A month after the presidential election, President Trump’s claim that the election was rigged to benefit Joe Biden has been debunked by numerous Republican state elections officials. Dozens of lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and its proxies have been rejected by judges in both state and federal courts. There is no evidence to support any of the campaign’s baseless charges of election fraud, though its power to undermine faith in American democracy is real.
Yet millions of Americans — including about 70% to 80% of Republicans — believe the election was stolen. Why? …
Whether by accident or design, the election fraud narrative features three characteristics that supercharge its psychological appeal: It makes a complex and hostile world seem orderly, controllable and certain. CONTINUED
Aaron C. Kay (Duke) & Mark J. Landau (U. of Kansas), Los Angeles Times