Golden Age of Lies
Trump’s UN performance exposed the toxic fusion of ignorance and cruelty at the highest stage of diplomacy. His speech was a flood of falsehoods—from imaginary wars “ended” to fabricated investments and climate lies. The world saw not American strength but a leader unfit for the global stage.
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
This old maxim—Hanlon’s Razor—has long served as a guide in judging human folly. The adage suggests that when someone’s actions cause harm, chaos, or disappointment, the likelier culprit is incompetence, ignorance, or carelessness, rather than deliberate malevolence. It’s a useful rule of thumb in everyday life, a reminder not to assume conspiracies where simple blunders suffice
But Robert Hanlon never seemed to imagine the possibility of a figure so recklessly incompetent, so staggeringly careless, and so willfully ignorant that the harm he inflicts cannot be separated from malice. What happens when stupidity and malevolence are not opposites, but partners? When arrogance, bigotry, narcissism, and sociopathy mix with breathtaking ignorance to produce a political figure who embodies both folly and evil at once?
Unfortunately, we do not have to speculate. Such a man exists, and his cultivation of followers in his own image has turned the United States into an international punchline. The man, of course, is Donald Trump.
His most recent display of this grotesque mixture came at the world’s largest diplomatic stage: the United Nations General Assembly. This is an arena where respect, decorum, and careful articulation are essential. Heads of state are expected to speak with dignity, adhere to the customary 15-minute time limit, and recognize that they stand not as individuals but as representatives of their nations.
Trump did none of this. He rambled for nearly an hour, a torrent of lies, self-congratulation, and propaganda. His speech was not a presentation of American leadership, but a one-man spectacle—a grotesque parody of diplomacy that left the United States diminished and mocked.
Among his falsehoods and absurdities:
- He boasted of achievements that never happened, claiming U.S. wages had exceeded inflation under his presidency. The truth is the opposite: during his first term, inflation rose far faster than wages, a reality only corrected under President Biden before beginning to creep upward again.
- He claimed to have secured $17 trillion in investments for the U.S.—a mathematical impossibility, given that America’s total GDP is around $18.7 trillion, and the combined GDP of most of the rest of the world (excluding China) is only $29 trillion.
- He bragged of halting seven global wars—many of which never existed in the first place. Most farcical of all, he repeated his hollow promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war “in 24 hours,” a conflict that has only grown more devastating with time.
- He mocked the United Nations itself, derided renewable energy, and lied outright about the Paris Climate Agreement, claiming the U.S. had been expected to pledge a trillion dollars. In truth, Biden pledged $11.4 billion—later cut by Congress.
On immigration, Trump reveled in cruelty, touting deportations and hinting at “worse” measures—language chilling in its vagueness but clear in its intent. He spoke not as a statesman but as a demagogue.
And all the while, he painted the United States as basking in a so-called “Golden Age,” claiming our polls were the highest they had ever been—statements so laughably false that even his most loyal supporters must wince.
The assembled diplomats, world leaders, and observers at the UN knew exactly what they were witnessing: not the leader of a proud and serious nation, but a carnival barker on the world stage, spewing fabrications as if they were confetti. For any patriotic American, listening to this performance should have produced not pride but nausea.
Hanlon’s Razor fails here. Stupidity alone cannot explain this man. Nor can malice alone. What we face in Trump is the toxic fusion of both: a man whose ignorance fuels his cruelty, and whose cruelty deepens his ignorance. He is the exception that proves the rule—proof that evil and stupidity can cohabitate within a single individual, magnifying one another, and disgracing the nation he purports to lead.
Why It Matters
Diplomacy is not just ceremony—it is how nations project credibility, leadership, and trust. Trump’s lies at the UN don’t just diminish him personally; they diminish the United States on the global stage. By normalizing dishonesty and weaponizing ignorance, he sets a precedent where reality no longer matters. And when truth dies in politics, democracy soon follows.
Key Takeaways
- Trump’s UN speech was nearly an hour of falsehoods, boasting, and self-congratulation.
- Fabricated claims included $17 trillion in investments and ending wars that never existed.
- He distorted climate facts, mocked the UN, and reveled in immigration cruelty.
- Hanlon’s Razor—“stupidity, not malice”—fails when both coexist in one leader.
- The U.S. lost respect globally, seen as led by a demagogue rather than a statesman.
Further Reading
- Why Orwell Matters — Christopher Hitchens. A sharp exploration of Orwell’s warnings against lies, propaganda, and authoritarian power. https://civilheresy.com/why orwell matters
- Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free — Charles P. Pierce. A biting look at how ignorance became celebrated in U.S. politics. https://civilheresy.com/how stupidity became a virtue
- Letters to a Young Contrarian — Christopher Hitchens. A defense of critical thought, skepticism, and the moral obligation to challenge lies. https://civilheresy.com/letters to a young contrarian
