Most Bills Ever?

Our pathologically lying president, Donald J. Trump, keeps insisting that he has signed more bills in his first year in office than any president. It appears to me that he is slightly mistaken. He is obsessed with being the best, biggest, most, first, etc. Well, his bill signing record does hold a record that can be described with a superlative. That adjective is LEAST or FEWEST. There are a few possible explanations for this blatantly provable lie. One is that Trump's math skills are terrible and he cannot differentiate a higher number from a lower one. Another is that his staff of incompetents gave him the wrong information. My theory is that he knows the facts but doesn't care. He thinks people will believe him or soon forget he lied. He has no allegiance to the truth. A frightening possibility is that he is so delusional that he believes what he says.

Here are the numbers according to Politifact: 

President	Bills signed in year one	Pages of legislation
John F. Kennedy	684	1,404
Dwight Eisenhower	514	1,107
George H.W. Bush	242	2,518
Jimmy Carter	241	1.595
Richard M. Nixon	211	545
Bill Clinton	209	2,556
Barack Obama	118	3,473
Ronald Reagan	108	1,223
George H.W. Bush	102	981
Donald Trump	94	2,038

 I ask, is 94 larger than any number on that chart? Another source puts Trump's count at 96, still the fewest of the last 60 years. 

The total number of bills signed does not indicate the importance or impact of the legislation. There is no reason to lie about it. The issue probably wouldn't have even come up except that Trump had to brag about a something he didn't accomplish.

Of course, this is not a surprise or shouldn't be to anyone who pays attention. Trump spouts lies and misinformation at a rate of over five per day. No surprise, but very disappointing. 

It will be interesting to see how Trump's minions spin this blatant lie. Will it be just one explanation or will there be multiple interpretations?  I'm sure Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders are crafting a response right now. 

I may be old and out of touch, but I still believe facts and the truth matter.

wjh

Winning - November 2017

The continuing saga of Trump's and the GOP's winning ways in November 2017. A partial list. 

• 10/30 - Special Council Robert Mueller's team indicts former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and former campaign official Rick Gates. Another former campaign advisor, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
• 11/1 - Trump blames the NYC terrorist attack on Chuck Schumer because of immigration laws in effect when Sayfullo Saipov immigrated in 2010. He had a Green Card. Nice stretch Donny.
• Sam Clovis withdraws as Trump's nominee for chief scientist of the Department of Agriculture. He has been implicated in the Russian probe. He was also woefully unqualified for the position. 
• Trump nominates totally unqualified Brett Talley to the federal bench. Besides being rated unqualified by the ABA, he failed to disclose that his wife is a White House lawyer.
• Trump cuts Rex Tillerson off at the knees again. This time on Laura Ingraham's show.
• A federal judge blocks Trump's ban on transgender military members.
• A second judge reinforces the block on Trump's transgender ban and says the administration can not stop funding transgender surgery.
• Another judge blocks Trump's Executive Order denying federal funding to sanctuary cities.
• Trump believes Putin did not meddle in US elections because he said so. 
• Donald Trump, Jr. sends out a Halloween tweet that misspells "too" and gets the analogy wrong. Only the best and the brightest.
• "Diversary" appears to beTrump's new word for diversity. He wants to send the Manhattan terrorist to Guantanamo even though he was a legal resident. Trump wants to end the "Diversary" Immigration Visa Program.
• Trump claims Hillary Clinton lost the election on purpose so that he could be elected and then impeached. Wow.
• Trump calls the "failing" New York Times to insist that the Russian investigations are not a big concern to him. Right.
• It appears that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross profited from a shipping company with business ties to Putin’s family.
• Forbes magazine now says Ross exaggerated his worth by $2 billion. He also failed to disclose 19 suits prior to confirmation hearings. 
• Trump’s Mar-a-Lago applies for 70 H-2B visas. Apparently, immigrants are good when they will work at his businesses for low wages.
• Trump nominates Alex Azar as Secretary of Health and Human Services. A former president of Lilly USA, part of Eli Lilly big pharma. More swamp draining?
• Donald Trump, Jr. had contact with Wikileaks during and after the campaign. 
• The remaining 11 countries in TPP are going ahead with the agreement without the US.
• GOP, Bannon, Ecumenical, and Trump darling, Roy Moore of Alabama, accused of having inappropriate sexual encounters with several teenage girls when he was in his 30's. 
• The Trump administration lifts the ban on importing elephant trophies. A few days later he delays the change for further review.
• Trump rescinds temporary residency program for 60,000 Haitians. They have 18 months to leave the country.
• Kellyanne Conway pretty much endorses Roy Moore.
• Trump defends Moore. 
• Trump Organization exits from Trump SoHo Hotel deal. The hotel is struggling.
• Trump uses a racial slur during ceremony to honor WWII Native American code talkers. Native American leaders quickly criticized the president’s remark.
• Trump retweets videos posted by a radical right-wing group, British First, that show alleged radical Islam violence. What could possibly be his purpose?

It has been quite a month. Stay tuned for December, starting with Michael Flynn pleading guilty and cooperating with the Mueller investigation.

wjh