PWNED BY A GIRL:

In the lie we are examining here, Trump either committed a felony or proved himself willing to deceive his followers whenever it suits him.

Trump told the public version of this story last year, during the second Republican presidential debate.

Trump had been boasting for weeks at his rallies that he knew the political system better than anyone, because he had essentially bought off politicians for decades by giving them campaign contributions when he wanted something. He also proclaimed that only he--as an outsider who had participated in such corruption of American democracy at a high level--could clean it up. During the September 2015 debate, one of Trump's rivals, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, verified Trump's claim, saying the billionaire had tried to buy him off with favors and contributions when he was Florida's governor.

"The one guy that had some special interests that I know of that tried to get me to change my views on something--that was generous and gave me money--was Donald Trump," Bush said. "He wanted ca[***]o ga[**]ling in Florida."

Trump interrupted Bush:

Trump: I didn't--

Bush: Yes, you did.

Trump: Totally false.

Bush: You wanted it, and you didn't get it, because I was opposed to--

Trump: I would have gotten it.

Bush: Ca[***]no gambling before--

Trump: I promise, I would have gotten it.

Bush: During and after. I'm not going to be bought by anybody.

Trump: I promise, if I wanted it, I would have gotten it.

Bush: No way. Believe me.

Trump: I know my people.

Bush: Not even possible.

Trump: I know my people.

If Trump was telling the truth that night, so be it. But if he was lying, what was his purpose? His "If I wanted it, I would have gotten it," line may be a hint. Contrary to his many vague stories on the campaign trail about being a cash-doling political puppet master, this story has a name, a specific goal and ends in failure. If Bush was telling the truth, then Trump would have had to admit he lost a round and, as he assured the audience, that would not have happened. When he wants something, he gets it.

But that wasn't the point he needed to make in 2007. The deposition was part of a lawsuit he'd filed against Richard Fields, who Trump had hired to manage the expansion of his ca[***]no business into Florida. In the suit, Trump claimed that Fields had quit and taken all of the information he obtained while working for Trump to another company. Under oath, Trump said he did want to get into ca[**]no ga[***]ing in Florida but didn't because he had been cheated by Fields.

A lawyer asked Trump, "Did you yourself do anything to obtain any of the details with respect to the Florida gaming environment, what approvals were needed and so forth?"

Trump: A little bit.

Lawyer: What did you do?

Trump: I actually spoke with Governor-Elect Bush; I had a big fundraiser for Governor-Elect Bush...and I think it was his most successful fundraiser, the most successful that he had had up until that point, that was in Trump Tower in New York on Fifth Avenue.

Lawyer: When was that?

Trump: Sometime prior to his election.

Lawyer: You knew that Governor Bush, Jeb Bush at that time, was opposed to expansion of gaming in Florida, didn't you?

Trump: I thought that he could be convinced otherwise.

Lawyer: But you didn't change his mind about his anti-gaming stance, did you?

Trump: Well, I never really had that much of an opportunity because Fields resigned, telling me you could never get what we wanted done, only to do it for another company.

One of these stories is a lie--a detailed, self-serving fabrication. But unlike the mountain of other lies he has told, this time the character trait that leads to Trump's mendacity is on full display: He makes things up when he doesn't want to admit he lost.

Assume the story he told at the debate is the lie. Even though Bush's story reinforced what Trump was saying at rallies--he had played the "cash for outcomes" political game for years--he could not admit he had tried to do the same in Florida because he could not bring himself to say that he had lost. Instead, he looked America in the eye and lied. And then he felt compelled to stack on another boast: His people are so wonderful that they would have gotten ca[***]no gambling in Florida, regardless of Bush's opposition--if Trump had wanted it.

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