rally in Great Falls, Mont., were “false, misleading or unsupported by evidence.”

The fact that Mr. Trump, while historically unpopular with the American public as a whole, has retained the loyalty of more than 80 percent of Republicans — the group at which his lies seem to be aimed — means we are in for much more as a midterm election approaches.

Whether Mr. Root and other Trump worshippers like it or not, Mr. Trump’s primary voter base and committed supporters tend to be “less educated,” according to very reliable polls. Despite Mr. Root’s negative references to “Democrats, Ivy League eggheads and the liberal mainstream media,” the fact remains that, like it or not, such folks are much more educated than Mr. Root and/or most Trump supporters.