“The Trumpian lie is different. It is the power lie, or the bully lie. It is the lie of the bigger kid who took your hat and is wearing it—while denying that he took it.” @mashagessen, Surviving Autocracy 1/

“There is no defense to this lie bc the point of the lie is to assert power, to show ‘I can say what I want when I want to.’” 2/

When KellyAnne Conway early on declared her intention to provide “alternative facts,” this was “not to justify or whitewash a lie—it was a declaration that the new administration reserved the right to lie.” 3/