Dear Times Reader,

He lied about a sex tape.
He lied about his lies about ‘birtherism.’
He lied about the growth rate of the American economy.
He lied about the state of the job market.
He lied about the trade deficit.
He lied about tax rates.
He lied about his own position on the Iraq War, again.
He lied about ISIS.
He lied about the B******i attack.
He lied about the war in Syria.
He lied about Syrian refugees.
He lied about Russia’s hacking.
He lied about the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
He lied about Hillary Clinton’s tax plan.
He lied about her health care plan.
He lied about her immigration plan.
He lied about her email deletion.
He lied about Obamacare, more than once.
He lied about the rape of a 12-year-old girl.
He lied about his history of groping women without their consent.
Finally, he broke with basic democratic norms and called on his political opponent to be jailed — because, in large part, of what he described as her dishonesty.
This is the second time I’ve summarized a p**********l debate by listing Donald Trump’s unt***hs, and there’s a reason. The country has never had a p**********l candidate who lies the way that he does – relentlessly.
Yes, virtually every politician, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and George W. Bush, strays from the t***h at times. To be fair, virtually every human being does. But Trump is fundamentally different.
His gamble is plain enough: He believes he can fool a lot of the American people a lot of the time. He has decided that lying pays.
It’s up to the rest of us to show him otherwise.
What I’m reading: As you know if you've been reading this newsletter, I'm sometimes critical of my own profession. The media is far from perfect, and we should grapple with our shortcomings.
This morning, however, I want to salute my peers – at Politico, Politifact, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, The New York Times and many other places – who have answered Trump’s fabrications with facts. I encourage all of you to dig into the links above.
The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including Maureen Dowd, Roxane Gay, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Andy Rosenthal, Will Wilkinson and others on the debate.
David Leonhardt
Op-Ed Columnist

Dear Times Reader,

He lied about a sex tape.
He lied about his lies about ‘birtherism.’
He lied about the growth rate of the American economy.
He lied about the state of the job market.
He lied about the trade deficit.
He lied about tax rates.
He lied about his own position on the Iraq War, again.
He lied about ISIS.
He lied about the B******i attack.
He lied about the war in Syria.
He lied about Syrian refugees.
He lied about Russia’s hacking.
He lied about the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
He lied about Hillary Clinton’s tax plan.
He lied about her health care plan.
He lied about her immigration plan.
He lied about her email deletion.
He lied about Obamacare, more than once.
He lied about the rape of a 12-year-old girl.
He lied about his history of groping women without their consent.
Finally, he broke with basic democratic norms and called on his political opponent to be jailed — because, in large part, of what he described as her dishonesty.
This is the second time I’ve summarized a p**********l debate by listing Donald Trump’s unt***hs, and there’s a reason. The country has never had a p**********l candidate who lies the way that he does – relentlessly.
Yes, virtually every politician, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and George W. Bush, strays from the t***h at times. To be fair, virtually every human being does. But Trump is fundamentally different.
His gamble is plain enough: He believes he can fool a lot of the American people a lot of the time. He has decided that lying pays.
It’s up to the rest of us to show him otherwise.
What I’m reading: As you know if you've been reading this newsletter, I'm sometimes critical of my own profession. The media is far from perfect, and we should grapple with our shortcomings.
This morning, however, I want to salute my peers – at Politico, Politifact, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, The New York Times and many other places – who have answered Trump’s fabrications with facts. I encourage all of you to dig into the links above.
The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including Maureen Dowd, Roxane Gay, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Andy Rosenthal, Will Wilkinson and others on the debate.
David Leonhardt
Op-Ed Columnist