Trump and the integrity of the honest liar

'And what about Trump?'. This question is being asked more and more often during lectures and workshops I give on integrity. It’s a completely understandable question.

Integrity is the foundation of trust: I trust you because you are a person of integrity. The combination of Trump and integrity raises many questions: what does his success say about the value and meaning of integrity?

Trump puts the definition of integrity under pressure

My starting point has always been that integrity at the very least means being honest—that you don’t distort the truth in order to mislead others. Trump is a notorious liar. On January 23, 2021, The Washington Post headlined: 'Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president.' Yet, he has been elected president again. Apparently, his supporters trust him.

So, should I revise my definition of integrity? Or do Trump’s followers simply not care about integrity? I don’t doubt that his supporters trust him. In fact, I suspect they even see him as a model of integrity. But that implies a very different definition of the term than the one I’m used to. A good reason to dig deeper: what does the Trump enigma teach us about integrity?

Say What You Do and Do What You Say

When I was writing my dissertation on integrity in theory and practice, I was surprised by the way many philosophers conceptualized the term: integrity as a 'morally empty' concept that means little more than consistency between words and actions. In other words, I do what I say, and I say what I do.

According to this view, even a tyrant or a Nazi can act with integrity. Integrity and morality are treated as separate concepts. I found that odd. To me, there should always be a moral component: what you do and say must also be ethically justifiable. Perhaps the Trump puzzle suggests that I hold the concept of integrity to too high a standard. Maybe integrity just means doing what you say and saying what you do, nothing more, nothing less.

The moral liar

Nothing more? But Trump lies, doesn’t he? If you lie, then you’re not saying what you do and not doing what you say. So separating integrity from morality doesn’t fully solve the puzzle. Even his supporters can’t deny that Trump is a habitual liar. That seems to contradict any consistency between speech and action. Or, is he an moral liar?

He who saves his country does not violate any law.

Integrity demands that you not distort the truth in order to deceive others. Unless you’re lying to serve a higher moral goal. Then you might be an moral liar: someone who lies for morally defensible reasons. Or, as Trump himself put it: 'He who saves his country does not violate any law.'

Do Trump’s supporters see him as an moral liar? I find that hard to believe. To qualify as an moral liar, you have to lie well and convincingly. Otherwise it doesn’t work. But with Trump, it’s usually blatantly obvious that what he says isn’t true. Someone who lies so openly and visibly isn’t a very skilled liar. Unless his followers don’t see him as an moral liar, but as something else entirely: as a honest liar.

The honest liar

Trump seems more like what James Randi once called an 'honest liar': someone who lies, but is upfront about it. Randi was a magician and skeptic. He used deception as part of his act, but admitted it. And thus he wasn’t truly misleading anyone. He became well-known as a skeptic and a debunker of pseudoscience: an exposer of dishonest liars. The honest liar is very different from the moral liar. The honest liar is open about the fact that he lies. The moral liar lies for good reasons.

But the honest liar and integrity aren’t necessarily opposites. Trump’s claims may be factually incorrect, but because he lies so blatantly, he may not be perceived as misleading.

In Ordinary Vices, Judith Shklar argues that for many, integrity is the opposite of hypocrisy, one of the gravest vices. My hypothesis: Trump’s supporters see him as a person of integrity because, in their eyes, he exposes hypocrisy. They believe he unmasks political games and reveals that elites only care about their own interests. To them, Trump is genuine, his agenda is clear, and he stands for the people, unlike the hypocritical elites and their 'woke' values. And the lies? They don’t matter. For his supporters, Trump is 'one of the most honest and authentic politicians they’ve ever seen' (Wijnberg, 2025).

Integrity as the opposite of hypocrisy

Perhaps the Trump mystery can be resolved by understanding integrity as the opposite of hypocrisy. His supporters see him as the only politician who truly cares about the people, free from any double standards. His falsehoods don’t matter, as long as he stays true to the greater cause.

But therein lies his vulnerability (see Rauch, 2025). If he fails to make America 'great' again, through incompetence or corruption, then the trust will vanish. And when the trust is gone, so is the integrity, even if he’s still a honest liar.

And the fact-checker?

If this analysis is correct, fact-checking has little use. The debate isn’t about facts, but about sincerity and intention. Debunking the claim that immigrants are eating Americans’ pets misses the point. Where fact-checkers aim to defend the truth, Trump’s supporters see someone who is sincerely fighting for their interests. And that, for them, makes him a true embodiment of integrity.

Sources

• Rauch, J. (2025). One Word Describes Trump. The Atlantic, February 24.
• Shklar, J. (1984). Ordinary Vices. Harvard University Press.
• Wijnberg, R. (2025). Hoe Trump en Musk de waarheid verdrinken (en daardoor eerlijke leugenaars lijken). De Correspondent.