Friend,
Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” email series that serves to remind us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA movement still pose – and to keep those moments clear in our memory as we fight to defeat Republican extremists during the upcoming elections.
This week’s "Trumptastrophe" focuses on how Trump and his MAGA operatives are yet again laying the groundwork to declare victory on election night and contest the results if the outcome is unfavorable to them.
On Nov. 3, 2020, while millions of votes were still being counted, Donald Trump falsely claimed that he had won the election. All signs are that he will do the same thing this year no matter what voters decide. It’s a strategy that demonstrates his contempt for voters and for democracy—and his willingness to put his own self-interest above the good of the country as a whole.
Trump’s election night lies kicked off his desperate effort to stay in power illegally, and stoked rage among those who violently attacked our country on Jan. 6, 2021 to stop the peaceful transfer of power. Trump’s relentless repetition of those lies has done more than soothe his bruised ego – it has undermined many of his supporters’ faith in our elections.
We now know that Trump’s election-night lie was not some spontaneous act spurred on by a drunken Rudy Giuliani. It was a scheme pushed in advance by former Trump aide Steve Bannon. “What Trump’s gonna do is just declare victory,” Bannon said at an Oct. 31, 2020 meeting. “Right? He’s gonna declare victory. But that doesn’t mean he’s the winner. He’s just gonna say he’s the winner.” Mother Jones’ Dan Friedman obtained audio of that meeting:
Bannon explained pretty clearly back then that Trump intended to take advantage of a perception that he was ahead, even if the reality differed. Because Democrats were more likely to vote by mail, their ballots would take longer to be counted. That would give them “a natural disadvantage,” Bannon said at the time. “And Trump’s going to take advantage of it. That’s our strategy. He’s gonna declare himself a winner.”
Bannon wasn’t the only MAGA schemer pushing election night lies as a political strategy. Political dirty trickster Roger Stone also talked about prematurely declaring: “I really do suspect it’ll still be up in the air,” Stone said two days before the 2020 election. “When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine tenths of the law.”
Bannon, recently released from prison, is urging Trump to do the same thing this year—only earlier on election night. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes also reported recently that Trump is expected to declare victory no matter the outcome. Trump and his supporters are already lying about the closeness of the race and the security of our elections to set the stage for whatever claims he decides to make this year, and to justify whatever he does to try to get back in power even if voters reject him again.
The evidence is overwhelming that the truth means nothing to Trump and the people who are scheming to put him in power no matter what the voters decide. Thanks to investigations by journalists and members of Congress, we know that Trump and many of his aides were willing to do almost anything to override the will of the voters in 2020—flood the courts with frivolous lawsuits, smear election officials, bully state legislators, pressure Vice President Mike Pence to abuse his power, and not only threaten but actively engage in violence.
They’re willing to go to such extremes because they have ambitious plans to gut the federal government’s ability to protect Americans from corporate wrongdoing, criminalize abortion, reverse marriage equality, restrict students’ freedom to read and learn, punish and persecute Trump’s personal enemies, and force the rest of us to live according to their right-wing “biblical worldview”—a worldview not shared by most American Christians.
Trump’s religious-right backers give his efforts a divine stamp of approval by telling their followers that Trump is God’s anointed and people who oppose him are agents of Satan. They’re still at it.
Trump’s lies have a dangerous effect. According to a recent report from pollsters at Public Religion Research Institute, nearly a quarter of pro-Trump Republicans say that if Trump loses, he should declare the election invalid and do whatever it takes to assume office. White Christian nationalists are more likely than other Americans to support political violence—and the kind of authoritarian rule Trump and his inner circle are eager to impose on us.
And if Trump does take office—legitimately or illegitimately—the MAGA justices on the Supreme Court have given him a green light to abuse his power, inventing a broad new theory of presidential immunity that could prevent the courts from holding him accountable for lawbreaking he commits as president.
The best way to prevent all this of course is for you to cast your ballot and encourage your likeminded friends and family to do the same – as soon as possible. The wider Kamala Harris’s margin of victory is, the harder it is for the MAGA machine to undermine the outcome. So vote if you haven’t already, donate to support People For’s GOTV efforts, and volunteer for campaigns near you to help mobilize voters in your community!
These are just some of the reasons we need YOU in this fight. So, find your favorite way to unwind after reading through this week’s recap, and then make a plan for how you will fight back.
For members who are interested in sharing the weekly Trumptastrophe series, you can find all previous editions on our website!
Thanks for all that you do to defeat MAGA Republicans.
– People For the American Way
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