The Washington Post fact-checker upgrades Trump's Stormy Daniels payoff tale to a first-ever 'lie' rating

The Washington Post fact checker calls Trump a liar
(Image credit: Screenshot/The Washington Post)

President Trump is officially a liar — according to The Washington Post's stickler-for-words Fact Checker team, headed by Glenn Kessler. Kessler's team has documented 4,229 false or misleading claims Trump has made as president — for an average of 7.6 a day — but despite pressure from Trump's critics, the team "has been hesitant" to accuse Trump of lying, "as it is difficult to document whether the president knows he is not telling the truth," Kessler explained on Wednesday. But with Trump's firm denial of knowledge about his lawyer Michael Cohen's hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, "it's now clear that the president's statement was a lie."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.