Analysis & Opinions - The New York Times

What Makes Trump's Subversion Efforts So Alarming? His Collaborators

| Nov. 23, 2020

The president has been trying to dismantle our shared beliefs about democracy. And now, his fellow Republicans are helping him.

Last Thursday, Rudy Giuliani, a Trump campaign lawyer, alleged a widespread voting conspiracy involving Venezuela, Cuba and China. Another lawyer, Sidney Powell, argued that Mr. Trump won in a landslide, the entire election in swing states should be overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for the president.

The Republican National Committee swung in to support her false claim that Mr. Trump won in a landslide, while Michigan election officials have tried to stop the certification of the vote.

It is wildly unlikely that their efforts can block Joe Biden from becoming president. But they may still do lasting damage to American democracy for a shocking reason: The moves have come from trusted insiders.

American democracy's vulnerability to disinformation has been very much in the news since the Russian disinformation campaign in 2016. The fear is that outsiders, whether they be foreign or domestic actors, will undermine our system by swaying popular opinion and election results....

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For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Farrell, Henry and Bruce Schneier.“What Makes Trump's Subversion Efforts So Alarming? His Collaborators.” The New York Times, November 23, 2020.

The Authors

Henry Farrell

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