NYT Columnist: People Are Being “Lulled” into a False Sense of Security as Republicans Back Trump’s Election Lies

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Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:51 pm

Speaking to CNN‘s Anderson Cooper, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman warned that Americans are being “lulled” into a false sense of security under the leadership of President Joe Biden while Republicans continue to threaten the democratic order by backing former President Donald Trump’s falsehoods about the 2020 general election.

Friedman believes “our democracy is as threatened today” as the day Trump announced he would be running for office and the Republicans who believe the lie that the election was stolen will only further that threat.

“Subscribing to the big lie that this election was stolen has become a prerequisite now for thriving, surviving and rising in this Republican Party,” said Friedman. “What does that mean? It means that this GOP is going to be built on a gigantic lie.”

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“Moreover, Friedman questioned how anyone could still support the Republican Party if it continues to back such a baseless claim.

“It’s happened like in the last couple of weeks, where everyone fell into line and people like (House Minority Leader) Kevin McCarthy ― their willingness to politically prostitute themselves in order to, you know, get the speaker of the House ― it is breathtaking that someone would sell their soul that shamelessly,” he observed.

Friedman called these developments “chilling.”

“Now, imagine, if he would do that, what will they do once they’re in power to keep power? We are in real danger here,” he said.

You can watch the interview below.

Trump’s falsehoods have taken center stage again this week after Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) pushed back against them, affirming that the 2020 general election “was not stolen.” Trump had earlier issued a statement calling the 2020 election “the big lie.”

There is no evidence to support the ex-president’s claims of widespread election fraud.

A statement from the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of a joint statement from the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees, revealed the agencies found “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.” The statement went on to refer to the 2020 general election as “the most secure in American history.”