To be unequivocal, however, is not the same as to be honest. Politicians equivocate precisely to avoid lying. Trump lies without qualm or remorse. If necessary, he then lies about the lie. (The Hillary Clinton campaign made a powerful online ad that contrasted repeated instances of Trump insisting, “I never said that” followed immediately by a clip of him saying precisely that thing.23) But whatever Trump says, he says without qualification, deceiving the inattentive into regarding him as a truthful man, rather than the most shameless liar in the history of the presidency.
