Someone should probably sit down and have a talk with President Donald Trump. The focus should be trying to explain to him that the president of the United States can’t simply act like a nut job on an internet forum.

Before the president of the United States sends out an ill-considered tweet accusing the previous president of wiretapping his phones, he really should discuss it with someone first, perhaps his attorney general or a psychiatrist. And such an accusation should be delivered at a news conference or an address to the nation along with the release of real evidence to back up the claim.

Certainly social media can be a powerful tool for the nation’s politicians to reach their constituents and bypass the media gateway. I get that. However, twitter is not the appropriate forum to level such serious charges against a former president.

Granted, unlike most of Trump’s lies, false facts, and outlandish statements, this one is at least plausible. President Barack Obama was certainly not opposed to the use of the surveillance state and he self-admittedly had little respect for the U.S. Constitution, which he saw as a flawed document that stood in the way of his real agenda.

If true, I want to know about it. If Obama wiretapped the phones of an opposition party candidate during a presidential election, that information needs to be revealed to the American people. That being said, the president still should not take to social media and casually accuse the previous president of such a dastardly and, most likely, illegal action. If it is true, then make the accusation and release evidence of the same concurrently. And do it in a serious way, at a lectern with U.S. attorneys, intelligence officials and law enforcement officials at your side so the public knows you are serious.

Trump’s constant lying and bizarre statements need to be brought under control, not only for the sake of his presidency, his legacy and the GOP’s ability to govern, but for the sake of the Republic itself. The world’s politicians aren’t going to want to be seen by their constituents as they cozy up to a delusional fool and pathological liar. And what country is going to take us seriously when they can’t be sure Trump isn’t lying to them or that he will keep his word, a real problem because Trump has a long and established history of not being a man of his word.

What boggles my mind is the reaction from the Trumpkins. People I respect and consider intelligent seem to believe whatever flows out of this man’s mouth no matter how much it seems to go against the very things they have always believed. They are either so blinded by partisan loyalty or so glad Hillary Clinton did not win that they do not want to hold him accountable, they simply want to rationalize his irrational behavior to his “speaking style” or they imagine some grand scheme in which Trump’s lies are actually genius political maneuvers.

This is, perhaps, one of the greatest problems in modern America. Too many Americans lack a moral or philosophical compass upon which to rely. It’s party above all else. In other words, they are hypocrites who change their political tunes based on who is saying what.

For example, Trump is neither a conservative nor a Republican. Indeed, he states many positions that are downright leftist in nature, and yet conservatives and Republicans cheer him on. Take the GOP’s health care bill that Trump supports. It is Obamacare with a new wrapper.

Trump’s lies go beyond the “All politicians lie” mantra. Never before in the history of the United States has there been a president who was a pathological liar. Nor do his lies make sense. He lies about things that are easily verified. He lies about things no one needs to lie about.

The bigger question, though, is does he really believe his own lies? If he does, then perhaps Lyin’ Donald needs to spend time on the psychiatric couch.

The most likely answer, though, is that Trump’s buffoonery is simply the result of an oversized ego masking his incompetence and tiny intellect.

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By Thomas J. Lucente Jr. tlucente@civitasmedia.com

ONLY ON LIMAOHIO.COM See past columns by Thomas J. Lucente Jr. at http://j.mp/ThomasLucente.

Thomas J. Lucente Jr. is an attorney with the Hearn Law Office in Wapakoneta (419-738-8171) and night editor of The Lima News. Reach him by telephone at 567-242-0398, by email at tlucente@civitasmedia.com, or on Twitter @ThomasLucente.

Thomas J. Lucente Jr. is an attorney with the Hearn Law Office in Wapakoneta (419-738-8171) and night editor of The Lima News. Reach him by telephone at 567-242-0398, by email at tlucente@civitasmedia.com, or on Twitter @ThomasLucente.