This week two events take place almost simultaneously that will attempt to capture the attention and understanding of the American public. Interestingly, the main figures in these events are both known liars who have deceived Americans repeatedly. These two men out of central casting are President Donald Trump who will be on stage in Hanoi and Attorney Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer for decades who will be testifying in Washington. Which one will be the focus of the world’s media and the public? These events can almost be considered the ‘Oscars’ of politics competing in the category of most truthful and believable liar. Who will come out on top?
Unfortunately, much of the action will be going on behind closed doors in both Washington and Hanoi so we will have to depend on mostly second hand information in making our decisions. Cohen’s objective in his appearance before a Congressional committee is to convince Americans just how sleazy and corrupt Trump has been both before and during his presidency. He wants people to know the real Donald Trump as he’s known him for years as a double dealer, cheat and pathological liar. However, Cohen will have to overcome the fact that he’s previously lied to Congress and is a convicted felon.
Trump’s mission to Hanoi is to show the American public how indispensable he is in finding solutions to the world’s conflicts. The standoff between America and North Vietnam has been going on for decades and if Trump comes up with a solution that Kim agrees with, it will be a great diplomatic triumph. However, the danger here is that Trump will accept a deal that does not guarantee denuclearization and will herald that as a great victory that lessens the threat to the United States. Trump went overboard on his first summit with Kim saying that they had made great progress when in reality nothing much had happened.
Because Trump is such an accomplished liar, many Americans may accept what he says as truth even though the intelligence agencies may be dissatisfied with any agreement that Trump and Kim have worked out. One must remember that though Trump may lie well, he is not very smart and does not have a full grasp of the points of contention between America and North Korea. He may not really care about what the agreement between Kim and him looks like as long as it seems that he’s made great progress in eliminating the North Korean threat. Optics are more important to him than reality so that his base believes he’s been successful in his negotiations.
Cohen may have the more difficult task persuading Congressional members and the American public that he is telling the truth, as many of his tales about Trump will seem fanciful. And there’s also his previous lying to Congress and the fact that Congressional Republicans will be attacking him at every opportunity.
At the end of the week, which of the two dueling deeds will seem more credible to the American public? And if both are successful in their efforts, will Cohen’s testimony trump Trump’s dealing with Kim? It will be a difficult week for both major players as well as for American citizens.
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020