Editor's Note: (Scott Lucas is professor of international politics at the UK's University of Birmingham, founder/editor of EA WorldView and a member of The Trump Project. The opinions in this article belong to the author.)
(CNN) War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength.
And now, "Truth Isn't Truth."
Beset by the Trump-Russia investigation, worried that White House lawyer Don McGahn may have turned witness for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and trying to keep Donald Trump from committing perjury in a Mueller interview, Trump's lead lawyer Rudy Giuliani issued the new mantra on Sunday. He has since tried to explain his comments in a tweet.
Trump turned the real story of McGahn's 30 hours of testimony into a "Fake Story" about a "White House Councel [sic]" and said Collusion is "No Collusion" and Obstruction is "No Obstruction." Once mentored by Joseph McCarthy's right-hand man Roy Cohn, Trump declared that he is now the victim of McCarthyism.
Trump and Giuliani may be rambling and close to incoherent, but they are not void of strategy. They are telling their true believers what they want to hear. But what is their ultimate political quest? It's to keep the rest of us confused.
Is there a "Deep State" -- i.e. US agencies -- plotting Trump's overthrow, or is that a concoction to quash scrutiny of the President?
Are journalists really enemies of the people rather than reporters doing their jobs, possibly to ensure accountability to the people?
Are terrorist migrants overrunning Europe, or is this a dog whistle to justify "zero tolerance" at home?
Is Trump the victim of "Fake News," or has he told 4,229 lies in just over 18 months in office?
The reality is, it doesn't matter what is true. And, frankly, they don't care in Trump Land. If Trump and his team can blow enough smoke and throw enough mud, we throw up our hands and give up on establishing what we do and don't know.
That gives them the space to tear down their obstacles: be it those concerned about the environment, assessing the real state of the US economy or carrying out an investigation into a likely conspiracy between Trump's inner circle and Russian officials.
This isn't novel. The Russian state has been pursuing this strategy for years --- and doing it quite effectively. A Russian-made nerve agent is released in southern England, but the Russians keep asking for more and more evidence while providing their own implausible counter-narratives. How do you really know that it was us? It's a play we've seen time again, from the Russian actors involved in the illegal annexation of Crimea to the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Election meddling? What election meddling?
Trump and Co. are far more chaotic and sometimes bumbling in their efforts. But if they are loud enough, the cacophony covers their own misdeeds and ineptitude.
This isn't quite the work of George Orwell. In 1984, the state still dealt in certainties, even if they were the certainties of deception. Believe in our Peace while we conduct War. Believe in our Freedom while we enslave you.
In Trump Land, there are no such certainties. There is confusion and contradiction. Each day, new lines -- angry, absurd, lying -- are put out. Each day we chase to establish the "truth." And the next day, while we are chasing, the next wave hits us.
Two plus two may equal five. Two plus two may equal 12. Two plus two may equal fish. Doesn't really matter, as long as we are never sure that two plus two equals four.
Truth is Not Truth.
And Ignorance? What's that got to do with anything?