Lies undermine our democracy

By Bruce Joffe, Piedmont, Calif.

Friday, Feb. 3, 2017 | 2 a.m.

No argument is too petty for little Donald Trump when it comes to assertions about size. While photographic evidence confirms the crowd that witnessed his inauguration was half the size that celebrated former President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Trump chose to claim the opposite and make a fuss about “media bias.” His counselor, Kellyanne Conway, went even further, saying Trump’s claim is based on “alternative facts.”

This is not the first time Trump made claims based on verifiable untruths. So let’s call alternative facts what they are: lies.

As president of the United States, his prevarications pose a direct threat to our free society, which depends on engaged citizens informed by true facts. Government officials calling their lies alternative facts endangers the very foundation of our democracy.

I extend patriotic appreciation to news reporters who check the facts and point out the lies.