About this item
A probing and illuminating analysis of current state of American politics, focusing on Donald Trump's lie about election fraud, by the White House Bureau Chief of Politico and the host of MSNBC's Way Too EarlyDonald 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.
About the Author
Jonathan Lemire is the White House Bureau Chief for Politico. He is also the host of "Way Too Early" on MSNBC and a political analyst for both that network and NBC News. His first book, "THE BIG LIE: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics after 2020," was published by Flatiron Books in July 2022 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. Prior to joining Politico, he was a White House reporter for The Associated Press. For the AP, he covered two presidential administrations, first Donald Trump and now Joe Biden. He broke scores of news stories and wrote authoritative analysis pieces while covering the day-to-day workings of both presidencies, as well as the 2020 campaign, the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the insurrection of January 6th, 2021. He interviewed President Trump in the Oval Office, traveled with the presidents to the Middle East, Asia and Europe and received attention for his news conference questions to Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin at their July 2018 Helsinki summit. In addition to his hosting duties, Lemire is a regular on "Morning Joe" as well as a frequent guest on MSNBC programs like "Deadline White House with Nicolle Wallace" and "The 11th Hour with Brian Williams" and he contributed to the network's coverage of the 2020 election and Biden's inauguration. He also covered Donald Trump's first presidential campaign, including the candidate's June 2015 Trump Tower campaign kickoff and nearly 100 rallies in 2016. He previously covered New York City and State politics, including the 2013 mayoral election. Before joining the AP in 2013, he spent more than a decade at the New York Daily News, covering the 2012 presidential election, City Hall and the September 11th terrorist attacks. He grew up in Massachusetts, graduated from Columbia University and lives with his wife, the journalist Carrie Melago, and their two sons, all while caring entirely too much about the Boston Red Sox.
