(CNN)The Arizona audit was emptier than Al Capone's vault.
After months of promises from former President Donald Trump and others involved with the sham audit of votes in Maricopa County that the findings would show rampant fraud, it showed nothing of the sort. In fact, Joe Biden gained 99 votes in the audit, while Trump lost 261.
Which, surely, would put an end to Trump's flights of fancy that he had won Arizona -- and the election -- if only all the ballots were counted, uh, fairly?
Absolutely not! Quite the opposite!
"Massive fraud was found in the Arizona Forensic Audit, sometimes referred to as 'Fraudit,'" Trump said in a statement released just after the report went public. "The numbers are Election Changing!"
Read More
At a campaign rally Saturday in Georgia, Trump went even further; "We won on the Arizona forensic audit yesterday at a level that you wouldn't believe," he told the adoring crowd.
THE POINT -- NOW ON YOUTUBE!
In each episode of his weekly YouTube show, Chris Cillizza will delve a little deeper into the surreal world of politics. Click to subscribe!
None of this, of course, is true. Trump lost the election -- both nationally and in Arizona. And yet, Trump and the forces aligned with him are already rewriting the history of their very own sham audit as they careen toward their next state of opportunity to fuel an increasingly wild conspiracy theory.
As CNN's Jeremy Herb and Fredreka Schouten write:
"Trump's allies are already demanding a new review of another Arizona county won by President Joe Biden. They are launching more partisan ballot reviews in other states following the Arizona playbook after passing laws making it harder to vote earlier this year. And they are calling for decertification of Arizona's 2020 election despite the lack of fraud, as part of a larger effort to validate Trump's 'Big Lie' and undermine the 2020 election results.
"The lesson they're taking from Arizona's Maricopa County ballot review is not that they failed and should stop, but rather that they should try to avoid the negative scrutiny that hounded the Cyber Ninjas' review and 'do it better' in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, even if there's no evidence of fraud, said Sarah Longwell, a conservative publisher and executive director of the conservative group Defending Democracy Together."
That's the thing about believing in conspiracy theories. You can always adjust the conspiracy to include any "bad" or counter-factual information. Using this distorted way of thinking, the Arizona audit either a) wasn't done right or b) wasn't reported on correctly. Which means you just have to do the next one better. You never have to confront the fact that you were just flat-out wrong.
And unfortunately for the country, the election fraud conspiracy theorists will get more chances.
In Wisconsin, there is already an active -- and wholly partisan -- investigation into the 2020 results in the state. The effort is being spearheaded by state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who has allocated almost $700,000 to finance the effort.
In Pennsylvania, Republicans in the state Senate are conducting what they are calling a "forensic audit" of the 2020 results. They have already voted to subpoena millions of voter records.
And in Texas, Trump is actively pushing Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to bring up a bill authorizing a 2020 audit during the state legislature's special session. "Governor Abbott, we need a 'Forensic Audit of the 2020 Election' added to the call," Trump wrote in a statement via his Save America PAC. "We're quickly running out of time and it must be done this week."
Soon after Trump's statement, the Texas secretary of state announced that it would be conducting an audit of the 2020 election in Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties. What a coincidence! (Biden won three of those four counties in 2020.)
What the aftermath of the Arizona sham audit proves is that this election fraud conspiracy theory just won't die. The true believers have ignored facts for so long that when presented with them -- even in an "audit" that they pushed and promoted -- they find ways to ignore them.
It's a sad state of affairs. And one that isn't going to be changing anytime soon.
Paid Content
「スポーツ」「健康」とまちづくりの可能性を考えるシンポジウム开催 UR都市机构
Cristiano Ronaldo Sells Manchester House: This Is A Big One Mansion Global
Recommended 1/5
Analysis: Senate Republicans just got some great 2022 news
Analysis: Donald Trump turned on Lindsey Graham. Of course.
NTTデータグループが日本初「不动産一括査定」を开発！実家がまさかの金额で
Analysis: What Mitch McConnell *really* thinks of Donald Trump
Discover the Most Expensive Homes in Miami
Analysis: Senate Republicans just got some great 2022 news
Analysis: Donald Trump turned on Lindsey Graham. Of course.
Analysis: Donald Trump turned on Lindsey Graham. Of course.
Read More
多くの人が知らない交通事故弁护士のことを知ったら、惊くかもしれません Search | Aporia
This Japanese Method Sucks All Toxins Out Of The Body tech4-you.com
Seniors With Hearing Loss in Japan Regret Not Knowing This Sooner Hearing Specialist
Sports NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar calls for unvaccinated…
Politics Trump went all-out to win farmer support. Now they're all in on…
Asia Japan's Princess Mako to give up one-off payment in controversial…
World She took part in one of the most secretive missions of the…
Politics Analysis: What Liz Cheney gets exactly right about Donald Trump…
マジか?「人を浮かせる」の真相が明らかになった Yunikons
もう望远镜は必要ありません。代わりにこの天才的なポケットデ… tech4-you.com
Paid Content
东京都歯科医の给料が公开され、皆惊いています Search | Red Gobo Why is Everyone in Japan Going Crazy Over This Inexpensive… topgadgetreviewer.com 惊いた! こんな生き物がこの世にいるなんて Galecxy 1 Simple Change That Cuts People's Electric Bill By Up To 45% tech4-you.com
More from CNN
Analysis: Donald Trump's mental health becomes an issue again Analysis: Paul Ryan was convinced Donald Trump had narcissistic… Prince Andrew and Prince Charles: British royal family hit by… US Capitol rioter who stormed Senate floor reports to prison…
Recommended by