There's little doubt President Donald Trump won his first essential objective, that being to destroy what is called 'the truth'.
But though it's no consolation at the time, that always turns out to be a temporary victory, as Trump's turbulent second term is confirming. His word is no longer trusted.
In the end, a programme of lies cannot replace 'truth' because what we call 'the truth' is plural, comprising many views. Lies simply take their place among all the differing opinions on a topic.
And what emerges from that plurality, that diverse, quarrelsome mix, is people's rough-and-ready consensus on something else entirely: on what they see as right and wrong.
It can take an age to show, many may always deny it and not comply, but everyone's stuck with morality.
That's what we mean when we say the truth will out.