Since returning to power, President Trump has advanced numerous distortions and conspiracy theories to support his policies, including false claims about U.S. aid to Hamas and Ukraine’s role in the war with Russia. His “alternative facts” have evolved into a broader alternative reality, influencing both domestic and foreign policy. Trump’s adept narrative shaping allows him to garner support for radical changes while dismissing dissenting opinions. Despite extensive fact-checking, he continues to repeat falsehoods, leading some aides to conform their views to his. This manipulation of truth has drawn comparisons to tactics used in authoritarian regimes, undermining public discourse.
The United States supposedly transported $50 million in condoms to Hamas, asserted that diversity initiatives were behind a plane accident, claimed China exerts control over the Panama Canal, and suggested Ukraine initiated hostilities with Russia.
But those statements are entirely false. Nevertheless, President Trump continues unabated. In the month since his return to power, he has once more displayed a shocking readiness to promote misinformation, conspiracy theories, and deliberate falsehoods to validate significant policy changes.
Mr. Trump has a long history of discarding the truth when it comes to championing his achievements and vilifying opponents. What were termed “alternative facts” during his initial term have swiftly morphed into a comprehensive alternative reality in his second term, laying the foundation for drastic alterations as he works to radically transform both America and the global landscape.
If the U.S. Agency for International Development is foolish enough to provide condoms to a Palestinian militant group in Gaza, he argues, then it warrants dismantling. If diversity hiring in the airline industry jeopardizes safety, he believes those initiatives should be abolished. If China commands a critical transit point on the continent, the United States should reclaim it. If Ukraine is at fault, it ought to concede to Moscow.
“One of the most significant presidential powers Trump wields is the ability to construct his own narrative,” stated Julian E. Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton and editor of a collection of essays on Mr. Trump’s initial term. “We’ve repeatedly observed how President Trump fabricates his own reality to legitimize his actions while discrediting cautions concerning his choices.”
Integrating his background in real estate and reality television into politics, Mr. Trump has long succeeded in propagating his perspective. In Mr. Trump’s world, he is adept at overcoming every obstacle, while any setback falls on others.
He has reiterated that he created the greatest economy in history so frequently that even some critics began to accept the notion it was superior to reality. He dismissed intelligence reports regarding Russian interference in the 2016 elections on his behalf so often that many followers embraced his denials.
Most importantly, Mr. Trump has conducted a multiyear campaign to convince Americans that he did not lose the 2020 election—a reality he did in fact lose—making a series of unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud that were debunked, yet still, polls show most Republicans remain convinced it was illegitimate.
Concurrently, he has redefined the January 6, 2021, insurrection by his supporters aimed at hindering the power transition from a “despicable assault,” as he initially described it, to a “day of love,” a term he now uses. This altered narrative has allowed him to justify pardoning nearly 1,600 individuals charged, including many who physically assaulted officers.
“Trump is an exceptionally skilled storyteller and propagandist,” remarked Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present” and a historian specializing in fascism and authoritarianism at New York University. “In fact, he ranks among the most skillful propagandists in history.”
Dr. Ben-Ghiat pointed out that what makes Mr. Trump’s “easily disproven lie” surrounding the 2020 election so notable is that he operates “not within a one-party state or under authoritarian conditions with a controlled media, but in a completely open society with a free press.”
However, she and others noted that some of Mr. Trump’s motifs bear resemblance to those observed in authoritarian regimes. “The type of propaganda and misinformation that we witness now isn’t novel nor is it solely reliant on the internet,” explained Benjamin Carter Hett, a WWII historian at Hunter College. “The same types of occurrences unfolded in the vibrant and diverse German press of the 1920s and 1930s.”
Mr. Trump’s aides have long been aware of his tendency to lie and have either adapted to it or eventually distanced themselves from him. John F. Kelly, his longest-serving chief of staff in the first term, recounted that Mr. Trump would instruct his press aides to publicly repeat something he had just fabricated. When Mr. Kelly voiced his disapproval, stating, “but that’s not true,” Mr. Trump would reply, “but it sounds good.”
Stephanie Grisham, who served as a White House press secretary in the first term, reminisced that Mr. Trump would tell aides, “as long as you keep repeating something, what you say is irrelevant.” This trickled down to the staff. “Casual dishonesty circulated through the White House as if it was in the air-conditioning system,” she disclosed in her memoir.
Anthony Scaramucci, a former Trump associate who briefly served as his White House communications director, stated on Friday that Mr. Trump believes in the effectiveness of dishonesty. He remarked that Mr. Trump has been “distorting facts and spreading lies for 50 years and has continually evaded accountability, so why wouldn’t he amplify his fabrications in the final stretch?”
The exaggerations and inaccuracies serve a strategic function. Although Mr. Trump claimed a clear victory in November, including in the popular vote, which he lost in 2016, he didn’t secure a majority, and his 1.5-percentage-point lead was one of the narrowest since the 19th century. Nevertheless, he frequently asserts he won a “landslide victory,” which not only inflates his ego but also posits an extensive public mandate for his agenda.
