Trump has always been a frequent liar — but observers agree it's getting worse

President Donald Trump has always been a frequent liar, but it's getting worse.

That's the conclusion of the Washington Post's Ashley Parker, who closely follows the statements coming out of the White House.

"According to an analysis by The Post’s Fact Checker through the end of May, Trump had made 3,251 false or misleading claims in 497 days — an average of 6.5 such claims per day of his presidency," Parker writes. But this rate seems to be increasing, she notes.

"Trump is lying, obfuscating and inventing his own version of reality more frequently - a period that began post-Cohen raid but which intensified in recent days," said New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman in agreement.

Two major issues have prompted a deluge of new falsehoods from the president, Parker notes: the FBI inspector general report on Hillary Clinton's email investigation, and the administration's policy of separating immigrant families at the border.

Part of the reason for the increase in lies is an increase in tweets. According to the Post, in June, Trump has tweeted on average 11.3 times a day. These tweets are often filled with demonstrable lies.

But Trump also lies in speeches, sometimes repeating those he's said through other media. During his speech Tuesday at the National Federation of Independent Businesses, he repeated his lie that Germany's crime rate had increased as it welcomed large numbers of immigrants — in fact, crime has declined in the country.

His lies, it seems, even seem to be catching. Homeland Security Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen delivered misleading and falsehood-filled press briefing Monday on the topic of family separations, in which she refused to take responsibility for the policy. Over the weekend, she had unequivocally denied that the policy existed at all, contrary to all evidence.

But when you work for the Trump administration, lying on camera is apparently part of the job description.