On Tuesday, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected President Donald Trump's effort
to overturn the presidential election in
Pennsylvania. Hours later, the defeated President was back to spreading lies
and conspiracy theories about being robbed of victory in an election that he
lost to Joe Biden by more than seven million votes.
The madness of Trump's they-stole-it-from-me crusade grows
more obvious every day. And it raises a question that has been asked about him
for years: Does he really believe what he says?
When Trump was just a businessman and TV celebrity, the
answer didn't matter. But now it does.
The man who occupies the highest office in the land is
traveling the country in Air Force One, bringing along his Secret Service
protectors and his presidential seal, and spreading his nutty claims. It's all
very crazy. It is also dangerous.
The danger became obvious when, on the night when Trump
spoke in Georgia (December 5), armed protesters gathered outside a Michigan state official's
home to chant and shout obscenities. Their cries of "Stop the steal!"
were obviously inspired by the President's delusions.
Michigan was also the place where the
governor was the target of a kidnapping plot foiled by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Fourteen men were arrested. Authorities allege that they talked
about executing the governor and burning down the state Capitol. Part of what
motivated them, according to court records, was (Trump's other favorite
obsession) state restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
One study by Stanford University estimated that Trump
rallies were responsible for about 30,000 extra infections and 700 deaths as of
Oct. 30. Nevertheless, people seem to take pride in putting their lives on the
line for Trump, to show they agree with him when he says things like,
"Don't be afraid of Covid."
The President's claims about the outcome of the 2020
election seem more an act intended to inspire the faithful to cheer and donate
money than a matter of genuine belief.
Donald Trump knows he lost the election. CNN reported
weeks ago that he has said so himself. However, by furiously insisting he was
cheated and filing lawsuits across the country, he has been able to raise
scads of money with appeals for a so-called Election Defense Fund.
Of the more than $200 million raised by Trump during the
time he has bellowed about being cheated, only a reported $8.8 million has been
spent on the lawsuits, according to figures released by the campaign last week
and reported in the Washington Post. The rest may be put into a
so-called leadership political action committee, which can fund all sorts of
activities Trump might enjoy after leaving the White House.
Trump's public denials about the election results will also
help him escape the blow to his ego that might come with having to admit he
lost fair and square.
Having long established that he thinks that there's little
worse in life than losing, Trump's image requires that he refuse to acknowledge
a genuine defeat. Instead he will proclaim the American election system to be
corrupt, and rally his followers to believe him, even though he knows this is
not true.
So where does this leave us, as we consider whether Donald
Trump believes the outrageous stuff he says? The only answer is that he doesn't
believe it, but he doesn't care what damage he does to his country. Even if it
makes people suffer and die, or leads them to take up arms against make-believe
enemies, he will keep it up for as long as the cash flows in and the faithful
tell him he's a winner.
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CNN 12/10/2020
