Opinion: It takes a White House village to enable President Trump’s serial lying

To the editor: President Trump has lied so much that almost all of his pronouncements are suspect. (“Trump ordered Mueller fired last year before backing off, news report says,” Jan. 25.)

He has denied that he ordered the firing of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III last summer, calling it “fake news.” I believe and trust the New York Times, the Washington Post and other mainstream outlets, all of whom have verified the story. They can hardly afford to play into Trump’s game by publishing fake news and suffering a blow to their credibility.

I believe the Los Angeles Times behaves similarly, as it should.

Every time the president lies about an important subject, some people in the administration know it. I have never worked for a serial liar, but I imagine it could be daunting if the employee has any moral acuity. Trump’s surrogates, who repeat and amplify his pronouncements, are obviously not caught in that kind of ethical dilemma.

If there is fake news out there, it comes from right-wing outlets that publish outlandish conspiracy theories that get quickly blown up by real news.

Stu Olster, Laguna Hills

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To the editor: As Trump faces a possible interview by Mueller, he might rue the fact that he’s not much of a reader. Some words of wisdom could have perhaps been useful to him.

Aesop’s tortoise plods steadily forward to the prize — the defense of our democracy — while Trump runs scattershot through the very fabric of our democracy like a misguided hare, thinking distraction will surely prevail.

If he was a student of literature, Trump might reconsider his repeated boast that the Russia investigation is a “witch hunt” or his insistence of “no collusion, no collusion, no collusion.” To quote Shakespeare, “Methinks he doth protest too much.”

Joanne O’Roark, Santa Barbara

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