Excellent. See the linked NYT style guide for “the president lied” also.
“The president once again found himself galloping ahead of reality’s leisurely pace.”
“The president dabbled anew in the shallow pond of misrepresentation, filling his beak with succulent morsels hidden among the reeds.”
“The president’s most recent encounter with the specter of honesty caught him wrong-footed.”
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and the president? The president took the one less truthful.”
“Quantum physicists posit the existence of infinite universes, so it is entirely within reason that one or more such contained the timeline described by the president, and we look forward to seeing it.”
“Mrs. Clinton lied. The president followed suit.”