Latest / Uncensored Objection / Mitch’s Closing Argument- The Con That Stole the Presidency: How Trump Lied, Cheated, and Manipulated His Way Back to Power in 2024

Transcript

Mitch’s Closing Argument- The Con That Stole the Presidency: How Trump Lied, Cheated, and Manipulated His Way Back to Power in 2024 · Uncensored Objection

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You've just sat through a two-month-long jury trial.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: You've heard the evidence, the testimony, the truth laid bare.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Donald J.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Trump is on trial,
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: not for politics,
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: not for partisanship,
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: but for a deeper betrayal of truth,
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: of trust,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: of the office he once held.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: The charge is simple yet profound.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: That he cheated, manipulated, and lied his way into the presidency.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: that he didn't just bend the rules,
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: he bulldozed them,
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: believing he'd never be held accountable.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Mitch Jackson is the trial lawyer who brought this case forward.
• 0:38
  And now,
• 0:39
  as we reach the end,
• 0:40
  he stands before you not with outrage,
• 0:42
  but with resolve.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is Mr. Jackson's closing argument.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, our democracy is on trial today.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: For two long months, you have heard the evidence piece by piece.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Now it all comes down to this,
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: a verdict on how Donald J.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: Trump wrongfully secured the presidency in 2024.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: The charge is not a narrow legal technicality.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: It is the fundamental question of whether he lied,
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: misrepresented facts,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: and cheated to win an election.
• 1:22
  The evidence shows that he did exactly that,
• 1:26
  and in a close election,
• 1:28
  decided 46.9% to 46.4%.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: These lies made the difference.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: I stand before you not just as a lawyer in a courtroom,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: but as a fellow American speaking to every citizen as the jury.
• 1:42
  The case I present is built on 10 key deceits that altered
• 1:46
  voter behavior and
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: narrowly handed Mr.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Trump victory.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: As I walk through each one,
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: ask yourselves,
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: is this the free and fair choice the American people deserve?
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Or was this victory stolen in spirit by deceit?
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Let's examine the facts.
• 2:04
  The first deceit is that Donald Trump relentlessly lied about
• 2:10
  mail-in voting.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: He peddled baseless claims that mail ballots are rife with fraud.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Anytime you have a mail-in ballot,
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's going to be massive fraud, he insisted.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: He called mail voting a scam,
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: insinuated that they cheat like dogs with mailed ballots,
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: and warned his supporters to watch out for cheating at every turn.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: These statements were utterly false.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Election officials,
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: independent experts,
• 2:41
  and courts across the country have repeatedly confirmed that
• 2:46
  mail-in voting has
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: strong safeguards and extremely low rates of fraud.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, Mr. Trump himself has voted by mail in the past.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: He knew these claims were untrue, yet he kept amplifying them.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Why to suppress voter turnout?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: By sowing fear and doubt about mail ballots,
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: he aimed to discourage people from voting,
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: especially those who might favor his opponent.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Think about it.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Mail-in voting is used heavily by working parents,
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: the elderly,
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: and citizens who can't easily get to polls groups
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: that include many of his opponent's supporters.
• 3:24
  If even a small fraction of those voters believed Trump's lies
• 3:31
  and thought their
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: mail ballot might be tossed or fraudulent,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: they might decide not to vote at all.
• 3:37
  And in an election,
• 3:38
  this razor thin,
• 3:40
  that is enough to change the outcome.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen this tactic before.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: In 2016 and 2020,
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Trump made noise about rigged elections and voter fraud with no evidence,
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: priming voters to distrust the process.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: In 2020,
• 3:56
  his false attacks on mail voting were so pervasive that some of
• 4:00
  his own supporters
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: refused to vote by mail,
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: hurting his campaign's turnout strategy.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: But in 2024, he turned that suppression outward.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: By frightening everyday Americans about a perfectly valid way to vote,
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: he tried to steal the most sacred right we have,
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: the right to cast a ballot freely and confidently.
• 4:24
  Ladies and gentlemen,
• 4:25
  this was not robust campaigning or legitimate skepticism.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: This was cheating by deceit.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump attempted to win by preventing votes against him.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: Democracy is supposed to be a contest of visions,
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: not a game of trickery where you scare people away from voting.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Every American, regardless of party, should shudder at this.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Because if this becomes acceptable,
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: if lying to depress turnout is just another campaign strategy,
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: then any future candidate can try to win,
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: not by earning more votes,
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: but by stopping votes from being cast.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: That is not democracy.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: That is a betrayal of democracy.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: And in 2024, it worked.
• 5:08
  Turnout in several key areas was just low enough,
• 5:11
  margins just thin enough to tip the scales.
• 5:15
  The difference between 46.4% and 46.9% was a few thousand votes
• 5:22
  in a few swing states.
• 5:24
  How many people stayed home or didn't mail their ballot because
• 5:29
  of the constant drumbeat
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: a false fear Mr. Trump spread about mail voting.
• 5:36
  We can't know the exact number,
• 5:38
  but even if it was one person per precinct,
• 5:41
  it was too many.
