Voices: Washington still needs to learn that Trump cannot be trusted to tell the truth

Last week did not lack for breaking news in Washington.

House Republicans passed their “Parents Bill of Rights,” which seeks to build on their success of giving angry conservative parents a say in their children’s education, which won them the governorship in Virginia and has become a staple for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s slogan his state is where “woke goes to die.” The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the ninth consecutive time. And TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew scrambled to defend himself in front of indignant House members as Congress seeks to ban the app as part of its more hawkish approach to China.

None of these made nearly as much of a dent in the news as the waiting game for whether former president Donald Trump would be indicted. Before the week even began, he diverted everybody’s attention with an angry all-caps prediction that he would be arrested imminently. Republicans felt compelled to defend him from what they considered spurious charges, while Democrats braced for impact.

Of course, New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg has not yet indicted the former president, but Mr Trump did what he always does: He made an outrageous claim with little factual basis to attract everyone’s attention and turn it against his enemies. And he did it all to his benefit while Washington has not learned that it becomes Mr Trump’s willing accomplices.

This works well to his advantage. Immediately in the wake of the announcement, House Oversight & Accountability Chairman James Comer, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Administration Committee Chairman Brian Steil mobilized to demand that Mr Bragg explain his actions before Congress.

Nevermind that no evidence shows an indictment is imminent; simply by posting on Truth Social, three incredibly powerful chairmen of three House committees signaled that they are first and foremost Mr Trump’s footsoldiers. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who more than anyone is responsible for welcoming the former president back into the GOP fold after January 6, also signaled that he would target Mr Bragg.

By doing so, Mr Trump demonstrated that congressional leaders answer to him and that their primary job in the current iteration of the Republican Party is to protect him. The very existence of the House’s new subcommittee on “weaponization” of the government serves as little more than Mr Jordan’s chance to run interference for Mr Trump.

Similarly, Mr Trump was able to do what should have been impossible – announce that he’ll supposedly be indicted and then somehow use it to weaken his most formidable opponent. A potential indictment should be the perfect opportunity for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to prepare to make the hard sell that Mr Trump has too much baggage to win the nomination and therefore he should be their new savior in the quest to “own the libs.” He even got a good dig in by mentioning Mr Trump paying “hush money” to a “porn star.”

Instead, Mr Trump and his allies used his comments to show disloyalty and the former president then alleged that Mr DeSantis might have skeletons in his closet from his time as a teacher. Mr DeSantis has found himself having to recalibrate his stated position about Ukraine after he called it a “territorial dispute” in his attempt to out-MAGA the MAGA king. And Mr DeSantis has had to answer embarassing questions from Piers Morgan about whether he eats pudding with three fingers.

Similarly, Mr Trump’s stunt meant that all eyes were on him over the weekend when he held a rally in Waco, Texas, which holds a special place in the minds of the far-right ever since the infamous standoff between the Branch Davidians and federal law enforcement. Mr Trump used the platform to further air his grievances and to play a song he recorded with inmates who are currently in jail for their actions in the January 6 riot.

The results speak for themselves: Mr Trump recognizes, even in his diminished state, even as he faces four investigations, even after two impeachments and even after he lost the presidency to Joe Biden, that he can still grab the national media and the Republican Party’s attention. Nobody has learned the lesson that he cannot be trusted to tell the truth. And as long as that is the case, he will continue to lie to his own advantage.