New York Times columnist Charles Blow advised the press this week not to normalize President Donald Trump’s ceaseless lying.

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer complained that the “default narrative” presented by the press is “always negative, and it’s demoralizing.”

“No, sir, the default is to call a lie a lie; lies are negative because they are the opposite of the truth; and Trump continuously lies,” Blow explains in his Times column on Thursday. “Also, he who is devoid of morality is immune to demoralization. You can’t wring water from a rock.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“Donald Trump is a proven liar. He lies often and effortlessly. He lies about the profound and the trivial. He lies to avoid guilt and invite glory. He lies when his pride is injured and when his pomposity is challenged.”

Blow asserts that Trump’s gag order on federal agencies communicating with the public is a symptom of his impulsive lying. And in another recent example, Trump doubled down on a lie about winning he popular vote by vowing to order an investigation into so-called voter fraud.

“This is just like Trump, whose inclination is never to admit a mistake, and instead to redouble his self-righteousness even in the midst of his wrong,” Blow says. “This statement weakens our democracy and strengthens voter suppression efforts.”

“Our president is a pathological liar. Say it. Write it. Never become inured to it. And dispense with the terms of art to describe it,” Blow concludes. “A lie by any other name portends the same.”