Jonathan Lemire

this is an excellent summary of what happened, how it happened, and why it matters regarding the big lie that trump actually won the 2020 election. lemire gives enough background leading up to and analysis of how this lie and the republicans that follow it (and trump) are changing politics. for me, it was a good reminder of what had gone on as we enter the drama of the 2024 election. lemire is a journalist and so this is well written, evidence is substantiated, and relies on facts and no hyperbole. an excellent recap and reminder.

on the gutting of the voting rights act:
"Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Congress remained free to try to impose federal oversight on states where voting rights were at risk but needed to update its thinking and not focus on forty year old facts having no logical relationship to the present day."
why isn't this the way they think about the second amendment???… (més)

The big lie is used to refer to the claims of election fraud, and these began even before Trump was elected the first time in 2016 when he stated that if he lost it would be because the election was rigged. This book goes through the lies (more than 30,000) told during Trump's presidency, with most of the major events of that presidency covered, though not in great detail. It also covers the bogus election fraud claims after the 2020 election, and what the author calls the translation of the big lie into policy: state after state passing voting suppression laws in the name of protecting against voter fraud.

This book was well-written, and covered a number of things. I've just read so much on the subject, this one was not essential.

3 stars… (més)

If you are an avid need watched or reader, much in this book will not be a surprise. What this book does do really well is lay it all out in a clear, concise and linear manner. Starting on 2016 when then candidate Trump first started his big lie theory by saying if I ton won, he won't accept it because the vote would surely be rigged.

His first big lie in the White House was about the crowd size at his inaugural address, insisting his was bigger than Obama's had been. It wasn't, but in a clear sign of of the toadying that would last throughout his Presidency and beyond, they doctored the photo. Major appeasement and the first step of a White House that would continue this practice at the expense of truth. And so alternate facts came to be and fed to the American people.

It checks and balances that were supposed to keep the events that followed, an assault on our government on January 6th, from happening utterly failed. It failed because the GOP, instead of standing up to and calling out his lies, instead used them for their own political purposes. Are still doing so despite the imminent threat to our democracy.

The audio was read by the author himself who did a wonderful job in both the narration and writing of this book.

ARC from Netgalley.… (més)