Trump is a liar — Faulconer knows it. Why won’t the California recall candidate admit it?

In some other parallel universe, one in which Donald Trump doesn’t exist, former (retired) San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer might have become governor of California.

But Donald Trump does exist. He remains the leader of Faulconer’s Republican party, and Donald Trump is nothing if he isn’t a liar.

Faulconer knows that Trump is a liar. They all know he’s a liar.

Trump’s lies remain a threat to our democracy, a serious threat, but that’s a topic Faulconer avoids in the same way Trump avoids truth.

In an interview with McClatchy’s California editorial boards, I asked the retired mayor the “Trump is a liar” question (I apologize in advance for leaving his initial response at the actual length, but it’s important to hear his tap dance).

ME: “Do you think President Trump is a liar?”

FAULCONER: “Look, I think people are going to have different views on the President, my campaign is not about litigating the past and what happened with this, the former president, it’s about the failures under this governor. I think that’s what Californians care about and that’s what I’ve been focusing my campaign on. There’s plenty of dysfunction in Washington D.C., there’s plenty of back and forth.

“But I think, like, to answer the question what California (needs to have) is a governor that’s going to bring people together, a governor that’s not hyper-focused on partisanship, but actually (is) going to work on leadership and ... I’ve said this many times and I believe it. I think that Californians don’t really care if you have an ‘R’ or a ‘D’ next to your name. They want to know, ‘Are you actually going to make a difference in our neighborhoods?’ They want to know, as I said, you got to make it safe, you got to make California, more affordable. Are you going to make a difference?

“Look, I’m a proud Republican who got elected twice in a deep blue city in a deep blue state. How did I do that? By bringing people together. And I think most of the things that we’re going to talk about today during this conversation — I just strongly believe (it’s) not about partisanship, it’s about common sense. And when you frame things in terms of actual results, when you frame things in terms of common-sense solutions, which is what my campaign is about. I think people will respond well to you.”

Faulconer then accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of lying about fire management.

ME: “Are you not going to answer the question about whether you think President Trump is a liar?”

FAULCONER: “I think I answered your question, what I’m going to focus on here in California and I feel strongly about that. And I think that’s what Californians want this debate to be about — not about Washington D.C., but about California. If I wanted to litigate the former president’s tenure, I’d be running for Senate. I’m running for governor.”

I then gamely tried one more time later in the interview.

ME: “So, do you see the dichotomy when I asked you the question about President Trump where your personal style is to try to be collaborative and bring people together? ... At the beginning of your answer, you said, that’s how you govern ... I won’t ask you whether (you think) he’s a liar again because I know you won’t answer it. Do you think that President Trump operated that way? And in 2016, you said you could never vote for him, and then you said that you voted for him in 2020.”

FAULCONER: “I appreciate the question. I would often disagree on the former president’s approach. I have a different approach. I have a different style.”

No, not really.

There are times when Faulconer seems plausible as governor and that’s the problem. In another era, he would be a textbook Republican gubernatorial candidate in California. We used to grow these guys in California like almonds. Now they’re just nuts.

When you have a GOP candidate like Faulconer (who also said he wasn’t running against the other GOP candidates and who actually has some light semblance of being able to govern), it’s this kind of deceptiveness that would make former Governors George Deukmejian and Earl Warren roll over in their graves.

It’s why the old California GOP is dead. Had Faulconer not done his “nothing to see here” act and responded in an intellectually honest manner, we’d still have a viable Republican Party.

Former GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in a movie called “True Lies.” Faulconer is doing the remake.

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.