pretend (that) black is white
To say, believe, or act like what's true is the opposite of the real situation. The government can't keep pretending black is white, or else we're going to head into the same economic difficulty we were in 10 years ago. The president could pretend that black is white, and he would still have people lining up to say that he is right.
pretend to (something)
To feign or claim to have some quality, skill, or characteristic. Jonathan pretends to the palate of a connoisseur, but really he's just pretentious. I like to write, but couldn't pretend to the kind of talent she has.