# Does the world's most famously bald-faced liar... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 15, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982 "2018-10-15T14:39:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/1 "2018-10-15T14:39:49Z")
…actually believe other bald-faced liars? As if you need an example: > **[Saudis May Admit Khashoggi Was Killed in Interrogation by Mistake (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/us/politics/trump-saudi-king-journalist-khashoggi.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage)** > > President Trump echoed the possibility that Jamal Khashoggi was victim to “rogue killers.” The explanation shields the Saudi crown prince, who has cast himself as a moderate. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/2 "2018-10-15T14:42:01Z")
Almost certainly not. Liars tend to assume everyone else is lying; psychopaths assume other people are also without real empathy. I am totally sure Trump thinks people generally lie as much as he does. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/3 "2018-10-15T15:34:53Z")
Well a con man preys mainly on honest people since they usually believe him, at least for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/4 "2018-10-15T15:46:58Z")
I abhor the idea of being thought a bald faced liar, so I grew a beard. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/5 "2018-10-15T15:52:04Z")
Since the OP couldn’t be arsed to actually tell us what the article says, here is the opening paragraph: > [@](#): > > Oct. 15, 2018 > WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Monday that he spoke with the king of Saudi Arabia and that the ruler denied any knowledge of what happened to a missing Saudi dissident journalist. After the call, Mr. Trump said it was possible that “rogue killers” were behind the disappearance of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/6 "2018-10-15T16:06:07Z")
There are different types of liars and people lie, occasionally or constantly, for different reasons. I believe thump is a narcissistic liar (this article is geared toward being in a relationship with a narcissist, _God help you_): > [@](#): > > …It is very important that you learn how these individuals function, what their goals are and what makes them tick. Remember–they are not like you so don’t expect them to tell the truth—ever. They lie by omission and commission. They deny the dreadful things they have done to you. They purposefully make empty promises under pressure to keep you by their side as a source of perpetual narcissistic supply–adulation, praise, validation, adoration. > > Many narcissists are so charming and magnetic that with the power of their personalities and their attractiveness, they can convince you that they are telling the exact truth even when they are lying through their gorgeous white teeth. > > Narcissists don’t develop a conscience. What is right or wrong for them is based on whether they can get away with something that is often immoral and unethical and even illegal. They don’t have a sense of limits. They are always right and perfect. They view others as inferior to them, boring, stupid, foolish and ignorant… So it’s not a question of whether he believes his lies or not. He doesn’t think that way. He doesn’t define truth the way normal people do. Truth is whatever he can get someone to believe, even momentarily. Truth is fluid. Facts are fluid according to his purposes. IOW the OP’s question does not apply in this case. Sadly and to the country’s detriment. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/7 "2018-10-15T16:15:26Z")
Missed edit window. Another example of a liar, but different from thump: I believe that O.J. Simpson REALLY believes that he didn’t kill his wife. To me that’s an example of telling yourself and everyone else a specific lie so often that you become convinced it is fact. I don’t put thump in that class. He is in a narcissistic class by himself. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/8 "2018-10-15T16:52:29Z")
He doesn’t “believe” things the same way a normal person does. A normal weasel politician will lie in order to get you to believe something. Trump just says stuff, whether it is true or false or whether the audience thinks it is true or false is irrelevant, what matters is how saying it makes him feel at that moment. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/9 "2018-10-15T18:02:05Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > He doesn’t “believe” things the same way a normal person does. A normal weasel politician will lie in order to get you to believe something. Trump just says stuff, whether it is true or false or whether the audience thinks it is true or false is irrelevant, what matters is how saying it makes him feel at that moment. I think it goes beyond that. I think Trump is so self-centered that he has a hard time grasping the concept of reality. His universe is simply Donald Trump. So truth isn’t defined as what is real in the universe; truth is defined as what is real to Donald Trump. So he thinks something is true because he believes it is true. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/10 "2018-10-15T20:33:31Z")
As to the OP: Sure he believes other bald faced liars if they agree with him. If they don’t agree then he defines them as liars. Actually, it doesn’t matter if the other person is a bald faced liar or not: Agreement = true, Disagreement = false. Trump and his dad learned how to be happy with lying due to [Norman Vincent Peale](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/donald-trump-2016-norman-vincent-peale-213220)’s _[Power of Positive Thinking](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/13/donald-trump-positive-thinking-215704)_. He thinks that if something is true it will become true, therefore everything he thinks is automatically true. Nice “logic” there. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/11 "2018-10-15T22:38:58Z")
[CNN is reporting](https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/15/middleeast/saudi-khashoggi-death-turkey/index.html) that the Saudis are preparing a report that admits that Jamal Khashoggi died under interrogation, which would indicate that their earlier claim that he left the consulate alive was bullshit. Also, the story in the OP (that Trump suggested “rogue killers” were responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi, seemingly excusing the Saudis from the crime) is also bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Catsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c0e974/32.png) [@Catsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catsie)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/12 "2018-10-17T11:29:31Z")
ThelmaLou: So it’s not a question of whether he believes his lies or not. He doesn’t think that way. He doesn’t define truth the way normal people do. Truth is whatever he can get someone to believe, even momentarily. Truth is fluid. Facts are fluid according to his purposes. Lemur866: Trump just says stuff. What they said. It’s hard to pin down Trump in this respect. I believe that much of the time he is lying and he knows he’s lying. Other times, he’s more like a child: He says a thing that he needs to be true _in that moment_, and he believes it is true _in that moment._ He has left many people scratching their heads, because an hour or a day later he’ll say the opposite, and he’ll believe it just as hard. That’s what’s hard to grasp with him. Like Little Nemo said, “His universe is simply Trump.” Understanding this is key to understanding Trump. In a way, it’s a kind of innocence. One thing you can take to the bank, though: You can believe nothing he says. Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-worlds-most-famously-bald-faced-liar/822982/13 "2018-10-17T11:58:21Z")
> [@Catsie](#): > > That’s what’s hard to grasp with him. Like Little Nemo said, “His universe is simply Trump.” Understanding this is key to understanding Trump. In a way, it’s a kind of innocence. > > One thing you can take to the bank, though: You can believe nothing he says. Nothing. Which is why it is so inexplicable to me that his supporters believe everything he says.