Kerby Anderson

When is a misstatement or an exaggeration an actual lie? This is hardly a hypothetical question. Critics and media organizations have accused the last two presidents and the current one of lying to the American people. You might remember such phrases as: “Bush lied, people died” and “Obama continually lied about Obamacare.” Now critics claim that President Trump and his administration frequently lie.

When Kelly Ann Conway talked about the “Bowling Green terrorist massacre,” was it lie? She says it was a slip of the tongue. She meant to say Bowling Green terrorists. For the sake of argument, let’s assume she misspoke. If so, it wouldn’t be any different than candidate Obama saying he visited 57 states. It’s an inaccurate misstatement but isn’t a deliberate lie.

Sometimes people misremember an event from a news report. Donald Trump said he remembered thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating 9/11. That did not happen. But that is different than Hillary Clinton telling the media that she arrived in Kosovo under gunfire. It is different from Brian Williams telling people how a soldier rescued him after his helicopter was downed in the Iraq war. Both of them were there and were apparently embellishing their story.

President Trump has been accused of exaggerating. While that is certainly true, we should also remember that most presidents are prone to do that, especially when they are getting facts from their aides. Obama told everyone a devastating tornado destroyed a town and killed 10,000 people. Actually the death toll was 12 people. Also, Trump isn’t the first to engage in hyperbole. Obama said at the Dallas memorial service for slain police officers that it is easier to buy a Glock than a book in many communities.

We should demand that presidents and their administrations tell the truth, but we shouldn’t call them liars just because they misspeak or exaggerate.