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As the United States races towards its first military defeat in an international war, it behooves observers to consider how the entire effort—from the motivations for the war on Iran, its results, supposed diplomatic breakthroughs, and military losses—have all been the subject of institutional lies from Washington.
Given the president’s history, no one should be surprised. I’ve written before about how the first casualty of war is the truth [ [link removed] ]. It becomes especially important to remember that when examining how his subservience [ [link removed] ] to international terrorist [ [link removed] ] Benjamin Netanyahu might ultimately destroy [ [link removed] ] the global capitalist economy, and this country’s role as a global superpower.
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Lies, lies, and more lies
Over the years since he first [ [link removed] ] came to Washington, the president has lied about seemingly everything. One analysis found that, over the course of his first term alone, he lied in public over 30,000 times [ [link removed] ].
He has repeatedly lied about voter fraud [ [link removed] ]—most recently today [ [link removed] ], in response to a redistricting vote in Virginia yesterday that favored Democrats, and any number of times about the results of the 2020 election [ [link removed] ].
He has repeatedly lied about the impact of his economic policies [ [link removed] ], as well as the country’s economic performance [ [link removed] ] under his supposed [ [link removed] ] leadership. He has lied repeatedly about energy costs [ [link removed] ], as well as gas prices, grocery prices, and the overall inflation to which they continue to contribute.
He has repeatedly lied about his own physical health [ [link removed] ]. Even his own former supporters have come to doubt his mental health [ [link removed] ], which has also been the subject of his continuing lies.
He has repeatedly lied about his own fortune [ [link removed] ], and where [ [link removed] ] it came from.
He has repeatedly lied in court [ [link removed] ], at campaign [ [link removed] ] events, in speeches before international [ [link removed] ] bodies, during his State of the Union [ [link removed] ] addresses, and more or less every time he opens his mouth.
He has repeatedly lied about immigrants [ [link removed] ], about supposed crimes [ [link removed] ] committed by immigrants, and about our impact [ [link removed] ] on the American economy.
Why would anyone be surprised that he has yet to utter a single accurate statement about the war he launched [ [link removed] ] on Iran?
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Lies about the war on Iran
Trump lied about how and why [ [link removed] ] the war began, falsely claiming in public that an Iranian attack was imminent before admitting [ [link removed] ] to Congress that was untrue. It is the exact same [ [link removed] ] lie relied upon by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney when they launched an internationally illegal attack on Iraq 23 years ago.
Like his predecessors, Trump then lied about the prospect [ [link removed] ] of victory, falsely claiming the war on Iran would be over “pretty quickly” after the bombing campaign he approved.
Since then, Trump has continued to lie about how the war is proceeding. He lies about mounting troop casualties [ [link removed] ]. He has lied about U.S. warplanes [ [link removed] ] being shot down in Iran. He lied about missile interceptor [ [link removed] ] capacity.
Trump lied about ceasefires, claiming that one had taken effect even while violating his administration’s promises by maintaining [ [link removed] ] a blockade on Iran. Last week, that blockade led to the closure [ [link removed] ] of the Strait of Hormuz after [ [link removed] ] Iran had already agreed to open it.
The president has also lied about negotiations [ [link removed] ]. He claimed last weekend that Vice President J.D. Vance would not [ [link removed] ] be involved in further talks. Yet, this Tuesday, Vance set off [ [link removed] ] for a further round of negotiations, only to return to the White House before even leaving the country when Iran refused to participate.
There’s no reason to be surprised by that, either. In line with his thoroughly consistent pattern, Trump has bombed Iran in the midst of negotiations—not once, but twice [ [link removed] ].
Who’s telling the truth?
It’s worth observing which figures have admitted the truth, even inadvertently.
Secretary of State Maro Rubio is the highest ranking official to observe the president’s subservience [ [link removed] ] to international terrorist [ [link removed] ] Netanyahu. He has also gone further, observing [ [link removed] ] the moral depravity of of governments “spending billions of dollars…building up all these weapons,” rather than “invest[ing] that money for the people….”
Of course, Rubio was referring to Iran, rather than the U.S. But his insight applies no less forcefully here. In fact, given the absurd level and consistency [ [link removed] ] of U.S. military spending under administrations from each of the fascist political parties, his critique is far more apt to America than to Iran.
Last week, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, explained [ [link removed] ] that “The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false. They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”
Iranian officials told the truth when claiming to have shot down [ [link removed] ] a U.S. F-15 fighter at the beginning of this month. It was the first time in 20 years that the Pentagon had lost an aircraft to hostile enemy fire. Iranian officials apparently told the truth again when claiming to have destroyed [ [link removed] ] four more aircraft—two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters—during the Pentagon’s ultimately successful effort to rescue a downed U.S. weapons systems officer.
Iran appears to have exposed the president’s lies several other times: when making verified claims about disabling multiple (and capturing two [ [link removed] ]) commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz this week, when describing the history [ [link removed] ] of a CIA coup that toppled a democratic government in Iran 75 years ago, when observing Trump’s ongoing obsequious [ [link removed] ] deference to international terrorist [ [link removed] ] Benjamin Netanyahu, and even when speaking out about the interests of the American people diverging from those of our corrupt, self-interested, and lying leaders going forward.
What’s the point?
When Trump and international terrorist [ [link removed] ] Benjamin Netanyahu started the war on Iran, they thought that their assassination of senior leaders would spark a mass uprising against the ruling government. Reality proved them catastrophically wrong.
No one has particularly suggested a mass uprising in the U.S.—but accountability remains critically important. Some readers might look to electoral politics as the mechanism to hold accountable the president and his party. I’ll address that perspective in a separate upcoming post.
In the meantime, with May Day [ [link removed] ] looming in just a week, it behooves every American to consider our interests as individuals, and members of families and communities placed at increasing risk by the lies of our supposed leaders.
For many years, I have advocated [ [link removed] ] for a general strike and built [ [link removed] ] grassroots class consciousness to enable one. It could bring Wall Street to its knees, and establish the primacy of workers in the U.S.
As the highest officials in the U.S. government continue to shamelessly lie in public, there has never been a more important time to refuse to work.
We have nothing to lose but our chains [ [link removed] ].

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