A substantial majority of Republicans are now denying the undeniable: that former President Donald Trump made significant efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Despite overwhelming evidence and public records, a recent poll by The Economist and YouGov has revealed a startling trend among Republicans, with only 18 percent acknowledging Trump’s involvement in attempts to overturn Georgia’s election results, compared to a staggering 59 percent who deny any such involvement.
The facts surrounding Trump’s bid to overturn the election are well-documented. Trump’s campaign pursued more than 60 lawsuits in various states, all of which proved unsuccessful. His associates within the Republican Party actively pressured election officials and attempted to persuade local authorities to act as “alternate electors.” Notably, 139 Republican House members voted to overturn the electoral college results on January 6, even after a violent mob stormed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the counting of certified electoral votes.
The evidence of Trump’s attempts is not limited to political maneuvers. His infamous January 2 phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, where he brazenly stated, “What I want to do is this… I just want to find, uh, 11,780 votes,” is a clear indication of his intentions. Despite these undeniable facts, a significant portion of the Republican base seems to have fallen into a state of denial, refusing to accept the reality of Trump’s actions.
One possible explanation for this denial could be a decline in Republican engagement with news sources. According to a recent Pew Research Poll, Republican attention to current events has decreased by a staggering 20 points since 2016. This drop suggests that a lack of accurate information might be contributing to the growing disconnect between reality and the Republican base.
The consequences of this denial are profound. Not only does it perpetuate the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen, but it also undermines the very foundation of democracy – the acceptance of election results. Even as Trump faces legal challenges in federal courts and his attempts to overturn the election are laid out in detail, a significant portion of the Republican electorate remains impervious to the truth.
As the legal saga surrounding Trump unfolds in the coming months, it remains to be seen whether these denials will persist in the face of overwhelming evidence. The Big Lie, once confined to Trump’s insistence that the election was stolen, has now expanded to include the equally absurd notion that he never attempted to overturn it. The challenge ahead is not just about legal accountability but also about confronting a growing crisis of truth and reality within the Republican Party.
