Lies about immigrants eating pets. Lies about the federal government not helping hurricane victims. Wild conspiracy theories about the White House controlling the weather. Hateful fictions about schools performing gender assignment surgeries. The Republican party under the malign influence of former President Donald Trump has become the party of lies and conspiracies. From QAnon and birtherism to the Big Lie about the 2020 election, the GOP has become a veritable factory of falsehoods, slander, and disinformation. Related The rights attack on trans rights is a useful dodge for its anti-abortion stand To distract voters, the right keeps saying abortion laws mean trans kids can have gender-affirming surgery at school. The flood of lies about Hurricanes Helene and Milton underscore just how serious a problem this is. Trump took every opportunity to bash the federal government for spending money meant for hurricane relief on undocumented immigrants. (Not true. In fact, thats what Trump did when he was president.) He claimed that the government was limiting help to citizens to a measly $750. (Again, not true.) He was aided by Marjorie Taylor Greenes bizarre suggestion that Democrats steered the weather for their own benefit and by Elon Musks spreading lies that the federal government was blocking emergency crews from entering the disaster area. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today All the lies did was make the emergency response that much harder, sowing distrust among the people who most needed the help but that was the goal of the lies. The only credit that Trump wants is for himself. He has to discredit everyone else, even if that means harming people who support him. Remember that Trump said I alone can fix the nations problems. That means he is the only source of salvation. Getting people to accept his lies is how Trump tests loyalty. He can tell the most outlandish lies like how his 2017 inauguration had the largest crowd ever in part to protect his ego but also to test how far people will go to support him. At first, his lying was met with a mixture of bemused tolerance, but over time the lies grew bolder and bolder, culminating in the lie about the 2020 election result. By now, people who once knew better looking at you, J.D. Vance suddenly began bolstering Trumps lie. Indeed, in a New York Times interview last week, Vance refused not once but five times to answer whether Trump lost the election. Hes not alone in that. House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to answer the question as well, saying it was a gotcha question. Actually, its a true/false question.But the only source of truth in the Republican party now is Donald Trump, a notorious liar who is exhibiting signs of cognitive decline. The truth is what Donald Trump says it is. If Trump says that he won in 2020, Republicans will back him up. If he says that schools are performing gender assignment surgeries without parental consent, no one will push back. If he says the federal government is spending money on undocumented immigrants that it should be spending on Americans, Republicans will just swallow it (unless its their district thats getting hurt).The overall effect isnt just flooding the nation with lies. Trump and his fellow Republicans are systematically destroying the nations belief in truth and in experts. Medical experts already took a hit during the pandemic. But now, by creating demonstrably gaudy lies, every expert and truth itself is under siege. [W]hat feels novel in the aftermath of this months hurricanes is how the people doing the lying arent even trying to hide the provenance of their bullshit, Charlie Warzel wrote in The Atlantic. Similarly, those sharing the lies are happy to admit that they do not care whether what theyre pushing is real or not.Thus, we have a vice presidential candidate saying, If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then thats what Im going to do. Vance was talking about pet-eating Haitians, but it could apply to anything that comes out of his mouth. (Not that hes been overly concerned about suffering Americans, especially women, based on his voting record.)The upshot is that we now have a significant segment of society that distrusts its basic institutions: government, medicine, schools. Thats intentional on the part of Republicans, of course. They want to control all of the institutions so that they comport solely with the partys view. So the lies to undermine the institutions, indeed reality itself, will never stop. The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears, George Orwell wrote in 1984. It was their final, most essential command. It is the command that Trump and the Republican party now demand of its adherents. Unfortunately, even if Trump loses the election which he will never acknowledge Truth will remain irreparably damaged, and with it, Democracy itself. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.