It comes as no surprise that Comey thinks Trump is a liar. What’s more interesting is that he thinks many of the lies are pointless. Is he right?
No. The lies that aren’t intended to deceive serve a purpose, too. Some of them are intended to bind his supporters closer to him. Some of them are designed to force people to choose sides. Some of them are expressions of dominance over the people around him. Finally, some of them appear to be efforts to pump himself up, like a salesman talking to himself in the mirror in the morning.
That doesn’t make them any less deplorable, however. The norm must continue to be that our head of state tells the truth. If we don’t continue to call him out when he lies, that could change, and we will be much the worse for it.