• 5:42
  He cheated the American people of a fully free election by
• 5:47
  poisoning the well of trust.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: The second deceit and lie,
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 5:52
  Trump misrepresented his opponent's policies and record through
• 5:56
  a flood of misinformation,
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: blasted across every media channel,
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: especially on Elon Musk's platform,
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: ex-formerly Trump.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Twitter, which became a bullhorn for Trump's distortions.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: He did not campaign on honest differences or respectfully debate policy.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Instead,
• 6:15
  he and his allies unleashed a torrent of lies about Vice
• 6:21
  President Kamala Harris,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: who became the Democratic nominee after President Biden stepped aside,
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: that blanketed the airwaves and the Internet.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: You heard the evidence of these lies.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 6:34
  Trump claimed falsely that his opponent wanted to defund the
• 6:39
  police and would
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: abolish law enforcement,
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: when in reality she never proposed such a thing.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: He accused her of being a Marxist radical,
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: painting ordinary center-left positions as extreme communism.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: He attacked her on crime,
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: saying violent crime had skyrocketed 43% under her influence,
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: an outrageous lie when,
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: in fact,
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: violent crime was near 50-year lows.
• 7:10
  He even stooped so low as to claim she couldn't pass her bar
• 7:14
  exam and insinuated
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: she was incompetent as a lawyer when,
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: in truth,
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: she did become a licensed attorney.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: passing on her second try, which is not unusual.
• 7:26
  He said she cut Medicare by $237 billion when she actually
• 7:33
  supported letting
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: Medicare negotiate drug prices to lower costs for seniors.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: He twisted her words about taxes and guns.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: For example,
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: claiming she endorsed an 80% tax rate in mass gun confiscation,
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: neither of which she actually did.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: One after another, these claims were proven false.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: They were not differences of opinion or campaign hyperbole.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: They were lies, and they were everywhere.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's campaign and supporters blasted these falsehoods on cable news,
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: in Facebook ads,
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: on talk radio,
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: and especially on X,
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: where content moderation had been slashed under Mr.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Musk's ownership.
• 8:21
  Indeed,
• 8:21
  the evidence showed that Elon Musk himself aided this
• 8:25
  misinformation blitz.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Musk,
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: an open Trump sympathizer,
• 8:31
  personally posted and amplified conspiracy-laden attacks on the
• 8:36
  Democratic candidate,
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: garnering billions of views.
• 8:39
  Under his watch,
• 8:41
  X's algorithms pushed Trump-friendly lies into millions of feeds,
• 8:47
  unchecked.
• 8:48
  Posts smearing Mr.
• 8:50
  Trump's opponent spread like wildfire,
• 8:54
  often drowning out factual reporting.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Why does this matter?
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because voters can only make a good decision if they know the truth.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump didn't want to give voters a fair choice.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: He wanted to confuse and terrify them about his opponent.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: If you were an average American tuning into the campaign,
• 9:13
  you might have genuinely believed that Kamala Harris was a
• 9:17
  Marxist who would open
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: all the prisons,
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: take away your hamburgers,
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: and cancel Medicare.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Those ideas are absurdly false.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: But Mr.
• 9:27
  Trump's strategy was to repeat the lies so often in so many
• 9:31
  places that people
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: didn't know what to believe.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's the old strategy of repeat a lie long enough and it becomes truth.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: Remember the testimony we heard from undecided voters in focus groups?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: Some of them admitted they were unsure what Harris really stood for,
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: but they heard she might cut police funding,
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: or some say she's extreme.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Where did they hear it?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: From the relentless propaganda machine of the Trump campaign.
• 10:03
  By misrepresenting his opponent's policies,
• 10:06
  he stole the opportunity for a fair evaluation.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: he tilted the playing field under an avalanche of falsehoods.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: This tactic, too, is nothing new for Mr. Trump.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: In 2016,
• 10:19
  he famously branded Hillary Clinton a criminal and claimed
• 10:24
  she'd abolished the
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Second Amendment.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Again, nonsense, but it clouded perception.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: In 2020,
• 10:31
  he and his allies spun wild tales about Joe Biden being
• 10:36
  controlled by the radical
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: left or being mentally unfit,
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: making moderate positions seem sinister.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: By 2024,
• 10:46
  armed with social media platforms willing to algorithmically
• 10:50
  boost his disinformation,
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's campaign became a fire hose of falsehood without precedent.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen,
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: elections are supposed to be a contest of ideas,
• 11:04
  but you can't have that contest if one side floods the arena
• 11:09
  with smoke and mirrors.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Trump wanted to win,
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: not by proving he had better policies,
• 11:15
  but by ensuring many voters literally could not discern his
• 11:19
  opponent's real
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: policies over the din of lies.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: And in a campaign decided by mere tenths of a percent,
• 11:27
  That strategy likely convinced just enough wavering voters or
• 11:32
  confused enough ears
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: to eke out a win.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was deliberate and it was dishonest.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: The third deceit and lie.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump misled Americans about the economy.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Taking credit he hadn't earned and distorting genuine economic facts,
• 11:47
  he fashioned himself as the hero of an economic revival that
• 11:52
  was already underway
• 11:53
  under his predecessor while painting a falsely dire picture of
• 11:58
  the present to stoke frustration.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: In speeches,
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: debates,
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: and ads,
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Trump repeatedly claimed that under the Biden-Harris administration,
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: the economy was a disaster,
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: the worst ever,
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: and that only his return brought improvement.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: When gas prices started to fall and inflation eased,
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: In 2024,
• 12:22
  he crowed that businesses had begun hiring or lowering prices
• 12:27
  because they know I'm
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: coming back.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: He declared that as soon as he was elected,
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: the economy was roaring again,
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: implying that mere anticipation of him fixed everything.
