Sanders Defends His Assertion That Donald Trump Is A Liar

Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday responded to criticism for calling Donald Trump a liar. In a post on Medium, Sanders said, “What should a United States senator, or any citizen, do if the president is a liar?”

Sanders added, “Does ignoring this reality benefit the American people? Do we make a bad situation worse by disrespecting the president of the United States? Or do we have an obligation to say that he is a liar to protect America’s standing in the world and people’s trust in our institutions?”

In a series of tweets on Monday Sanders said, “The United States will not be respected or taken seriously around the world if @realDonaldTrump continues to shamelessly lie.” Sanders also said, “And Trump was lying long before he was president when he tried to delegitimize our first black president with the “birther” conspiracy.”

 


Sanders blog piece continued, “I happen to strongly believe in civil political discourse. The vast majority of people in Congress who hold views different than mine are not liars. It is critical we have strong, fact-based debates on the important issues facing our country and that we respect people who come to different conclusions. In a democracy people will always have honestly held different points of view.”

“But how does one respond to a president who has complete disregard for reality and who makes assertions heard by billions of people around the world that have no basis in fact?”

“Lastly, my tweet which states that the United States will not be respected or taken seriously around the world if Trump continues to shamelessly lie is self-evident. We are the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth. If we have a president who is not taken seriously by people throughout the world because of his continuous lies, our international standing will clearly suffer.”