Someone has to come out and say it. Why does Trump keep screaming FAKE NEWS?
Trump is a salesman. What does a salesman do if there is a flaw in his product: claim the competition has it. Puts them on the defensive and hides the real issue. Fake news is a cover.
That’s all there is to say about fake news. Contrary to some speculation, Trump is not stupid and not all that delusional. He knows he’s lying, and he handles it the way he always has. It’s the other side that’s lying—fake news.
That’s what he’s doing with Mueller, and taxes, and Russia …. He knows what he is doing, he’s good at it, and he’s got Fox News and lots of other people willing to toe the line and lie for him.
It won’t help to take the bait and play defense. That’s basically assuming there is misunderstanding and goodwill—which there isn’t. The only way to fight it is to show that all the real examples are on the other side. Take a few good ones from the thousands of deliberate factual errors and force his defenders to match them.
And don’t back down. No matter how preposterous the charges, in this case there is no substitute for offense.
on the outside 
Well-stated. I want to totally agree. Your message is simple and to the point. It gets the job done. He lies, blames the other guy. We can’t let him get away with it. Need to confront the lies, and demonstrate both the truth and the lying.
That said, in another sense, I see another dimension to his “lying,” which I think is important and which is what helps him pull it off: I think on a psychological level, he actually believes he is telling the truth and that others are the ones who are lying. And this helps him come across as sincere and trustworthy, and keeps him from ever feeling guilty or flustered. But it also makes him delusional. But either way, one needs to respond in the same way–realize he is lying, call him on it, confront him and with the truth, and don’t back down. Don’t buy into his delusion. FWIW.
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