Prominent Trump opponent slams ‘epidemic’ of political lies as danger to US democracy

NEW YORK, May 14 (APP):Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an avowed opponent of President Donald Trump, has denounced what he called the “epidemic of dishonesty in politics” that he said poses one of the most serious dangers to American democracy.
During a commencement speech at Rice University in US state of Texas, Bloomberg slammed “the endless barrage of lies and alternate realities in national politics.”
“People are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts,” he said.
Bloomberg did not single out President Donald Trump, though, he has called Trump candidacy a con.
Bloomberg said Saturday that rampant dishonesty in politics was now bigger than any one person … than any one party.
He also held up presidents of the past George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as “models of honesty. ”
How did we go from a president who could not tell a lie to politicians who cannot tell the truth? Bloomberg asked. Today when we look at the city that bears Washington name, it hard not to wonder, ˜What the hell happened?
Bloomberg sharply criticized enablers who tolerate and defend lies.
Lies, he said, are only the start of a profound disturbance in U.S. politics.
“When elected officials speak as though they are above the truth, they will act as though they are above the law,” Bloomberg said.
That invites “criminality” in the form of corruption [and] abuse of power.
“These abuses can erode the institutions that protect and preserve our rights and freedoms and open the door to tyranny and fascism, he added.