Opinion Today: Before the big lie, there was the big joke

Without the big joke, the big lie’s challenge to democracy would be ephemeral, not existential. [View in browser](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP4QoAWh0dHBzOi8vbWVzc2FnaW5nLWN1c3RvbS1uZXdzbGV0dGVycy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS90ZW1wbGF0ZS9vYWt2Mj9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnByb2R1Y3RDb2RlPVRZJnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1cmk9bnl0JTNBJTJGJTJGbmV3c2xldHRlciUyRjI5MGNkOWIyLTJlZWUtNWIxZi1iMWM0LWIzYzY2MWY2OTMyMyZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~)|[nytimes.com](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0SwaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM5JmVtYz1lZGl0X3R5XzIwMjIwOTI0Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTcyODMzJm5sPW9waW5pb24tdG9kYXkmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTEwODAzNSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYy2w8S5ju-VqxlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA)[Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-ad-marquee) ~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0RtaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MTYyMTM5JmxpPVRZJm09YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDcmcD1UWV8yMDIyMDkyNFcDbnl0QgpjLbDxLmO75WrGUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~ [Read more from Opinion](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0S_aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vc2VjdGlvbi9vcGluaW9uP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM5JmVtYz1lZGl0X3R5XzIwMjIwOTI0Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTcyODMzJm5sPW9waW5pb24tdG9kYXkmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTEwODAzNSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYy2w8S5ju-VqxlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) September 24, 2022 The lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election has grown so powerful because it is yoked to an older deception, without which it could not survive: the idea that American politics is, in essence, a joke, and that it can be treated as such without consequence. Anthony Eslick [Author Headshot] By Carlos Lozada I [joined](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TnaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0Y28uY29tL3ByZXNzL2Nhcmxvcy1sb3phZGEtam9pbnMtdGhlLXRpbWVzLWFzLW9waW5pb24tY29sdW1uaXN0Lz9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) The New York Times this month as an Opinion columnist, and I have a confession to make right away: I have no takes, hot or otherwise, ready to inflict upon readers, and I lack a trusty ideological lens that I always peer through when looking at the world. Even the label “Opinion columnist,” with its implied authority and self-assurance, makes me nervous. Instead, when I am intrigued by something, I bury myself in readings about it — usually books but also speeches, manifestoes, Supreme Court [opinions](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TxaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbnBvc3QuY29tL291dGxvb2svMjAyMi8wNy8wMS9yb2UtY2FzZXktZG9iYnMtYWJvcnRpb24tc3VwcmVtZS1jb3VydC8_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzkmZW1jPWVkaXRfdHlfMjAyMjA5MjQmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NzI4MzMmbmw9b3Bpbmlvbi10b2RheSZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTA4MDM1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpjLbDxLmO75WrGUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~), special counsel [reports](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP4QRAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9vdXRsb29rLzIwMTkvMDMvMjIvZXZlcnktcmVwb3J0LXBhc3QtcHJlc2lkZW50aWFsLXNjYW5kYWwtd2FzLXdhcm5pbmctd2h5LWRpZG50LXdlLWxpc3Rlbi8_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MzkmZW1jPWVkaXRfdHlfMjAyMjA5MjQmaW5zdGFuY2VfaWQ9NzI4MzMmbmw9b3Bpbmlvbi10b2RheSZyZWdpX2lkPTc3Njc0OTUyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTA4MDM1JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkN1cDbnl0QgpjLbDxLmO75WrGUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW45MEBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAA~) or whatever else — and if I’m lucky, I come up for air with something worth holding to the light. This is the approach I developed as a book critic for The Washington Post, and it’s stuck. It is how I think, and it’s how I write. For months now, I’ve been taken with the use of the term “the big lie” in American politics and news media, with its historical baggage, its sense of finality (always the big lie, as if none bigger could be uttered) and its staying power. What, aside from its brazen dishonesty and ambition, I’ve wondered, makes the lie about the 2020 election so strong — so big? So I read several works of journalism and history and political memoir that explore different aspects of the big lie, particularly its origins and its influence over the Republican Party. It soon became clear that the big lie is inseparable from the big joke — the enduring idea that lies are common currency in Washington and that, because everyone “gets the joke,” telling those lies is free of consequences. “Without the big joke, the big lie would not merit its adjective,” I wrote in my first Times [column](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TeaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wOS8yMi9vcGluaW9uL3RydW1wLWJpZy1saWUtYmlnLWpva2UuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~). “Its challenge to democracy would be ephemeral, not existential.” Let me know what you think — and also what you think I should read next. READ CARLOS’S COLUMN HERE [Carlos Lozada The Inside Joke That Became Trump’s Big Lie The lie that Trump won the 2020 election has grown so powerful because it is yoked to an older deception: the idea that American politics is a joke. By Carlos Lozada](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TeaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wOS8yMi9vcGluaW9uL3RydW1wLWJpZy1saWUtYmlnLWpva2UuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) [Article Image](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TeaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wOS8yMi9vcGluaW9uL3RydW1wLWJpZy1saWUtYmlnLWpva2UuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) [Continue reading the main story](#a11y-skip-universal-0) ADVERTISEMENT ~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0RsaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9NTk3ODUmbGk9VFkmbT1hYTQ5MWVmN2YxZDk2NGU0OTc5ZmI3ODRlNzRlMDFkNyZwPVRZXzIwMjIwOTI0VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~ THE WEEK IN BIG IDEAS [[Article Image] Nico Krijno](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0ThaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wOS8yMC9vcGluaW9uL3VzLW1lbnRhbC1oZWFsdGgtcG9saXRpY3MuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) [Guest Essay Mental Health Is Political Many in power would prefer to kick questions like “What caused the mental health crisis?” and “Who benefits?” out of sight. 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By Joel Tan](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TpaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wOS8yMi9vcGluaW9uL2ludGVybmF0aW9uYWwtd29ybGQvc2luZ2Fwb3JlLWdheS5odG1sP2NhbXBhaWduX2lkPTM5JmVtYz1lZGl0X3R5XzIwMjIwOTI0Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTcyODMzJm5sPW9waW5pb24tdG9kYXkmcmVnaV9pZD03NzY3NDk1MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTEwODAzNSZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YWE0OTFlZjdmMWQ5NjRlNDk3OWZiNzg0ZTc0ZTAxZDdXA255dEIKYy2w8S5ju-VqxlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTBAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAA) [[Article Image] Tracy Barbutes/Reuters](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TnaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wOS8yMS9vcGluaW9uL3dpbGRmaXJlcy1jbGltYXRlLWNoYW5nZS1zdW1tZXIuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) [Guest Essay ‘We Can’t Let the Kids Go Outdoors’: Our New Reality on the West Coast For children there, it isn’t a question of what you want to do outside; it’s whether it is even safe to leave the house. By Emma Pattee](~/AAAAAQA~/RgRlEXawP0TnaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wOS8yMS9vcGluaW9uL3dpbGRmaXJlcy1jbGltYXRlLWNoYW5nZS1zdW1tZXIuaHRtbD9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0zOSZlbWM9ZWRpdF90eV8yMDIyMDkyNCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD03MjgzMyZubD1vcGluaW9uLXRvZGF5JnJlZ2lfaWQ9Nzc2NzQ5NTImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xMDgwMzUmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWFhNDkxZWY3ZjFkOTY0ZTQ5NzlmYjc4NGU3NGUwMWQ3VwNueXRCCmMtsPEuY7vlasZSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjkwQGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAA~~) Subscribe Today New York Times Opinion curates a wide range of views, inviting rich discussion and debate that helps readers analyze the world. This work is made possible with the support of subscribers. 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