• 12:41
  these claims were as deceptive as a con man's promises the
• 12:45
  truth is that the
• 12:46
  economy in late 2023 and 2024 was already recovering from the
• 12:52
  high inflation of
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: 2021 to 2022.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: inflation had been coming down steadily
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: thanks to responsible policies during President Biden's term.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: Job growth was consistent and unemployment remained low.
• 13:08
  Rather than acknowledge any success by his opponents,
• 13:11
  Mr.
• 13:11
  Trump distorted the timeline.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: He took credit for trends that began before he even won the election.
• 13:20
  It's as if a quarterback ran onto the field in the fourth
• 13:24
  quarter of a game.
• 13:26
  His team was already winning and immediately claimed credit for
• 13:29
  the victory.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Worse, he cherry-picked and twisted economic data to mislead voters.
• 13:37
  You saw evidence of how in early 2024 he would cite one bad
• 13:42
  month or one selective
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: statistic out of context to make the economy look awful.
• 13:49
  under the Democrats and then boast about one good month after
• 13:53
  the election as if he
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: single handedly caused a boom.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: For instance,
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: during the campaign,
• 14:00
  he shouted that gasoline is $7 under Biden in some places
• 14:06
  without noting that gas
• 14:08
  prices had actually dropped significantly nationwide and were
• 14:13
  nowhere near that on average.
• 14:15
  He hammered Americans with messages that their cost of living
• 14:19
  was through the roof
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: and promised he'd cut prices in half overnight.
• 14:26
  These simplistic promises ignored the complexities of global
• 14:31
  markets and the
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: progress already made.
• 14:35
  but they were effective in convincing people that the
• 14:37
  incumbents had failed economically.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: He also manipulated job numbers.
• 14:43
  We saw how he claimed that one in four jobs created under Biden
• 14:48
  were government jobs,
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: which was a gross exaggeration,
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: and then boasted that in his first month back,
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: 95% of new jobs were in the private sector.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: That sounds dramatic until you learn that under Biden,
• 15:04
  the vast majority of new jobs were also in the private sector
• 15:09
  and that Trump was
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: comparing a cherry-picked time frame that made his numbers sound better.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: He was effectively lying with statistics,
• 15:20
  using true numbers in a false or misleading way to credit
• 15:24
  himself and discredit his opponent.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now, why does this matter?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because millions of Americans vote with their wallets,
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: or at least with their sense of economic well-being.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: Trump convinced enough people that they were suffering horribly,
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: whether they actually were or not,
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: and that only he could save them.
• 15:45
  He was selling snake oil,
• 15:47
  a miracle cure that he alone possessed,
• 15:51
  to fix a malady
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: He exaggerated.
• 15:54
  Many working families who were starting to see relief from
• 15:58
  inflation were told,
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: no,
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: it's worse than ever.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: You just don't realize it.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's all the Democrats' fault.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: Many believed him.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Some who might have felt things improving instead felt angry and cheated.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: And they took that anger to the polls.
• 16:15
  Let's be clear,
• 16:16
  every candidate tries to put their best foot forward on the economy.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: But what Mr. Trump did was beyond normal spin.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: He lied about basic facts,
• 16:28
  denying any progress made before him and attributing to himself
• 16:33
  improvements he
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: hadn't yet had anything to do with.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: He treated the truth as irrelevant as long as the story benefited him.
• 16:44
  And for those voters who don't follow every jobs report or who
• 16:48
  only saw the
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: misleading headlines,
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: the perception became reality.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: A few thousand swing voters in Michigan,
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Pennsylvania,
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: and Wisconsin might have thought,
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: the economy's in shambles according to Trump.
• 17:02
  And even if it isn't,
• 17:04
  maybe he can make it better because he says he already is.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: In such a close election, that could swing states, and it likely did.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Furthermore, consider the morality of this.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: The presidency is an office built on trust trust,
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: that when things are hard,
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: a leader will tell you honestly and work to fix it,
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: and when things are improving,
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: a leader won't lie just to get ahead.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: By misrepresenting the economic situation,
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Trump showed a willingness to deceive the very people hurting the most.
• 17:40
  Those struggling with real inflation didn't need exaggeration
• 17:45
  in false hope.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: They needed truth and solutions.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: He gave them falsehoods and boasts.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: And now after winning, what do we see?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: Already in the first weeks of his term,
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Trump has admitted,
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: as we heard in his offhand remarks,
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: that tackling inflation is not his top priority after all.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: On the campaign trail,
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: He said it was easy and he'd do it day one.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: In office, he's focused elsewhere.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: This is a bait and switch on the American people.