Mr. Trump, who consistently criticized media fact-checking during last year’s campaign, does not retreat even after misleading statements and falsehoods are revealed. Rather, he tends to reinforce them, repeating the claims even post-exposure.
After it was made clear that the $50 million in condoms narrative was false, Mr. Trump not only reiterated it but increased the alleged figure to $100 million. He also refused to retract false statements claiming that U.S.A.I.D. had granted funds to media organizations as “a ‘payoff’ for generating favorable stories about the Democrats,” despite confirmation that the funds were merely for subscriptions.
Similarly, Mr. Trump launched his assertion regarding diversity programs and aviation safety the day after a passenger jet and military helicopter collided midair, with no evidence to support his claim, nor did he provide any follow-up. And, although a Hong Kong firm manages two of five ports near the Panama Canal, he persists in claiming that China controls the canal, when in fact it is managed by Panama.
To bolster his push to revoke the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, Mr. Trump frequently claims that the United States is “the only country in the world that does this,” despite reports confirming that over 30 nations actually do.
“Opponents inevitably end up debating his narratives, irrespective of their factual basis,” remarked Dr. Zelizer. “This places President Trump in a constant position of advantage, as he dictates the terms of discourse rather than allowing others to counter him.”
In Mr. Trump’s realm where facts are flexible, conspiracy theories occasionally hold as much weight as concrete evidence, and those who propagate them receive access that no other president would provide. Just recently, he expressed interest in visiting Fort Knox to verify whether the nation’s gold is genuinely present, indulging a fringe theory suggesting it might be missing.
Joining Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on a trip to Europe was far-right figure Jack Posobiec, who had previously spread the falsehood that Democrats were operating a sex-trafficking ring from a Washington pizzeria—a lie that motivated an armed individual to invade and shoot at the location to “rescue” the nonexistent victims. While Mr. Posobiec did not participate in the trip, he later traveled with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine.
Mr. Trump’s attempt to shift blame onto Ukraine in recent days exemplifies his efforts to translate his alternative reality into policy. Over multiple days, he has claimed that Ukraine “started” the conflict with Russia in 2022 and labeled President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” exonerating actual dictator President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who invaded his neighboring country. On Friday, he escalated his statement by declaring, “It’s not Russia’s fault.”
By undermining public compassion for Ukraine, Mr. Trump may facilitate negotiations with Mr. Putin that yield much of what Russia desires, dismissing objections from both Mr. Zelensky and European leaders. Because Mr. Zelensky is considered a dictator responsible for the war, this reasoning implies he deserves less consideration.
One of Mr. Trump’s assertions about Ukraine illustrates how he constructs myths. He claimed that the United States has sent $350 billion in aid to Ukraine—three times the amount from Europe—and that a large portion of that money is “missing,” further alleging that Mr. Zelensky “admits half of the funds we sent him are unaccounted for.”
In reality, the United States has allocated approximately one-third of what Mr. Trump suggested, even less than Europe, and none of it is confirmed to be missing.
The dollar amounts referenced for U.S. assistance to Ukraine can differ based on how officials present them, the periods they encompass, and whether they include humanitarian and economic support.
How did Mr. Trump arrive at his figures? The White House has not responded to a request for clarification. Nonetheless, it seems that he may have misinterpreted or distorted a recent interview with Mr. Zelensky.
In that interview, Mr. Zelensky was asked by The Associated Press regarding inflated figures, to which he responded. “When people say Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war, that is untrue,” Mr. Zelensky stated according to a translation by Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian news source. “I don’t know where all that money went.”
Mr. Zelensky wasn’t implying there was $200 billion and he was unaware of its whereabouts; he was asserting that the amount never existed to begin with. Even Mr. Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has indicated that there are no concerns about missing funds, asserting, “we have a pretty good accounting of where it’s going.” In reality, the majority of U.S. assistance provided to Ukraine consists of weaponry, not cash.
However, this narrative contradicts the established viewpoint at the White House. Once Mr. Trump makes a claim, those employed under him—who wish to retain their positions—are compelled to mold their versions of reality to align with his, even if it requires discarding previously held beliefs about the truth.
Thus, we find Michael Waltz, a former Republican congressman from Florida now serving as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, recently pressed to reconcile his previous statements about the origins of the Ukraine conflict with Mr. Trump’s current stance.
A reporter quoted an opinion piece written by Mr. Waltz in 2023, stating that “Putin is to blame, certainly, like Al Qaeda was to blame for 9/11.” He was asked if he still held that belief or if he supported Mr. Trump’s assertion that Ukraine instigated the conflict.
“Well,” Mr. Waltz responded cautiously, “you shouldn’t be surprised that I align with the president’s perspective on various issues. What I expressed as a congressman reflects my stance as a former congressman.”
Thus, Mr. Waltz’s true reality was overshadowed by Mr. Trump’s alternate narrative.