The Big Lie about the results of the 2020 presidential election refers to the fraudulent claim that it was stolen from Donald Trump.
There is now a second Big Lie, this time about the 2024 presidential election. The lie refers to people who voted for Donald Trump saying they didn’t vote for what he is doing now.
The only difference between the two lies is that the first came from Trump and the second is coming from Trump voters.
Here’s how we know what Trump voters are saying is a lie. As of today, 48% of Americans approve of what Trump is doing; 47% disapprove.
If Trump voters are actually experiencing “buyer’s remorse,” the number is so insignificant that it is having no impact on Trump’s approval ratings. Nor are they having any impact on the unconditional and unconscionable loyalty to Trump of Republicans in the Senate and House or in state legislatures.
In other words, any contentious town hall meetings news sources reported last week was all show, and Trump knows it.
The other day an ABC reporter asked him: “Members of Congress in red districts are facing pushback from voters in town halls. We know Americans voted for you on immigration and the economy. But these voters say they’re angry and frustrated by these firings. They don’t like the work of Elon Musk and these other actions. What do you say to that?”
Trump responded:
“Let me just tell you that I have today the highest poll numbers I’ve ever had. I have today the highest poll numbers of any Republican president ever. We haven’t even checked the Democrats, but that’s what I was just told. And they like the job that we’re doing. They like the job that Elon’s doing. He’s doing something that a lot of people wouldn’t have the courage to do.”
He was right. According to the polls, half the country likes what Trump is doing.
So if you are feeling encouraged that people are finally waking up to the threat Trump poses to our country, your feelings are coming from wishful thinking.
It’s all unimaginable when you think about it, but nonetheless true, in spite of the fact that conservative and liberal scholars, former Republicans and independents, retired military generals and admirals, are together sounding the alarm that Trump is altering American democracy to the point where when he is finished, it will be an autocracy.
He will be America’s first ruling autocrat with power to define the rights and freedoms the rest of us have, will control all government agencies, the Post Office, the regulatory commissions, the Justice Department, the FBI, and most alarmingly, the military.
And half the country approves of what he’s doing. They want the price of eggs lower, but they are okay with losing the American way of life that has existed for almost 250 years.
Incredible, but predictable. No people in the history of nations who lost their right to self-determination believed it was happening until it did. None, and we will not be the exception.
So those few Trump voters who don’t like what he’s doing, I say spare the rest of us your regrets. We’ve heard enough lies from Trump. We don’t need to hear more from you.
Besides, if you have any complaints, just remember that you did this to yourself. Worse, though, you did it to all of us. Your deed is done. The coup is already underway. The damage is being done. The country is under siege.
This is not about Schadenfreude, those of us opposed to Trump taking pleasure in your disappointment or any pain and suffering you may experience.
No, that is not what we feel because we know that what happens to you will also happen to us. Autocrats harm everyone, not just a few, some worse than others, but all suffer.
We’re in the same boat whether we want to be or not. But there is no reason whatsoever for anyone who chose not to vote for Trump to trust those voters who did.
They have already proven that they have no loyalty to the Constitution, that they are fine with the federal government be dismantled, okay with babies dying in South Sudan, okay with children here going to school on an empty stomach, parents being sick with no way to afford medical care, okay with taking money from the poorest of the poor to pay for tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations.
They don’t like Elon Musk. So what? As far as I can tell no one does. But they still like Trump. And despite what they say, they knew exactly what he was going to do. What they don’t like is that he is not attending to what they wanted first. If he were, they would be fine with the rest of it.
So, hell no, we won’t trust Trump voters to care enough for the rest of us to join the resistance to Trump. In fact, the last thing we should think is that people who sold their country down the river only a few months ago are ready to come to its aid now.
Instead, it’s all up to us. The future of our country is in our hands and our hands alone. We are the solution to this problem. We are the fighters who will defeat Trumpism.
And even better, there are leaders among us who can show us the way to do it.
That’s what I will write about next time.
linnposts.com 