• 18:18
  Promise them anything to get their vote,
• 18:21
  then reveal it was never genuine.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: That is not just politics, ladies and gentlemen.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's fraudulent politics.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: The fourth deceit and lie,
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 18:32
  Trump once again spread baseless allegations of election
• 18:37
  rigging with zero evidence.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: and in doing so, undermined public trust in our democratic process.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: This is a hallmark of his campaigns.
• 18:46
  If he is not confidently ahead,
• 18:49
  he starts crying that the game is rigged against him.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: We all remember the Stop the Steal lies from 2020,
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: when he refused to accept a legitimate defeat.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: In 2024,
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: He primed that pump early and often, even as he sought victory.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Throughout the 2024 campaign,
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 19:11
  Trump and his surrogates constantly suggested that any election
• 19:15
  result not showing
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: him winning
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: was fraudulent.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: He claimed machines might be switching votes,
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: that deep state operatives were meddling,
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: and that Democrats were conspiring at every level to cheat.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: These claims were not just unproven,
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: They were disproven.
• 19:34
  In case after case,
• 19:36
  when pressed for evidence,
• 19:37
  the Trump team had nothing credible to offer.
• 19:41
  Election officials from both parties repeatedly confirmed there
• 19:44
  was no widespread fraud,
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: no sinister plot,
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: yet the allegations never stopped.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: On election day itself,
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: before the results were fully in,
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Trump went on his social media and ominously declared,
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: there's a lot of talk about massive cheating in a key swing state.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: State authorities immediately responded that this was baseless,
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: that nothing of the sort was happening.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: It didn't matter.
• 20:13
  The claims spread like wildfire online,
• 20:16
  generating distrust among millions.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: This was before any outcome was even known.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: He was effectively saying, if I lose, it's because they cheated.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: The effect of these relentless rigging allegations was toxic.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: Trust in elections is the bedrock of a democracy.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yet by November 2024,
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: polls showed that a huge portion of voters,
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: particularly Trump supporters,
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: were convinced that if he didn't win,
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: The election must have been stolen.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: On the other side,
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: many moderate and independent voters were exhausted and disheartened,
• 20:56
  wondering if their votes would count or if chaos would follow
• 21:01
  the election.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's rhetoric had people bracing for turmoil,
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: and some undoubtedly thought,
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: why bother voting if it's all corrupt?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: that cynicism is deadly to a democracy.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: When citizens lose faith that their vote matters,
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: participation drops,
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: and those who do vote are often the most agitated and extreme,
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Trump cultivated exactly that environment.
• 21:29
  Turn off the broader public with constant drama and doubt and
• 21:33
  fire up a fervent
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: base that believes only their leader can overcome the phantom steal.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's a strategy to shrink the electorate to the truest believers.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: The rigged election drumbeat also served to cover his bases.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: Had he lost,
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: we know he would have unleashed hell,
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: disputing the results and maybe even inciting violence,
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: just as he did in 2020.
• 22:00
  By priming the fraud narrative,
• 22:02
  he prepared to burn it all down if things didn't go his way.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: This time, he ended up winning narrowly.
• 22:09
  So instead of contesting the outcome,
• 22:11
  he subtly claimed his victory was overcoming cheating.
• 22:15
  Indeed,
• 22:16
  the moment it became clear he was leading,
• 22:19
  a funny thing happened.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: The avalanche of fraud posts on social media suddenly quieted down.
• 22:26
  The same voices yelling about stolen elections fell silent
• 22:31
  because their candidate was winning.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: What does that tell you?
• 22:35
  It tells you these cries of fraud were never about safeguarding democracy.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: They were a tactic to manipulate public perception.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: Even in victory, Mr. Trump couldn't resist pushing a lie.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: He suggested that he would have won the popular vote too,
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: if not for millions of illegal votes in certain states.
• 22:57
  It's the same lie he told after 2016 when he lost the popular
• 23:02
  vote by a margin.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't true then, and it's not true now.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: But he cannot admit any scenario in which he legitimately loses anything.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: So he lies.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: And in doing so, he deepens the wound in our national trust.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, consider the danger of this pattern.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: If every election is cast as fraudulent unless a certain person wins,
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: then our democracy is on a path to permanent distrust and instability.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump's baseless allegations weren't just an attack on one opponent.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: They were an attack on our entire electoral system.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: He was willing to tear down the public's faith just to benefit himself.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: And yes,
• 23:49
  it likely helped him squeak out a win by revving up his base
• 23:54
  and suppressing some
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: opposition turnout.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: But at what cost?
• 23:59
  A democracy in which half the country doesn't trust elections
• 24:03
  is a democracy
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: standing on the edge of a cliff.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: No evidence.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we have for all his rigging claims.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_01: None.
• 24:14
  This trial showed that clearly,
• 24:16
  yet millions were convinced to be suspicious.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump lied to the country about the very mechanics of our democracy.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: That is beyond a campaign fib.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: That is an assault
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: on the civic bonds that hold us together.
