President Donald Trump utilizes distortions, half-truths and outright lies in an attempt to shape opinions, and his supporters don’t seem to care.
In a letter to the Public Forum in the Jan. 8 Salt Lake Tribune, one person defended Trump by stating that "all politicians lie," as if that makes it OK to do so. While many politicians may spin stories to represent their party's views, the POTUS is the ultimate political purveyor of what he likes to call fake news.
Another letter states that "a Quinnipiac Poll in December shows voter support for a border wall hits a record high" — a distortion of the truth. Although Trump has recently stated that there's "so much support" for the border wall, and that "the people in our country want it," polls actually show that the majority of Americans do not support funding a border wall.
In the above-mentioned Quinnipiac poll, 54 percent of respondents opposed the wall and 43 percent supported it. A December Harvard CAPS/Harris online survey found that 56 percent of those surveyed did not support a wall, while 44 percent did. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed just 35 percent supported including money for the wall in a federal spending bill. More than two-thirds of Americans don't think the wall should be a priority, according to a poll conducted by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist.
I personally don't care whether a border wall is eventually built. However, I don't like the distortion of facts and/or lies being perpetrated by ardent Trump followers. Furthermore, I don't want my tax dollars utilized for funding a wall when there are so many other more important spending priorities.
As a candidate, Donald Trump said that Mexico would pay for the wall. Let him hold to that promise, and let him stop holding the government hostage in his ongoing act of political blackmail.
J. Michael Shaw, North Salt Lake
