Big Lie

The Big Lie is the label given to Donald Trump's claim that American elections can be stolen, though Jonathan Lemire shows it is far more than a dispute over 2020. Over time it has hardened into a political philosophy, one that has pushed the Republican and Democratic parties further apart.

The idea first surfaced in 2016, when Trump told a rally in Ohio that he might not accept the results of his race against Hillary Clinton, calling the election rigged. He did not have to contest the outcome that year, but the groundwork was laid. After losing in 2020, he revived the claim, and it fed into the January 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Lemire traces how, across more than five turbulent years of Trump's presidency and beyond, his near-constant falsehoods became a standing feature of political life. He examines how the lie is bound up with the conduct of his party, the Democrats' responses to it, and Trump's ability to remain politically relevant despite a decisive defeat.

Lemire, the White House bureau chief for Politico and the host of MSNBC's Way Too Early, draws on his professional contacts, public profile, and years of reporting. The book is based on dozens of interviews and is his first full-length study of how this phenomenon shapes American politics.