• 24:33
  It is cheating in the sense that it replaces genuine consent of
• 24:38
  the governed with
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: paranoia and false narratives.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: We cannot shrug this off as just politics.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's profoundly immoral and dangerous.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: The fifth deceit and lie,
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: closely tied to the last point Mr.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: Trump claimed before Election Day even arrived,
• 24:56
  that there would be massive fraud essentially poisoning the
• 25:01
  well of our elections
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: in advance.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: This was a preemptive cheat.
• 25:05
  He set the stage so that the actual voting could be cast into
• 25:09
  doubt if it didn't favor him.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: Think about that.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: Long before November 2024,
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: Trump was already saying things like,
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: if Democrats win,
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: it's because they cheated.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: He told rally goers,
• 25:23
  we have to vote in overwhelming numbers because they're going
• 25:27
  to try to rig it.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: He fundraised off slogans like,
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: make it too big to rig,
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: implying any close election would be inherently suspect.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: This was a deliberate narrative.
• 25:39
  He was conditioning his supporters and the public at large to
• 25:44
  reject any unfavorable outcome.
• 25:46
  We heard recordings and read tweets where Trump explicitly
• 25:50
  stated he expected cheating.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: At one point,
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: he raged,
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: watch for the voter fraud because if we don't catch it,
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: they'll steal it.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: This was while campaigning in states run by Republicans,
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: mind you,
• 26:03
  the very people administering many of these elections were from
• 26:06
  his own party,
• 26:08
  yet he preemptively accused unseen unnamed forces of plotting
• 26:14
  to steal votes.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: The impact of these pre-election fraud claims was twofold.
• 26:20
  First,
• 26:21
  as I mentioned,
• 26:21
  it energized his core base with a sense of mission and grievance.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: They truly believed their candidate was under siege by a corrupt system,
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: and they turned out in droves to fight for him,
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: at the ballot box.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: But second, it planted seeds of doubt everywhere else.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: It primed the media to expect chaos,
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: it primed voters to suspect something might go wrong,
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: and it primed officials to feel pressure.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: It is possible, even likely,
• 26:54
  that some election officials or lawmakers tilted their
• 26:58
  decisions out of fear of
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: being accused of bias or fraud by the Trump machine.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: For example,
• 27:06
  some states considered measures like stricter signature checks
• 27:10
  or eliminating drop boxes,
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: often citing voter fraud concerns that Mr.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: Trump and company stirred up.
• 27:20
  Those measures can make voting harder and often they were
• 27:23
  implemented in areas with
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: more Democratic voters.
• 27:28
  So you see how a lie about future fraud can translate into real
• 27:33
  obstacles for
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: voters who did nothing wrong.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Moreover,
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: by screaming about fraud beforehand,
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: Trump created a self-fulfilling prophecy of distrust.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: No matter what the outcome, he had laid the groundwork to claim victory.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Because if he wins, he beat the fraud.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Or to claim victimhood.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: If he lost, see, I warned you, it was stolen.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: In 2024,
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: unfortunately,
• 28:01
  that narrative may have helped him just enough in marginal
• 28:04
  gains to claim a narrow win.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so he didn't have to unleash the full dogs of chaos.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: But the damage was done.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Tens of millions of Americans now live with a persistent,
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: vague suspicion that elections are a sham,
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: thanks to this drumbeat of preemptive fraud claims.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, this is not normal.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: In the United States of America,
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: historically,
• 28:32
  leaders did not go around predicting their own country's
• 28:35
  elections would be fraudulent.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: They might worry privately about problems.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: They might have lawyers ready for recounts.
• 28:44
  But they did not assault the integrity of our democracy before
• 28:49
  a single vote was cast.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump did.
• 28:53
  It is the equivalent of a basketball coach telling the referees
• 28:58
  and fans before a game,
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: the other team's definitely going to cheat.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: And if we don't win, that's why.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's not gamesmanship.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's an attempt to pre-write the script, regardless of what reality is.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: Why does this amount to cheating?
• 29:11
  Because it denies the American people a fair shared acceptance
• 29:17
  of reality.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump was prepared to reject our voices unless they sang his praises.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: By claiming the election would be fraudulent,
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: he was really saying only his victory would be legitimate.
• 29:30
  That's not accepting the will of the people,
• 29:33
  that's attempting to coerce the will of the people.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's saying heads I win,
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Tails, you cheated.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: If you know anything about fairness, you know that's a cheat.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: We cannot allow a precedent where any candidate can telegraph,
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: I will only trust this election if I come out on top.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yet Mr. Trump has now done this twice.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: 2020 and 2024 and flirted with it in 2016 as well.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: The pattern is clear.
• 30:02
  If we as the jury of public opinion do not firmly reject this behavior,
• 30:08
  it will become the norm.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: And the moment that happens,
• 30:11
  true democracy dies because elections cease to have meaning if
• 30:18
  one side will never
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: accept democracy.
• 30:21
  In conclusion on this point,
• 30:23
  Mr.
• 30:24
  Trump's pre-election fraud cries were a con job.
