Patience, the old adage has it, is a virtue. And it seem patience can pay off – eventually. A White House reporter for Huffington Post, S V Date, says he waited several years to ask Donald Trump the one question last week that he felt went to the heart of the Trump presidency:
“Mr President, after three and a half years (in office) do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?”
Mr Trump appeared puzzled.
“All the what?” he said.
The reporter persisted: “All the lying, all the dishonesties.”
The president asked for clarification: “That who has done?”
“You have done,” Date responded, but Mr Trump cut him off, didn’t answer and turned to another reporter who asked a question about taxes.
This is revealing for many reasons. Why had no one plucked up the courage to ask Mr Trump about lying before? Why did the next reporter, (the one who asked about taxes) or the one after that, or the one after that, not ask the same question until the President recognised this is how he is seen round the world?
As noted in this column before, every few months The Washington Post "Factchecker" counts what they call Mr Trump's "false or misleading claims." In the latest tally the Trump total was 20,000 falsehoods and his productivity has been increasing.
At the start of his presidency he was averaging a dozen “false or misleading” claims a day. Then in the 14 months leading up to July, with his reelection campaign in full swing and faced with the coronavirus pandemic and the economic dislocation it has caused, Mr Trump upped his game to 23 falsehoods a day. That is a remarkable one lie an hour, with time off for lunch, but no time to sleep.
Given this record, one can see why Mr Trump declined to answer, although it would be refreshing to hear a world leader say something along the lines of: “Look, I am truly sorry if I got anything wrong or misspoke. This is a hugely complicated world and sometimes I over-simplify complex problems or get things wrong or – to be frank – twist the truth. I will try to do better in future.”
But politicians, and not just Mr Trump, very often do not admit errors. When I talked with a former British prime minister about this he said to me that the reason was simple. If he admitted he had messed up on, for example, a new tax or a new motorway project, some reporter would play “Gotcha!” and turn on him and say: “So you admit raising taxes on petrol was wrong – how can we trust you to get anything else right? Where else have you failed miserably?”
I had to admit that this former prime minister had a point. We do live in a “Gotcha!” media culture where sometimes a simple apology is seen as a sign of weakness. I regret that.
To take a current example from Britain, the UK government has refused to accept it has botched the handling of the results of the very important exams taken by teenage students. England’s “A” or “Advanced” level exams are necessary to gain entrance to universities.
Mr Trump upped his game to 23 falsehoods a day. That is a remarkable one lie an hour, with time off for lunch, but no time to sleep
But because of the pandemic this year’s exams could not go ahead and teachers gave predicted grades to the pupils they teach. But using a computer algorithm the government has succeeded in marking down thousands of pupils’ grades in ways that are unfair. The algorithm takes into account previous results from the schools in past years, and this means clever pupils right now in poorer areas served in the past by under-performing schools have been unfairly penalised.
In Scotland, faced with a similar problem, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, apologised and changed Scottish government policy to restore the predicted grades. Good. But the Westminster government has not done the same in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The bigger point is this: if we want leaders to show empathy with the lives of ordinary people, we ourselves need to show empathy to the leaders themselves.
If they apologise, we should be generous and forgiving. There were no easy answers on how to grade pupils for exams without them taking the exams. No government ministers deliberately tried to ruin the education of thousands of teenagers – but they have, and should apologise and change their policy.
Lying (unfortunately) is something we all do occasionally. Have you ever told a friend who cooked you dinner that you enjoyed a meal when you really didn’t or that you like someone’s new hairstyle or new coat when you don’t?
But even if we do all occasionally lie, Mr Trump is in a class of his own – 22,000 falsehoods do not require just an apology. They have damaged the institution of the presidency and only a change of president can repair the damage. The answer to Mr Date’s question is clear: Donald Trump has no regrets and makes no apology.
Gavin Esler is a journalist, author and presenter
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
If you go...
Flying
There is no simple way to get to Punta Arenas from the UAE, with flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi requiring at least two connections to reach this part of Patagonia. Flights start from about Dh6,250.
Touring
Chile Nativo offers the amended Los Dientes trek with expert guides and porters who are met in Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino. The trip starts and ends in Punta Arenas and lasts for six days in total. Prices start from Dh8,795.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
