He quoted parts of her decision in which she was summarizing the plaintiff’s position. But her written decision went on to refute the position she had summarized and to deny his request for early release.

The senator acknowledged her and thanked her for the clarification. Then he went right back to making a speech intended for the cameras and sound-bite public consumption — a speech in which he treated her summary of the plaintiff’s position as her own view.

The senator did this knowingly. This is what politicians do. Say something false enough times and people believe you. That’s not just the Trump school of thought, that’s the Republican playbook. Practically every Republican politician does that every day today. It’s disgusting.

Democratic politicians aren’t blameless, but they are far less likely to engage in this kind of naked mendacity rooted in the idea that results are all that count and that public perception is more important than facts and truth.