When Trump makes ridiculous claims, is he deliberately trying to deceive the public or does he believe his falsehoods? An answer is coming into focus.
In early 2009, congressional Republicans were eager to condemn the Democratic Recovery Act, which rescued the U.S. economy from the Great Recession. To that end, some on the right came up with a weird claim: the stimulus package included $1 billion to build a magnetic-levitation train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
There was no such provision, but Republicans became so invested in the falsehood that they started to believe it. A California-based journalist sat down with then-Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) in March 2009, and she pointed to the non-existent element of the Democratic plan as proof of its flaws. When the journalist reminded the congresswoman of reality, Bono Mack directed her staff to retrieve the bill. “It’s right there,” the GOP lawmaker said at the time. “Show him.”
A few minutes later, an aide emerged with a copy of the bill and quietly conceded, “It’s not in the bill.” Continue reading.