Trump insists protests aren't real as thousands fill the streets to say he's not welcome

Trump took a page straight from George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” on Tuesday, telling the world that he was greeted by thousands of well-wishers in the streets, and that the protests against his state visit to the U.K. — that everyone can see with their very eyes — are “fake news” and don’t exist.

“As far as the protests, I have to tell you, because I commented on it yesterday, we left the prime minister, the queen, the royal family … There were thousands of people on the streets cheering and even coming over today. There were thousands of people cheering,” Trump said — an easy-to-debunk lie given that the Pall Mall (the long, wide street leading up to Buckingham Palace in London) was almost devoid of people on Monday when Trump was there greeting the Royal Family.

https://twitter.com/ChrisLake1/status/1135846283384672256

Trump then went on to say there actually weren’t protests against his visit, yet another easy-to-debunk lie given that there were tens of thousands of people in the streets as Trump was speaking at the news conference.

“I heard that there were protests,” Trump said, when asked during the news conference about the unfriendly greeting he’s receiving from Londoners protesting his visit. “I said, ‘Where are the protests? I don’t see any protests.'”

In fact, Trump drove by the protests on his way to meet with May, including the large Trump Baby balloon that was held by people in red garb emblazoned with the words “babysitter.”

This is not the first time Trump has told the world to not believe what they heard or saw with their very eyes.

Ahead of his visit to the U.K., Trump called Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle “nasty” — an attack he then denied he made, despite the fact that he made the remark on tape that everyone could hear.

We’ve long known Trump is a pathological liar. But to lie about things that people witnessed themselves take the lies to a new level.

It’s almost identical to what Orwell wrote in his novel about government control over its people: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.