• 30:28
  They conned many into distrusting their fellow Americans who
• 30:33
  work diligently as
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: poll workers and election officials.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: They robbed every voter of the calm confidence that our nation counts.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: votes fairly, replacing it with anxiety and suspicion.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: And in the end, they were utterly unfounded.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: He lied about our election before, during, and after it happened.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: If that isn't an attack on democracy, I don't know what is.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, it likely helped him cheat his way to a win by hook or by crook.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: The sixth deceit and lie,
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 31:07
  Trump spread grossly inaccurate and inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants,
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: painting migrants as criminals,
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: invaders,
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: and subhumans in order to stoke fear and division among voters.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: This was demagoguery at its most shameless.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: We all remember his rhetoric from his first campaign,
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: calling some immigrants rapists and criminals,
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: but in 2024,
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: he ramped it up
• 31:35
  to an even more fevered pitch of falsehood the evidence we
• 31:40
  reviewed showed how at
• 31:42
  rally after rally mr trump described the situation at the
• 31:46
  southern border not as a
• 31:48
  humanitarian or policy challenge but as a horrifying threat to
• 31:53
  american safety he
• 31:54
  claimed migrants were building an army on our soil yes you
• 31:59
  heard that correctly
• 32:00
  He literally told the public that young male immigrants coming
• 32:04
  into the country
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: were forming an army to get us from within.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: He offered no evidence because there was none.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: This was a lurid conspiracy theory,
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: but he repeated it,
• 32:17
  focusing especially on immigrants from regions that might sound
• 32:21
  scary to his crowds.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: Africa, the Middle East, Asia.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: He'd say, they're coming from countries you wouldn't believe.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: They're all men, strong, young.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: And by the way, I think it's a plot, they're a fighting force.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: This was utter nonsense, designed to ignite xenophobia.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 32:44
  Trump also insisted without evidence that other nations were
• 32:48
  emptying their prisons
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: and mental institutions and sending those people to America.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: In his words,
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: they are sending their murderers,
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: their rapists,
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: the worst of the worst,
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: dumping them into our country.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: This claim was not new.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: He said similar things in the past, but repetition doesn't make it true.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: There is no policy by which foreign leaders
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: pack ships of prisoners to America.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yet he spoke as if it were happening daily,
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: and he coined the term migrant crime,
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: trying to convince Americans that immigrants are causing a crime wave.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: Let's check reality.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: Study after study shows that immigrants,
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: including undocumented immigrants,
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's a fact.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: But Mr. Trump never let facts get in the way of fear.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: He cherry picked horrific isolated cases,
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: a murder here,
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: a tragic incident there,
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_01: and spoke as if those represented everyone coming over the border.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: He invoked terrible imagery,
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: telling stories,
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: often exaggerated or outright false,
• 34:05
  of gangs like MS-13 roaming the streets or claiming that
• 34:10
  ordinary people can't go
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: to the grocery store without risking being mugged by an illegal alien.
• 34:17
  It was all designed to make the average voter's heart race with
• 34:21
  fear and anger.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now let's consider the effect of these lies.
• 34:25
  By demonizing immigrants,
• 34:28
  Mr.
• 34:28
  Trump was scapegoating a group to rally support.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's a classic tactic.
• 34:34
  Blame outsiders for society's problems and position yourself as
• 34:39
  the protector against them.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: For some voters worried about jobs or safety,
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: These lies may have resonated.
• 34:46
  Maybe a person out of work hears Trump blaming immigrants for
• 34:50
  taking jobs or causing crime.
• 34:53
  And that person's frustration is redirected towards supporting
• 34:58
  Trump and his harsh policies.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: Fear is a powerful motivator.
• 35:03
  If you convince people that a horde of dangerous outsiders is
• 35:06
  invading the country,
• 35:08
  Many will run to the candidate who shouts the loudest about
• 35:11
  cracking down.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump used that primal instinct shamelessly.
• 35:16
  We saw him promise what he called the largest deportation
• 35:20
  operation in history,
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_01: essentially threatening to uproot millions of people.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: Crowds cheered as he said, send them back.
• 35:30
  Regardless of one stance on immigration policy,
• 35:33
  this rhetoric wasn't about policy.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_01: It was about inciting a moral panic.
• 35:40
  He wanted voters to feel that electing him was the only way to
• 35:44
  stop an apocalyptic
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: scenario of immigrant-fueled chaos.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: The reality on the ground was far different.
• 35:53
  yes there were more asylum seekers and migrants but there was
• 35:56
  no army no crime wave
• 35:58
  caused by them no orchestrated dumping of convicts here mr
• 36:03
  trump's lies serve to
• 36:05
  asterisk asterisk dehumanize immigrants asterisk asterisk and
• 36:11
  to terrify citizens
• 36:13
  And let's not overlook another target of these lies,
• 36:16
  Americans of immigrant heritage.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_01: When Trump paints migrants as criminals and monsters,
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: he also implicitly casts suspicion on our own neighbors,
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_01: coworkers,
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: and friends who are from immigrant families.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: In 2024, communities felt this.
