The Big Lie: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics After 2020
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- Create Date：2022-07-31 00:19:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jonathan Lemire
- ISBN：B09RJ1RC2H
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Summary
A probing and illuminating analysis of current state of American politics， focusing on Donald Trump’s lie about election fraud， by the White House Correspondent for the Associated Press
Donald Trump first tried it out in 2016， at an August rally in Ohio。 He said that perhaps he wouldn’t accept the election results in his race against Hillary Clinton， that the election was “rigged。” He then mentioned it at more rallies and even at one of the fall debates。 He didn’t have to challenge the result that year， but the stage was set。 When he lost in 2020， he started the lie back up again and to devastating results: an insurrection at the Capitol in January 2021。
In the more than five tumultuous， paradigm-shifting years of Donald Trump’s presidency and beyond， his near-constant lying has become a fixture of political life。 It is inextricably linked with how his party behaves， how the Democrats respond to it， and how he remains relevant， even after a decisive loss in 2020。 Jonathan Lemire brings his connections， profile， and dogged reportorial instincts to bear in his first book that explores how this phenomenon shapes our politics。
He uncovers that “The Big Lie，” as it’s been termed， isn’t just about the 2020 election。 It's become a political philosophy that has only further divided the two parties。 Republicans are still wholly under Trump’s sway。 From his retirement at his Florida and New Jersey clubs he meets with Republican officials， aspiring candidates， and advisers and demands loyalty about this twisted way of thinking。 And Democrats still deal with him as their opposition party is driven by a blatant lie。 The parties aren’t divided by the aisle—they’re on different planets。
Written with sharp political insight and detailed with dozens of interviews， The Big Lie is the first book to examine this unprecedented and tenuous moment in our nation’s politics。
Donald Trump first tried it out in 2016， at an August rally in Ohio。 He said that perhaps he wouldn’t accept the election results in his race against Hillary Clinton， that the election was “rigged。” He then mentioned it at more rallies and even at one of the fall debates。 He didn’t have to challenge the result that year， but the stage was set。 When he lost in 2020， he started the lie back up again and to devastating results: an insurrection at the Capitol in January 2021。
In the more than five tumultuous， paradigm-shifting years of Donald Trump’s presidency and beyond， his near-constant lying has become a fixture of political life。 It is inextricably linked with how his party behaves， how the Democrats respond to it， and how he remains relevant， even after a decisive loss in 2020。 Jonathan Lemire brings his connections， profile， and dogged reportorial instincts to bear in his first book that explores how this phenomenon shapes our politics。
He uncovers that “The Big Lie，” as it’s been termed， isn’t just about the 2020 election。 It's become a political philosophy that has only further divided the two parties。 Republicans are still wholly under Trump’s sway。 From his retirement at his Florida and New Jersey clubs he meets with Republican officials， aspiring candidates， and advisers and demands loyalty about this twisted way of thinking。 And Democrats still deal with him as their opposition party is driven by a blatant lie。 The parties aren’t divided by the aisle—they’re on different planets。
Written with sharp political insight and detailed with dozens of interviews， The Big Lie is the first book to examine this unprecedented and tenuous moment in our nation’s politics。
Reviews
Jason Payne
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3 1/2 stars。 Solid reportage of "the big lie" and its repercussions， which continue to reverberate。 Liked the Lemire starts the book at the 2016 origin of the voter fraud lie， at a speech here in Columbus OH。 Far too many seem to have forgotten （repressed？） that the Il Duce-wannabe started squawking about fraud from the beginning of his run against "wicked Hillary。" 3 1/2 stars。 Solid reportage of "the big lie" and its repercussions， which continue to reverberate。 Liked the Lemire starts the book at the 2016 origin of the voter fraud lie， at a speech here in Columbus OH。 Far too many seem to have forgotten （repressed？） that the Il Duce-wannabe started squawking about fraud from the beginning of his run against "wicked Hillary。" 。。。more
Sandra Armor
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Nothing new， nothing incendiary。 Nothing that should have been disclosed to Congress or Justice。 Just an excellent documentation of basically everything since 2015 up until almost now。 I’ll have to pick up the paperback for any additions the author makes。 I enjoy and respect Jonathan’s work。 Just the Helsinki press conference made him a legend。 He does a fantastic job narrating the audiobook。
Jesse Keljo
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I really appreciate this book’s as straight as possible reportage of the birth of and evolution of the lie that the 2020 election was “stolen。” Sure， the very fact that this book calls this a lie will lead to claims of bias， but the facts are the facts in this case without a doubt。 The author leaves it to others to write a call to action and does not lay out any ideas of how to move forward to protect democracy， which should bolster this book’s credibility as reportage of fact。 Unfortunately， th I really appreciate this book’s as straight as possible reportage of the birth of and evolution of the lie that the 2020 election was “stolen。” Sure， the very fact that this book calls this a lie will lead to claims of bias， but the facts are the facts in this case without a doubt。 The author leaves it to others to write a call to action and does not lay out any ideas of how to move forward to protect democracy， which should bolster this book’s credibility as reportage of fact。 Unfortunately， this also makes things feel hopeless。 The author does well narrating his book， and I recommend the audio version if that is how you prefer to read。 。。。more
Jamie
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Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review。This book was fantastic！ I'm deeply interested in politics and have closely watched our country descend into madness。 It feels like people are living in two separate and distinct realities。This book covered things I already knew， but there were several topics discussed that I hadn't been aware of。 The author was humorous at times， especially when recounting some of the most ridiculous things t Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review。This book was fantastic！ I'm deeply interested in politics and have closely watched our country descend into madness。 It feels like people are living in two separate and distinct realities。This book covered things I already knew， but there were several topics discussed that I hadn't been aware of。 The author was humorous at times， especially when recounting some of the most ridiculous things trump said during his presidency。 Although it was very serious subject matter， I found myself chuckling at the absurdity of the whole situation。 This was well written and well researched。 While it primarily focused on the big lie， trump's entire presidency is broken down to show how far back the big lie goes and how extensive Trump's lying was。 Five stars。 Great narration。 。。。more
Lynne Perednia
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A clear， concise and cogent primer on the origins of The Big Lie that Donald Trump has spouted since his candidacy， how it affected his presidency and re-election loss， and how it continues to be a determining factor in the current administration and GOP。
Dani Hill
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Advanced copy （audiobook） review: Excellect and informative read/listen。 Lemire is a journalist and political correspondent by trade。 The reader does not need to know a lot of political jargon to understand his writing。 He keeps the reader intrigued by the language he uses and the descriptions of what was witnessed。 Lemire walks the reader through events leading up to Donald Trump's campaign， election， presidency， his 2020 loss to Joe Biden， his claims of election fraud， January 6， 2021， and the Advanced copy （audiobook） review: Excellect and informative read/listen。 Lemire is a journalist and political correspondent by trade。 The reader does not need to know a lot of political jargon to understand his writing。 He keeps the reader intrigued by the language he uses and the descriptions of what was witnessed。 Lemire walks the reader through events leading up to Donald Trump's campaign， election， presidency， his 2020 loss to Joe Biden， his claims of election fraud， January 6， 2021， and the chaos that followed。 There are some details that were well known to the public making this this book a bit eye opening。 "The Big Lie" gave me better understanding of how the average Republican got sucked into the cult of Donald Trump and it is terrifying。 I highly recommend this book for anyone that is on the fence about voting for a far right candidate or anyone who wants a better understanding of how the US got to where we are now。 There were parts of the book that were difficult to get through。 The memories of the Trump years are still very fresh。 Many are still process everything that happened during this time。 。。。more
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