It appears that President Donald Trump is going to try to hang on to his office the same way he does just about everything else: By lying.
"This is a fraud on the American public," Trump said early Wednesday morning, while the presidential election hung in the balance but after many Americans had gone to bed. "This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly we did win this election."
That's just not true — states were and are counting legally submitted ballots. The process has been slower than many Americans like, of course, but there has been no evidence that anything nefarious is afoot.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Daniel Dale, who tracks Trump's lies for CNN — it's a whole beat — pointed out the obvious: "The bottom line is that the president and some of his prominent supporters are trying to convince you that there is something illegitimate about legitimate votes being counted."
If there was any comfort to be found, it was that a few of the president's high-profile allies refused to get on board with his false assertions of victory and fraud. "All these votes have to be counted that are in now," said former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. "I disagree with what he did tonight."
This was always going to be Trump's play. In 2016, when it appeared he would lose the election to Hillary Clinton, Trump spent the final campaign days warning of fraud. After he won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote, he set up a commission to prove that millions of illegal votes had been cast for Clinton — it came up empty.
So Trump's attempt to convince the public that his possible loss is illegitimate is in keeping with his character. It is also not to be believed.
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
