Just the other day I received another e-mail from an evangelical organization that is dedicated to mobilizing prayers for our nation and its leaders. They were urging me to pray that the presidential election results would be overturned so that President Trump might be able to continue in his rightful role as Commander in Chief. In their opinion, it is God’s will that millions of voters be disenfranchised because voter fraud has taken place on a vast scale, orchestrated by concerted cheating on the part of Trump’s democratic rivals.
It is inconceivable to me that such a request could possibly be construed as being in alignment with God’s purposes, especially because these same brothers and sisters firmly believe that the American democracy is an example of governance that God has lifted up as a unique beacon of hope to the world. But compelled by an insistent president, they are now convinced that the democratic principle of peaceful transition between administrations has no place.
How did we get here? It is beyond dispute that the allegations of voter fraud have been roundly and soundly refuted in sixty different court cases throughout the country. Nevertheless, the conviction persists among a vast swath of Republican voters that the election was stolen. In the court of law, evidence matters. In the court of public opinion, apparently not so much.
The pathway to this perilous place in the history of our republic did not come by chance – it came through the remarkable power of a bold lie. Researchers of human behavior tell us that, in spite of the fact that we do it so often, most people have a natural aversion to lying. That’s why almost everyone has a tell – a subtle giveaway – when they lie. And because of that, it’s difficult for us to believe that someone could consistently and persistently tell a bold lie that they knew to be false. “There must be at least an element of truth to the story,” we tell ourselves. For this reason, the bigger and bolder the lie, the more likely someone is to convince others that there is something to it. They cannot imagine themselves pressing and repeating a falsehood that they know has no shred of truth, so they cannot imagine someone else doing it, either.
The bold lie principle sheds light on Trump’s strategy to overturn the election. His accusations of voter fraud began years ago. If you recall, he insisted that a commission be convened (the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity) to identify the voter fraud in the 2016 election that supposedly cost him the popular vote. The commission was eventually shut down by Trump after 8 months without finding any evidence of falsified votes (but of course, that’s not the way he framed it when he announced the suspension). In the latest election, the run-up to his bold accusations began in the spring, as state officials throughout the nation were discussing how elections could still be held while guarding the health of their citizens. Trump began trumpeting (excuse the pun) the dangers of mail-in ballots early and often. Even though any real research into voter fraud by competent agents, such as secretaries of state, revealed no pattern of persistent voter fraud (or for that matter, any instances whatsoever), the topic was constantly in the news. The fears grew. What about ballots from dead people? What about collecting ballots from seniors and then changing them? What about people receiving multiple ballots? Trump was softening the ground.
As the election itself drew near, news outlets did their best to alert us to the new reality. With the marked increase in mail-in ballots, we should not expect to have results on election night as we were used to. In fact, we could expect to see trend-lines change as the mail-in ballots, which in many states were not allowed to be counted before election night, began to be processed. But as those ballot tallies began to come in and the early polling trends in favor of Trump began to turn toward Biden, Trump seized the opportunity that he had long been preparing for. “Massive Voter Fraud!” read the Tweets. There was no way that Biden could pick up that many votes in Georgia, or Arizona, or Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania, Trump contended.
And when the election officials in county after county and state after state announced that the elections were conducted in an orderly and fair manner, Trump gave no quarter to the enemy – he remained on the offensive. He attacked the messenger, even if the messenger was a Trump supporter and a member of his own party. So Secretary of State Raffensperger “has no clue” and Governor Kemp is “an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia.” He claimed to have massive evidence of fraud, but as court after court found the evidence to be either absent or foolish or blatantly falsified, he continued to press the lie. True to form, hours after being outed for trying to subvert the Georgia election in a phone call with Raffensperger, Trump proclaimed to his Georgia rally crowd, “There’s no way we lost Georgia… I’ve had two elections. I’ve won both of them. It’s amazing.”
The most important book I’ve ever read about lying is M. Scott Peck’s, People of the Lie. Peck, a psychiatrist who had been taught that the concept of evil was not appropriate for a clinical setting, wrestled with the fact that, for some people, “evil” was the best description that seemed to fit. He determined that there are some individuals for whom lying is not merely a behavior, but is a description of their basic nature. They are “people of the lie.” Peck spends several chapters delineating the characteristics of a person of the lie. I was especially struck by two of them. First, a person of the lie absolutely and resolutely refuses to accept personal responsibility for their actions. They will not, under any circumstances, admit failure. They abhor blame.
