President-elect Donald Trump’s social media flex this week involving questionable claims that Mexico agreed to close the U.S.-Mexico border is a preview of how the White House will operate in the next four years, according to a former Republican congressman.
The episode is also a clear example of Trump’s penchant for storytelling that became a hallmark of his first term.
“Donald Trump is a fictional president who is a storyteller and a pied piper whose followers will believe whatever he tweets out or sends out on Truth Social," former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) said on Friday. “And this is a perfect example, someone who simply by suggesting he wins, now the economy is better, the border is better, peace is better, all these other things…and those simply aren’t the facts.”
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The comments came during a discussion on MSNBC about the fierce pushback Trump’s claims received from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. Jolly added that the back and forth, which he described as an early “stumble” by Trump on the international stage, is just a preview of what’s to come.
“I think this is also an introduction of what we are about to walk into, particularly as he stumbles,” Jolly told MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez on Friday. “This is a transition period, all the focus is on the incoming president – you could fault the White House perhaps for not playing a little more offense right now – but he will walk into an environment where he is due to stumble.”
Jolly went on to say those stumbles could peak through in issues like tariffs, or conflicts involving Russia or Syria.
“Whatever these aversions to American democracy are, he will stumble into those and tell lies to cover those up,” he said. “Right now, he’s telling lies about American successes, the real danger happens when he starts telling lies about America’s failure.”
Jolly added that the onus is on the media and the American people "to recognize that maybe what he is telling is not always true.”
