Trump's latest useless lie is about how he predicted Brexit

It's summer. The days are long — or maybe you're on vacation, where the lines between them are hopelessly blurred altogether. Which glorious day was it that you basked in the sun of a verdant field, you wonder. Was it Thursday or Friday?

President Trump understands this plight. During his Friday press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, he falsely claimed for the sixth time that he predicted Brexit, claiming he arrived in Turnberry, Scotland, the day before the vote and told people he expected Britons to vote to leave the European Union. The pro-Brexit outcome in the referendum, held Thursday, June 23, 2016, was unexpected and shocked the globe.

But Trump's claim of prescience is a lie. His jaunt to Turnberry — where he was commemorating the opening of his golf club — occurred Friday, June 24, 2016, the day after the Brexit referendum vote. He also spoke the lie in his bombshell interview with The Sun, published late Thursday, in which he slammed May's handling of Britain's exit from the EU. The Toronto Star's Daniel Dale noted that Trump's quote to The Sun marked the fifth time he'd told the fib, making Friday's repetition of it number six.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

May, for her part, let the lie go unnoted during her appearance with the president Friday. And perhaps most tellingly of all: Trump never tweeted about Brexit until June 24, 2016.