Colwell: How many Republicans really believe the ‘Big Lie’? Does Donald Trump?

How many Americans believe the “Big Lie”?

A lot. I hear from some when I write about the Big Lie that Donald Trump actually won reelection and soon will return as president, following vote “auditing” and searching for bamboo in Arizona and “discovery” of massive vote fraud in other states.

After a column about a company called Cyber Ninjas conducting its pro-Trump Arizona “auditing,” including testing for bamboo on ballots to see if they came from Asia, and pursuit of other nutty conspiracy theories, a reader had this evaluation: “You are a liar.”

Those who want to believe QAnon theories about Trump’s presidency being restored — though predictions on dates for this keep getting missed — aren’t going to be swayed by facts.

But belief in the Big Lie that Joe Biden actually lost isn’t as widespread as sometimes portrayed.

Most Republicans in Congress, even ones who voted against accepting the certified election results, know better and will say, perhaps reluctantly and in terms to avoid angering the Trump base, that Biden won and is president.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, Senate GOP leader, has made clear that Biden won. He delivered a scalding denunciation of Trump as “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

Polls seeming to show that a sizeable majority of Republican voters believe that Biden won only because of voter fraud are somewhat suspect in determining actual belief in the Big Lie.

As asked in a Salon website analysis: “But is this something they really believe or something they simply say out of tribalist loyalties because they believe that repeating the lie is useful” in political strategy?

I don’t find that very many of the Republicans I talk with believe the lie. They may well say they wish that Biden hadn’t won. They disagree with Democratic philosophy on various issues. But they don’t believe he didn’t win. They may want changes in election laws. But it’s not because they believe there was widespread fraud that elected Biden.

Okay, I admit that the Republicans I know around here are mostly ones who would rank Ronald Reagan and Dick Lugar ahead of Trump — not true Trumpsters.

True believers in all that Trump says about the election being stolen from him are in that solid Trump base he needs to retain as he continues to raise funds and eye a presidential campaign again in 2024.

To admit now that he lost would be for Trump a sign of weakness and an admission that could shake loose at least some of the true believers in that vital base.

Trump’s recent trip to Arizona to hail the work of the Cyber Ninjas shows his intent to keep promoting conspiracy theories.

He predicted that when the “audit” is complete, uncovered fraud will be “so outrageous” that it will lead to successful investigations all across the nation. Gosh, will the Ninjas sprinkle magic bamboo dust on the ballots?

In a diatribe about those who let him down by failing to overturn election results, Trump attacked, among others, McConnell, Mike Pence and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

He orchestrated loud booing of Pence by denouncing what he said was lack of courage by his vice president on Jan. 6 in failing to reject the official election results.

Courage? Pence refused to leave the Capitol, even though rioters shouted for his hanging, and insisted on carrying out his constitutional duty of vote certification.

Think back to when Trump downplayed the coronavirus, though knowing of its rapid spread and deadly impact. He didn’t want to spook the stock market and hurt the economy by telling the truth.

Is he again remaining unacquainted with the truth on election results, not wanting to spook his base and hurt his political future?

How many Americans really believe the Big Lie? Does Trump? Really?

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.

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