Analysis: The Big Lie is (unfortunately) winning
(CNN)It is 100% true that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. And that Donald Trump lost it.
Unfortunately, in recent months, the Big Lie — that Trump somehow was defrauded out of the election — has gained increasing amounts of traction, according to a new CNN poll.
In January, 59% said they have confidence that elections in this country reflect the will of the people, while 40% said they lacked that confidence.
Today? A majority of Americans — 52% — say they do not have confidence that elections reflect the will of the people, while 48% say they do.
That’s a significant swing in less than a year, in the exact wrong direction. And it’s primarily fueled by Republicans, 76%(!) of whom say they had just a little or no confidence in elections reflecting the will of the people.
That’s hardly the only data point in the poll that suggests Trump’s Big Lie is working.
While 63% of all respondents said that Biden “legitimately won enough votes to win the presidency,” the story was very, very different among Republicans.
Among that group, 78% said that Biden did not win enough votes to legitimately win the election. That’s right: 8 in 10 Republicans think that Biden
didn’t win the election
.
Which, well, wow. What those numbers make clear is that among Republicans, Donald Trump and the Big Lie he is telling are winning. Winning is a relative term, of course. Because building a political party around a lie is the quickest way to destroy a political party.
The Point: The Trump fever didn’t break after the 2020 election. In fact, it’s running hotter than ever.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/gO7m1uZqOmU/index.html