When the truth clashes with his favorite preconceptions, President Donald Trump has more than a little trouble swallowing the truth.
Exhibit A: After receiving a detailed CIA briefing on the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump last month let Mohammed Bin Salman off the hook, saying of the Saudi crown prince, "Maybe he did and maybe he didn't" know about the killing.
Tuesday, after the CIA shared much of the same intelligence with U.S. senators, they said they had no doubt Bin Salman had ordered the dirty deed.
"There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw," said Lindsey Graham, referring to the bone saw with which Khashoggi was dismembered. Added Bob Corker: "If the Crown Prince went in front of a jury, he would be convicted in 30 minutes."
Exhibit B: Trump, declaring himself a "Tariff Man" and threatening to slap ever-higher levies on Chinese goods even as supposed trade truce talks begin, said "when people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs."
To the contrary, people who make real business decisions know that tariffs are taxes on American consumers and companies; the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 799 points.
Exhibit C: Trump, who celebrates "beautiful clean coal," has declared that "the coal industry is back" and said "we're putting our miners back to work."
Tuesday, a federal report said Americans are using less coal than at any time since the presidency of Jimmy Carter; this year will be the second largest year on record for shuttering of U.S. coal plants.
Facts 3, Trump 0. That's one day's tally.