Second, people of the lie always create scapegoats. Unable to accept personal blame, they persistently find others to whom blame may be affixed. Sometimes the scapegoats are individuals; sometimes they are a whole class of people. The important thing is to make them a clearly identifiable villain. People of the lie specialize in affixing labels to people – it makes them easier targets for blame.
For anyone who has even remotely followed Trump’s career, the parallels are startling. His abhorrence of admitting failure or accepting blame is well documented. His refusal to accept defeat in an election he clearly lost is only the latest example of a life-long pattern. Trump’s scapegoating behavior is also clearly evident. The record of dismissals from his cabinet and other key positions is a litany of laying blame – often against individuals with a sterling record and documented ethical character. But Trump disparages their good character – he an absolute master of the ad hominem attack. (I find it wryly comical that Trump now has branded those of his party who refuse to support his fight as the “surrender caucus.”) His tendency to characterize whole classes of people as villains is also well known. Some might consider this a cheap shot because it’s been so often repeated out of context, but his description of Mexican immigrants at the beginning of his campaign remains embedded in the nation’s memory: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Today we find ourselves in a nation divided over the question of whether election fraud on a massive scale took place or not. Many of my Evangelical brothers and sisters are convinced that it did. Scores of congressional representatives and over a dozen senators apparently believe the same. Or perhaps it is simply politically expedient for them to align themselves with the president. I know that this may alienate me from some who find me too direct or too self-assured, but I believe that our nation is currently being victimized by a president who has lied so boldly and so persistently about election fraud that he is most likely convinced of his own lies. And in so doing, he has convinced a significant minority of the American people of the same. People of every social and economic background believe that where there is smoke, there must be fire. The problem is, the smoke itself is an illusion. Sparked by a master illusionist.
I pray this with all sincerity and without irony, knowing that it is the same prayer for all of us, no matter which side of the argument we find ourselves on: May God have mercy upon our great nation.
Steve Pecota - a Pastor in Seattle 
I’d forgotten about People of the Lie.
Good catch; good take!
Thanks, Dave. It’s funny, Karen and I have been discussing how much People of the Lie fits the Trump presidency since he became a candidate. I just never put any thoughts to paper before this.
Hi, Steve. I have to agree with your shibboleth re: believers ought to pray for mercy. Yet justice is also God’s purview. Ought not believers to pray for justice and shalom/wholeness? You presume that some want God to disenfranchise voters (I don’t think that would be just!). Yet, you also presume to know and identify that only ONE person has perpetrated “the big lie.” In the matter of the recent election, there is an eidetic truth that is obfuscated. I am not convinced that you alone are the arbiter of that truth. Is there a possibility that liars have disenfranchised all the voters who “lost”; and is it possible that egregious fraud has been perpetrated? I would also pray that lies, deception and fraud will be exposed and redressed. I think this dialogue cannot be as one-dimensional as you have made it. Just sayin’. Also, a sincere Happy New Year and may God Bless you!
It seems many lies have been revealed already; in the courts, and in the responses of the various state officials. For example, the GA press conference yesterday, went point by point and responded with their actual processes, information, and statistics. They made the full video they reference available online, not just the snippets posted on social media. But people choose who they want to believe (see Steve’s previous blog post).
Thanks, Brian.
Hi Cal, I replied earlier this morning, but it must have gotten lost. I’m sure my reply was brilliant, but now my brain is tired :-). Basically, without a doubt it is possible that egregious fraud has been perpetrated. But the expert witnesses in this case indicate that there is no evidence of it. On a more personal note, it sure is nice to hear from you. It feels like a blast from the long distant past!
Well said, Steve. I’m thankful for a fellow Christian, and evangelical, who is willing to put down in black and white these ideas. I think many people that I know, think and feel similarly, but are afraid (or too busy or too unsure of what words to use) to do the same. I am very concerned that so many of my fellow Americans want to discount the votes of so many. I really do believe the election results we got are the best reflection of the will of a deeply divided people. Perfect election? No. But I believe in the good will and best intentions of election officials and poll workers all over the nation. It is done. I am willing to move forward praying for God’s mercy for our hurting nation. Thanks again. Kris
Thanks, Kris. I agree that there are many from our “tribe” who believe it is important to move on. But the further this goes,, the more alarmed I become. Today’s (Jan 5th) The Daily podcast was a fascinating insight into the mindset of many voters – Georgia Republicans in this particular episode. One of the principle women being interviewed was a former NY democrat, who gradually came to lean Republican after years of living in Georgia. She’s not a wild-eyed crazy. It was eye-opening for me. This division runs deep. I feel like we’re on a glacier falling into a crevasse and the Republican hierarchy has neither the foresight nor the courage to set an ice ax.
