Hey everyone!
We just celebrated another April Fools’ Day on April 1, which of course is a day where we annually play some sort of practical joke or tell blatant lies to people as a prank.
We all know what happens when we finally want people to know that the practical joke we pulled or the blatant lie we told isn’t true, right? We scream “April Fool” and watch the fallout as the laughter ensues. Funny right?
Well, I’ve always enjoyed April Fools’ Day because while we know that we should expect practical jokes to be pulled or blatant lies told, we can laugh it off and get back to reality.
Boy how I wish that was the case in America today as it relates to our current reality that is far from funny and is something that I believe is no laughing matter.
Sadly, President Donald J. Trump has pulled one of the biggest practical jokes on the American people, particularly many of his supporters, who don’t have the foggiest clue what the hell is actually going on around them, even though his practical jokes are being pulled on us and his blatant lies told to us in plain sight.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love movies and television, and as I think about Trump and the blatant lies he tells, I can’t help but think about the 1997 funny comedy called Liar, Liar starring Jim Carrey, where Carrey who plays this career-driven attorney named Fletcher Reede can’t ever keep his promises or commitments to his son Max. Because of the constant and blatant lies he continues to tell in order to advance his career, he lies to his ex-wife about missing his son’s birthday due to work, which prompts his son Max to make a wish that for one whole day his father cannot tell a lie. The wish immediately comes true and for one whole day, Fletcher can’t lie and it forces him to deal with the realities of how his lies impact other people, to the point that he eventually changes his ways and improves his relationship with his son.
If only we could make a wish concerning our current president and his administration, the way Max did for his dad. Maybe America would not be in the shape it is in right now.
Let’s take a look at some of the blatant lies that Trump has told the American people, shall we, including lies he has told many of his most loyal and dedicated supporters, who after drinking the Kool-Aid, bought into everything he promised and believed everything he said as if he was truly legitimate and would have no problem keeping his word. April Fool!
On the campaign trail, Trump said that he would make Mexico pay for a border wall and many of you believed him. Now, he is asking the American people to pay for it by cutting programs and services that are vital to the security and progression of American citizens. April Fool!
On the campaign trail, Trump promised that he would eventually release his tax returns, and many of you believed him. Once he was elected, however, Trump said he will NEVER release his tax returns…period. April Fool!
On the campaign trail, Trump called former President Barack Obama the “Vacationer-in-Chief” and accused him of “playing more rounds of golf than Tiger Woods,” while promising to never be the kind of president who would take swanky vacations at the expense of the America people because there was too much important work to be done. Since he has been elected, he took his first vacation on the taxpayer’s dime, at roughly $2 million per trip for transportation alone, and went golfing at his own swanky Trump National Mar-a-Lago Club resort in Palm Beach, Florida, after only 11 days in office, and has since recently spent his ninth weekend in a row at the personal resort he personally profits from. April Fool!
On the campaign trail, Trump called his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton a crook, yet he paid $25 million to settle a fraud lawsuit. April Fool!
On the campaign trail, Trump stood behind the birther claims against President Obama, with no proof or evidence, and then right before he was elected he comes out and says he wasn’t true. April Fool!
On the campaign trail and once elected, Trump held a press conference where he had his personal attorney state that he would divest himself from his financial empire, to avoid any conflicts of interest. Since that press conference, Trump has still been heavily involved in his businesses and has more conflicts of interest than you can shake a stick at. April Fool!
On the campaign trail, he promised to “Repeal and Replace” the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” but he has no plan in place and never even reached out to the Democrats to talk about his healthcare plans. April Fool!
On the campaign trail and since elected he has called various mainstream media outlets “fake news” and said they were his enemy, yet he admits that he gets his information from Fox News, Breitbart and other conservative and fringe media outlets who simply share his views and spread false narratives and blatant lies. April Fool!
On the campaign trail, he said he had not communicated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, nor had any ties to him, yet we see a major scandal that has erupted because of the majority of members of his cabinet and staff who have major ties to Russia and possibly worse. April Fool!
Then, Trump tells a blatant lie that President Obama wiretapped him while he was still in office, and has yet to provide any evidence to back up his claims, and every intelligence agency in our government has refuted his claims, yet he fails to admit he lied and apologize to President Obama about these false claims. April Fool!
I could go on and on, but I guess you get the point by now. Politicians and people lie often, so this is not a morality conversation that I’m seeking to have with you. The point that I’m making is that our current president, Donald J. Trump, has been one of the most blatant liars to ever hold the office of the presidency, which is not good for a position we are taught to revere and respect.
It is my sincere hope that Trump changes his ways and stop blatantly lying to the American people, but all I could do is make a wish like Max did and hope for the best. Until then, all I can say is: Congratulations America…This Joke’s On You!
Jeffrey L. Boney serves as Associate Editor and is an award-winning journalist for the Houston Forward Times newspaper. Jeffrey is a frequent contributor on the Nancy Grace Show and has a daily radio talk show called Real Talk with Jeffrey L. Boney. He is a Next Generation Project Fellow, dynamic, international speaker, experienced entrepreneur, business development strategist and Founder/CEO of the Texas Business Alliance. If you would like to request Jeffrey as a speaker, you can reach him at jboney1@forwardtimes.com