This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.
Trump’s Orwellian rewrite of 2020
He’s trying to criminalize telling the truth about 2020.
Patrick Reis was the senior politics and ideas editor at Vox. He previously worked at Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, Politico, National Journal, and Seattle’s Real Change News. As a reporter and editor, he has worked on coverage of campaign politics, economic policy, the federal death penalty, climate change, financial regulation, and homelessness.
Welcome to The Logoff: Economic chaos from President Donald Trump’s tariffs continues to dominate headlines, but today I want to focus on his continuing effort to rewrite the history of the 2020 election — and his troubling use of government power to push the lie that he won it.
What’s the latest?
- Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate Chris Krebs, his first-term pick to lead a cybersecurity agency. Krebs, while in office, publicly acknowledged that the 2020 election was a fair contest.
- Trump attempted to pull security clearances and kill government contracts for the law firm Susman Godfrey, which represented a voting machine firm that sued Fox News for lying about the 2020 race’s integrity, leading to a $787.5 million settlement. It’s the latest law firm to incur Trump’s wrath for engaging in disfavored political activity.
- Trump’s pick for a top Interior Department position was forced to withdraw amid revelations she’d criticized Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection.
What’s the big picture? Trump has long insisted that Joe Biden’s 2020 victory was fraudulent. That’s a lie. What’s true is that Trump lost the 2020 election but tried to stay in power anyway. But Trump has now accumulated enough power — and is willing enough to abuse that power — to impose consequences for noncompliance with the official narrative. It’s the exact kind of abuse the First Amendment was intended to prevent.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
I struggled with whether to share this story, because it’s not remotely a “light” read. But it’s an amazing piece of writing, one person’s story of his own bouts of homelessness and mental illness. I read it months ago and find myself returning to it again and again, and it helps me be grateful for what I have and inspired to help others with their struggles. No worries, of course, if you’re not up for it, but if you do read it, I’d love to hear what you think. Have a great night, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.
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