HI Steve– as soon as I saw your post on FB I headed over here to take a gander. Absolutely spot-on and so eloquently put. Perhaps I missed it or you were kind enough not to use the word, but I’ve long believed that Trump exhibited classical “narcissistic” characteristics. Narcissism is most certainly a feature, if not a core characteristic of those whom Peck indicated are “People of the Lie.” Trump, for all of his life, has never learned how to deal with defeat in a mature way. Add my voice to the chorus of Jesus-followers who say, “let’s move on and work toward better days!” God Bless!
Thanks, Gabe. I agree with you on the narcissism. As do many authors, including Mary Trump who I found to be quite insightful. Really nice to hear from you!
Hi Steve, thanks for the courage to write this!
Thanks, Johannes.
You have a false statement in your third paragraph that renders the discussion after it completely pointless. It is not beyond dispute that any evidence has been viewed or rejected. In fact, why you think you can include this false statement in your article fascinates me. You are either uninformed, which would be almost inexcusable since you are attempting to influence church members, or you are lying, which is worse. Maybe you are just reporting what the talking heads tell you, but relying on them to analyze information for you is allowing a thoroughly anti-Christian world-view to color your thoughts. Look into the actual facts underlying the analysis and you will find that the Courts have punted all of the cases on procedural grounds. They have steadfastly refused to even glance at the merits of them. What is really indisputable is that not one scintilla of actual evidence has been reviewed by any court at all as of this writing, late on the night of January 5th. Your statement that 60 court cases have done so is demonstrably false and should be retracted as such. People trust you, spreading falsehoods, even if you’re just uninformed, is harmful. Supposedly John Robert’s sentiment on this is that Congress is responsible for this situation and that they shouldn’t look for the Courts to fix the problems of their own making. If just one court would actually review some evidence and bring it out into daylight it would go a long ways toward defusing the entire situation. The dogged resistance of every single court to even take a glance at one of the cases is fueling the idea that we’re being stone-walled. There are over a thousand sworn affidavits alleging election irregularities, wishing them away as you are doing accomplishes nothing. If everything is above board, where is the harm in taking a good look and actually proving that? Investigating doubts about an election is not undermining our system, it is absolutely necessary to maintaining confidence in that system. Our government rests on the consent of the governed. When “the governed” lose the confidence that their consent matters, we are on a path toward an authoritarian system of government: when consent is withdrawn only force will suffice. Transparency and information will improve public confidence, while continuing to demand that everyone stop looking is just piling more dry wood and kerosene on a burn-pile that, once lit, may take out the whole country.
Hi Steve, thanks for your comments. I agree with you that in many cases, the courts dismissed the suits on procedural grounds or for lack of standing. I would argue that even in those cases, the dismissal is a blow to the party bringing suit. But in scores of cases, the suit was dismissed for lack of merit. The evidence presented by the Trump campaign was considered insufficient, or not credible, or simply ridiculous. That pattern is so clear that I believe it is justified to state that the courts have found no evidence for the Trump campaign’s claims of voter fraud. The Republican’s who persist on pushing the narrative, despite lack of evidence, are harming our nation in a grave manner.
The old joke: How do you tell if a politician is lying? His lips are moving.
Trump doesn’t lie any more often than Obama or most prominent Congress members from either side of the aisle (read: constantly). He’s just significantly less polished at it, and therefore more obvious.
We should be mad every time he lies, but we should be mad at the whole system (media, politicians, uninformed voters/citizens) for creating a scenario where doing so is so easy and constant for everybody.
Thanks, Ryan. I know what you mean… it seems that duplicity and flip-flopping among politicians is ubiquitous. But I don’t agree with you about Trump’s lies in comparison to those of other politicians. It’s not simply anti-conservative bias that has led the Washington Post to keep a numerical ticker of Trumps lies. He is in the “unprecedented” category. I believe that there are many politicians on both sides of the aisle who are motivated by a sincere desire to serve the public and who do their level best to speak truth, even though, by the nature of their jobs, it must be nuanced (or sometimes hyperbolic).