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The Big Liar returns

4 min read
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HeĢƵ the Energizer Bunny of one term, twice-impeached presidents.

He just keeps lying and lying and lying.

Civilian Donald John Trump had hidden behind Fox News long enough.

It was time for him to find a field in Wellington, Ohio, and hold forth with his usual outrageousness – aimed with precision at anybody who ever tried to convince the world that “The Big Lie,” is, in fact, a “Big Lie.”

There were two things most notable about his Ohio rally.

First, no major network bothered to cover it live – including Fox News. And second, the last time he held a rally (on Jan. 6), he nearly caused an overthrow of the entire U.S. government.

From all I’ve been able to discern, he went there prepared with his usual bad temperament on full display.

“What happened in the election was a disgrace,” he told his flock.

That flock, as you may have predicted, roared its approval.

“We won the election in 2020,” he announced as if he’d read the election results upside down.

Then there was this blasted pandemic that had become the Democrats’ secret plan to forcibly take over the country: “They used COVID to rig the election; to steal the election.”

My, heavens, he tells some big whoppers.

LetĢƵ face it, hardly anybody but him, and his rightwing news gatherers are still hanging onto the foolish hope that simple math went on holiday last Nov. 3. (And it still hasn’t returned.)

His rally was Saturday, June 26. Mr. Trump had hardly had enough time to break his arm patting himself on the back when Sunday morning rolled around – and prevented him from being forced to walk around in a sling.

An ABC reporter, Jon Karl, published the results of an extensive interview he did with TrumpĢƵ attorney general, William Barr.

While Barr had been a loyal Trump supporter leading up to the 2020 presidential election, he wasn’t nearly as enthralled with him after it.

“He had expected Trump to lose and therefore was not surprised by the outcome,” Karl wrote.

And when Trump tried to enlist Barr in the ridiculous hunt for fraudulent votes, he simply said, among other things, “It was all BS.”

The article went on to indicate that there was increasing friction between Barr and Trump over the continued attempts to find fraudulent votes.

And that Barr simply called the people who were running all over the country trying to figure out a way to help Trump win a “clown show.”

Imagine that?

By now, I’m thinking you probably don’t believe Donald Trump is the real president?

I have to check now and then.

You never know.

Well, there have been so many lawsuits and legal maneuvers designed to get Trump back into the White House, they’ve devoted an entire Wikipedia page to it. “Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election” chronicles the 80-plus lawsuits that have been filed on TrumpĢƵ behalf.

None has been successful.

Even in states where there have been self-appointed investigations into possible fraudulent voting, nothing of any value has been produced.

On June 23, the Republican chairman of a post-election committee in the state of Michigan, Sen. Ed McBroom, wrote, “The Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in MichiganĢƵ prosecution of the 2020 election.”

He was head of a committee that took a long look at numerous claims of voting improprieties.

ThatĢƵ after Joe Biden had won Michigan by 154,000 votes. And there had been several previous court rulings and audits that had been conducted by the stateĢƵ secretary of state.

That doesn’t matter to Trump and his followers.

Trump will lie, and they’ll swear to it, over and over again.

The reception to that deception has become so outrageous, that, according to a new Morning Consult poll, more Republicans believe that Joe Biden was responsible for the events of Jan. 6 (41%) than did Trump (30%).

I can’t think of how Joe Biden had more to do with the insurrection than Trump did.

Can you?

Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.

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