Lies and Damn Lies

By Walter Parker

Both kinds of lying are indecent, but there’s a difference between them. Lying to the Pope brings deceit to the godly realm while lying to the public brings it to the realm of democratic governance. In religion, lying is a sin; in civic life it’s a betrayal of trust, a breach of contract.

When Trump depicted himself as Jesus and criticized Pope Leo as weak on crime, he added that he had won his 2024 election by a “LANDSLIDE.” Further, he claimed that Leo wouldn’t have been elected pope had Trump not been elected president. The first claim about winning by a landslide is simply a lie. The second claim, that the pope owes his papacy to Trump, is harder to classify. Let’s call it a narcissistic fantasy or, befitting a Greek tragedy, hubris.

Webster defines a landslide as “a great majority of votes for one side” and “an overwhelming victory.” Trump did win, but he did not win a majority, let alone an overwhelming majority. He won by what is called a plurality. That means he got the most votes. His plurality was 49.81% of the total votes to his opponent’s 48.34%. These are facts. They can be verified.

Here are three presidential landslides: Reagan over Mondale (59% of the vote), Nixon over McGovern (61%), and Johnson over Goldwater (61%). And they won 49, 49, and 44 states respectively. The big margins matter because a landslide allows more confidence, more leeway, even the coveted “mandate.” That’s probably why Trump lied about it.

https://www.postalley.org/2026/04/24/lies-and-damn-lies/