• 36:36
  We heard testimony from Latino and Muslim Americans who felt
• 36:40
  under attack by
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's words,
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: who felt that the country was being turned against them.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_01: If some of them stayed home on Election Day,
• 36:50
  disillusioned that the system allowed such hateful propaganda
• 36:54
  that again could
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_01: affect turnout.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 36:56
  Trump might have wanted that to intimidate and demoralize
• 37:00
  voters from minority
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: communities who traditionally lean against him.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: Whether by design or side effect,
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_01: his lies about immigrants likely suppressed some of those voices.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_01: This tactic also distracted from real issues.
• 37:16
  Instead of debating actual immigration reform or border
• 37:19
  management solutions,
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_01: we were drowning in Trump's false horror stories.
• 37:24
  It's hard to have a rational conversation when one side is
• 37:29
  screaming about
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_01: invasions and the other side is busy refuting myths.
• 37:33
  In that chaos,
• 37:34
  urgent issues like humane border security,
• 37:37
  visa policy,
• 37:37
  et cetera,
• 37:38
  got sidelined.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: And perhaps that's what Mr.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_01: Trump wanted,
• 37:42
  to avoid substantive debate and keep the focus on emotional
• 37:47
  hysteria that benefited him.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: Finally, reflect on the moral dimension.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: America is a nation of immigrants.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: Our diversity is our strength.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_01: To see a president,
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: the person meant to represent all Americans,
• 38:01
  vilify the vulnerable and traffic in bigoted falsehoods is
• 38:05
  deeply painful.
• 38:07
  When Mr.
• 38:08
  Trump tells lies that migrants are rapists or a poison to our country,
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: He betrays the values of decency and truth.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_01: He turns Americans against each other.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: And he does it for votes.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: That is cynical and cruel.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: And yes,
• 38:25
  it helped him cheat his way to power by inflaming prejudice and
• 38:31
  short-circuiting
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_01: reason among the electorate.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump did not win on a thoughtful immigration platform.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: He won by scaring people with a boogeyman that doesn't exist.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: We must call that what it is,
• 38:45
  a fraud on the public's emotions and a violation of the
• 38:51
  principle that leadership
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: should unite rather than divide.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: In the seventh deceit and lie,
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 38:57
  Trump openly embraced conspiracy theories and whitewashed the
• 39:03
  January 6th riots,
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: which together created an alternate reality for his supporters,
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_01: a reality in which he could do no wrong,
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: and any ugly truths were explained away.
• 39:15
  This contributed to his 2024 victory by cultivating a cult-like
• 39:20
  loyalty and by
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: erasing facts that might have turned voters against him.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: We saw Mr.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's flirtations with QAnon,
• 39:30
  the bizarre and baseless conspiracy theory that claims he is
• 39:34
  some hero fighting a
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: cabal of satanic pedophiles in government.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_01: Instead of rejecting this dangerous nonsense, Mr. Trump amplified it.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_01: he reposted QAnon slogans and memes on his social media.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: At rallies,
• 39:51
  he allowed QAnon believers to display their signs and even
• 39:56
  played music that those
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: followers interpret as an anthem of their movement.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_01: By winking and nodding to QAnon, Mr. Trump sent a clear signal.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm with you.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_01: Think about that.
• 40:08
  A former president aligning himself with an outlandish
• 40:12
  conspiracy theory community.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: The result?
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Many believers of that theory,
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: who might have otherwise drifted away after 2020,
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_01: remained intensely loyal,
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: seeing him as literally a savior figure.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_01: They turned out to vote in droves,
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: utterly convinced that any opposition to Trump was not just political,
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_01: but evil.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: How can honest discourse compete with that?
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: And that was the point.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Trump also peddled or gave platform to other conspiracies,
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_01: vaccine misinformation,
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: for example.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: Trump likes to take credit for the COVID vaccines,
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: which indeed were developed during his term.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: but he stalled and delayed in even acknowledging the pandemic.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: In fact,
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: he's on record saying over and over COVID was no big deal,
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_01: just a few deaths and it would eventually disappear into thin air.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_01: He even played both sides in 2024.
• 41:12
  He often hosted or retweeted known anti-vaccine propagandists
• 41:17
  who spread fear about
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_01: vaccine safety.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_01: He hinted that mandates and scientists were untrustworthy.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_01: He did this to tap into a vein of populist anger over pandemic policies.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_01: The result was to keep a chunk of Americans mistrustful of public health
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_01: and in a constant state of resentment that he could exploit.
• 41:40
  People who believed wild claims about vaccines or microchips or
• 41:44
  plandemics saw
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_01: Trump as an ally,
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: the only one who understood their fringe perspective,
• 41:51
  and thus he locked in their votes through indulgence of their
• 41:54
  conspiracy theories.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then,
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: perhaps most disturbingly,
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_01: Trump tried to rewrite the history of January 6,
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_01: 2021,
• 42:04
  the day a mob attacked the US Capitol to overturn the 2020
• 42:08
  election results.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: That violent insurrection is a matter of record.
