Is it okay to tell white lies in Trump’s Administration?
By Roger Caldwell
During Hope Hicks’ interview by the House Intelligence Committee, the president’s White House Communications Director acknowledged that she tells “white lies.” As a political historian, I was not aware that lies have colors. I am well aware that human beings are identified by color, but in politics, this is a first.
In the Trump orbit, I am guessing the severity of the lie determines the color. The severity of a blue lie compared to a pink lie would be much more intense. But a yellow lie or a red lie would definitely not be as bad as a black lie. Hope Hicks only tells white lies for Trump, so Americans should definitely trust the rest of her testimony and statements.
Hope Hicks has also been interviewed by Mueller’s team. I wonder if she told lies, and I wonder what color they were. Hicks has been a trusted confident in Trump’s team during the campaign and beyond, so I am wondering when did the white lies start.
“It has been reported that Trump is furious with Hicks for admitting she had fudged on his behalf. Once, her ignorance counted as a qualification. (Trump speaking) ‘I said, what do you know about politics?’ Trump boasted in late 2016, recalling the moment he hired Hicks. Absolutely nothing. I said, Congratulations, you’re into the world of politics,” says staff writer, of The New Yorker, Alexandra Schwartz.
It appears that Hope Hicks was hired for her looks, and not her record of achievement and education. So it should not be a surprise when she is caught drafting a statement defending Rob Porter who was accused of domestic abuse, and with whom she had a romantic relationship. It was no way she was qualified to make $179, 000.00 a year, but she was at the top of the pay scale.
In order to be paid at the top of the pay scale in the Trump orbit, you must be willing and ready to lie at the drop of a hat. Chief of staff John Kelly has been caught fabricating the truth during some of his statements.
Last year Kelly issued a statement on a speech given by Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, in which the information was wrong and untrue, and the White House backed her story. Even though Rep. Wilson has proven the statement was a lie; there has been no apology from Kelly. Presently, Kelly has told different stories about Rob Porter’s investigation, and it keeps changing.
As the different stories from Kelly keep changing, the question must be raised would the Chief of staff fabrications be considered “white lies.” Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor to the president was caught lying and forced to resign his position in just 23 days. Everywhere you turn in Trump’s administration, someone is resigning and being caught lying to the American people.
These admissions are appalling, and it is very difficult to call this lying in Trump’s administration “white lies.”
From the very beginning of Trump’s administration, Vice President Mike Pence said on television that there were zero contacts between the campaign and Russian officials. But the U.S. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies have confirmed that President Trump’s campaign aides and associates had constant contact with Russian intelligence officials before the election.
It appears very easy for Hope Hicks, and other members of the Trump administration to lie. President Trump is consistently caught lying, so maybe his administration thinks it is okay to lie.
When a business partner, family member, or friend tells a lie, they have broken the trust between each other. When Trump and members of his administration tell lies, they have broken the trust of the American people, so they should be removed from office.