Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), as unexceptional a conservative lawmaker as you will find and a generally pro-Trump voice, said something extraordinary on Sunday. Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether President Trump’s lying wasn’t a problem, Blunt served up a tutorial in moral relativism and postmodern thought:
JAKE TAPPER: Does it bother you — does it bother you when President Trump is not honest? Does it bother you when he says things that are clear, demonstrable falsehoods to the American people?
BLUNT: You know, he communicates differently than I do or than almost anybody else ever has.
I will tell you, though, I was in Missouri all week. I did news conferences in 10 different cities all over the state. I saw virtually every TV camera in the state during that — those 10 cities. …
And President Trump’s part of that. But I think people are much more concerned about the economy and job preparation. And there are plenty of chances for every reporter to ask a question about President Trump. Nobody did. And …
TAPPER: Well, I will make up for it. … Let me ask you this.
Does it matter if the president of the United States lies to the American people? The majority of the American people do not find him honest and trustworthy. That is a problem.
Doesn’t that get in the way of the agenda? And, as an American, wouldn’t you prefer to have a president who you don’t have to worry that what he says is just demonstrably false, such as when he says two of the hostages that were taken were taken — that are in North Korea were taken under [President
Barack] Obama, when two of the three were taken while he was president?
BLUNT: Well, you know, that Trump persona has not changed since the campaign.
TAPPER: Does it bother you, though?
BLUNT: It would bother me less if we weren’t getting things done.
What the regulators are doing, I think the tax package, better than I would have expected. I think the foreign policy, the president was left with lots of problems. We had about eight years where we acted like the United States of America was basically any other country in the world. And a lot of things got off track during that eight years.
Transition Studies 