Opinion

Last Monday’s edition of the Editorial Board was about what you would say to someone who believes the economy is terrible. In fact, this is best economy we have seen in half a century. A lot of people, however, aren’t feeling it, according to some polls. “What would you say?” I asked readers. The answers were equal parts illuminating and shrewd.

Today, I want to tell you what I think.

Hitler’s brilliant propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, famously told the Fuhrer, “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.” Donald Trump and the MAGA faction of the Republican Party have taken Goebbels’ advice to heart, and it’s going to make this fall’s election one like we’ve never seen before.

Already they’ve been lying so often and so effectively that nearly all Republicans, and majorities or near-majorities of Americans, believe:

I was telling you about how Donald Trump and the Republicans don’t mean what they say, and when it’s discovered that they don’t, they simply move on to the next thing, which they also don’t mean. This pattern is so predictable, it’s amazing they have any credibility among people who are not incentivized to believe things they don’t mean.

I was telling you about that pattern in reference to the conviction of Hunter Biden, a historic event that should illustrate the president’s dedication to the principle that no one is above the law, not even his only living son. But this morning, I was reminded of that pattern again.

Sometimes I wonder if all the attention Donald Trump gets is going to backfire. I suppose “wonder” might be another word for “hope,” but I don’t hope (or wonder) without a good reason. There are so many people, even powerful people, who are not paying attention to this election. Why? Perhaps because Trump dominates news of it.

For example, I was watching this clip this morning. In it, CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin reported what he heard from some of America’s top CEOs yesterday after their meeting with Trump in Washington.