Trump's Truth: Truth, Lies and Politics

Since Donald Trump’s arrival on the American political landscape, the mainstream media and his opponents have fixated on Trump’s ‘honesty’ and ‘truthfulness’? One of his most trenchant critics, the New York Times, ran a years-long campaign detailing Trump’s lies. However, in the end, most American voters did not care. Trump’s re-election in 2024 repudiated the criticisms and allegations of his critics. Is it possible that Trump’s ascendency is evidence that we now live in a post-truth world?

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

COURSE OUTLINE

• Political lies of American presidents
• Donald Trump: his critics, his supporters and Truth Social
• What is post-truth?
• How useful is the concept of post-truth in assessing the Trump presidency?

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Describe the main debates around Donald Trump’s honesty and trustworthiness
2. Outline the outcome of criticisms of Trump’s honesty