Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
The Big Lie is back and coming for U.S. elections
Los Angeles Times
|August 21, 2025
President Trump's attack on mail ballots isn't just a rehash of his 2020 claims, it's a pretext for disrupting the 2026 midterms
MATT ROURKE Associated Press RESEARCH shows that mail ballots aren't associated with rigged voting, as Trump claims.
LIKE MOST AMERICANS, including White House reporters apparently, I've tuned out Donald Trump's incessant Big Lie that he won the 2020 presidential election - "by a lot." That means his nonsense about rigged voting and Democrats' cheating goes mostly unchallenged, and he continues to undermine faith in U.S. elections. After all, it's not like anyone can shut him up.
Still, it’s time to quit tuning out. Whether a reporter on the beat or a citizen in conversation anywhere, pay attention and push back against Trump's un-American blather. Because in recent days the power-drunk president has in various ways telegraphed that his Big Lie isn’t just about a past election but a pretext for what he could do to disrupt the next one, the 2026 midterm elections for Congress.
Other 2020 election liars are paying a big price, literally. Just this week, right-wing Newsmax agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems, on top of $40 million in March to Smartmatic, to settle defamation lawsuits based on Newsmax's false reporting (echoing Trump) that the companies rigged voting machines for Joe Biden. Newsmax's penalty is of course dwarfed by the $787 million that Fox News paid to Dominion in 2023; in a pending trial, Smartmatic seeks $2.7 billion from Fox.
All the while, the president of the United States continues to spout the same slop, all but immune to legal action, as he sets the stage for 2026.
This story is from the August 21, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Right now, all that he can say is 'maybe'
Of all the reams of words publicly spilled at Lakers media day Monday, only one really mattered.
5 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Dodgers bet on Snell as a potential postseason ace
Left-hander views his controversial exit in 2020 World Series as a valuable lesson.
6 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Trump's plan for peace in Gaza
The president and Netanyahu demand Hamas disarm, step down, free hostages.
4 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Toni Atkins pulls out of race for governor
[Atkins, from B1] Atkins began her political career on the San Diego City Council after serving as a women's clinic administrator.
2 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Can L.A. actually accomplish a ‘car-free Olympics’?
The city’s lack of progress on transit projects isn’t for lack of effort — but it’s still years behind schedule
4 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Missouri’s governor signs gerrymandered map into law
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a new U.S. House map into law Sunday as part ofPresident Trump’s plan to try to hold on toanarrow Republican majority in next year’s midterm elections.
3 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Trump again threatens tariff on movies
President Trump again suggested that films made outside the U.S. should be subject to a 100% tariff, a move he said would help rejuvenate film production in America but that has been greeted with skepticism by many in Hollywood.
2 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Santa Ana Zoo regains accreditation as new monkey habitats near completion
The facility had lost its status in 2017 after panel found 'outdated' quarters for primates.
2 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Group's ties to dead boy, 2 missing men are investigated
McFarland described the group as “cult-like,” echoing language from the coroner’s report.
5 mins
September 30, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Will new Pell Grant be Trump Grant?
Opposition arises over a proposal to name a new variation of the student aid after the president.
2 mins
September 30, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size