• 42:13
  Police were assaulted,
• 42:15
  lives were lost,
• 42:17
  our lawmakers fled for their lives.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yet by 2024, Trump described that day to his supporters
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: as something to be proud of, or at least not concerned about.
• 42:31
  In a televised town hall,
• 42:32
  he infamously said of January 6th,
• 42:37
  it was a beautiful day.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, beautiful.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: He claimed the crowd that day had love in their bitter hearts.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: He has consistently downplayed the violence,
• 42:47
  falsely suggesting that the rioters were peaceful patriots
• 42:51
  unjustly persecuted.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: He even promised that if re-elected,
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_01: he would pardon many of those convicted of crimes on January 6th.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_01: Standing here today, we now know that's exactly what he did.
• 43:06
  Why would a candidate resurrect such a dark event and try to
• 43:09
  spin it into a positive?
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because those rioters were part of his base,
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_01: and he wanted to validate them,
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: and by extension,
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: normalize political violence as acceptable if done in his name.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_01: This whitewashing of January 6th
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: served two purposes.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: It kept the Stop the Steal believers engaged in feeling vindicated,
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_01: thus likely to vote for him again,
• 43:35
  and it also eroded the broader public's memory of how serious
• 43:41
  that day was.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: Some people who were horrified in 2021 might,
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: after years of hearing Trump and right-wing media minimize it,
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: begin to shrug it off.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it wasn't that bad, a voter might think.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_01: Trump says it was peaceful except for a few troublemakers.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: The danger here is profound.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_01: It undermines accountability for an attempted coup.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: But for Trump's immediate goals, it cleared the way.
• 44:10
  for him to run again without the stigma of insurrection in the
• 44:15
  eyes of his followers.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: By embracing conspiracy theories and rewriting history,
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: Trump insulated himself from normal political gravity.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_01: In a normal world,
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: a candidate who inspired a violent attack on Congress might be shunned,
• 44:31
  but Trump created a parallel world where that attack was noble
• 44:36
  or didn't happen the
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: way the media said.
• 44:38
  In a normal world,
• 44:39
  a candidate who spreads nonsense like QAnon might be laughed
• 44:43
  off the stage.
• 44:45
  But Trump created a sphere of influence where that nonsense is
• 44:49
  accepted as possibly true,
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: or at least not disqualifying.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_01: This gave him a Teflon coating among his base.
• 44:58
  Nothing stuck,
• 44:59
  no matter how outrageous,
• 45:01
  because they always had an excuse to rationalize it.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: And importantly, it intimidated others.
• 45:08
  Many Republican officials and moderate voters saw that a huge
• 45:12
  portion of the GOP
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_01: base lived in this Trump-created alternate reality,
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_01: and they felt they had no choice but to go along or stay silent.
• 45:24
  Some who might have spoken out against Trump's lies or refused
• 45:29
  to support him kept
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_01: quiet for their own political survival.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_01: Thus,
• 45:35
  he faced astonishingly little dissent within his party by the
• 45:40
  time of the general election.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: The field was cleared of serious primary challengers.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone fell in line.
• 45:49
  The general electorate saw a united Republican front further
• 45:54
  lending an air of
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: inevitability to his campaign,
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: which we'll get to in a moment.
• 46:00
  All of this traces back to his use of conspiracies to purge
• 46:05
  truth and enforce loyalty.
• 46:08
  what does it say about a candidate that he can only win by
• 46:11
  detaching enough people
• 46:13
  from reality it says he knows the truth would sink him so he
• 46:17
  cheated by replacing
• 46:19
  truth with fantasy q anon deep state plots anti-vax
• 46:25
  fear-mongering january 6
• 46:27
  revisionism these weren't random fringe notions they were tools
• 46:31
  in trump's campaign
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: toolbox
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_01: They kept a segment of Americans angry,
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_01: afraid,
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_01: and firmly by his side,
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: immune to persuasion by the other side.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_01: No matter what facts were brought out,
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_01: be it his mishandling of COVID,
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: his past offensive statements,
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: his legal troubles,
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: a conspiratorial mindset inoculated his base against it.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: All fake news, all part of the plot against our guy, they'd say.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so he didn't lose those voters.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: He kept them and reactivated them.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: Let's be clear.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is cheating the spirit of democracy.
• 47:11
  Democracies presuppose an informed electorate that may disagree
• 47:16
  on policy,
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: but lives in a shared reality of facts.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump systematically worked to shatter that shared reality.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: A segment of voters were living in an illusion he crafted,
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_01: and they voted in that illusion,
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: believing,
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: for example,
• 47:34
  that the opponent was part of a cabal or that COVID vaccines
• 47:38
  might kill them or
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: that January 6th was no big deal.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's not a reasoned choice.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's a manipulated one.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_01: He exploited their trust and fed them lies.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_01: The moral failing here is immense.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_01: Leaders should seek to enlighten, not deceive.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: They should dispel dangerous conspiracies, not propagate them.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump did the opposite because it was politically expedient.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_01: He fed poison to the public discourse
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: to reap personal benefit.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, it contributed to his narrow win.
• 48:11
  Without the diehard devotion of conspiracy believers,
• 48:16
  would he have gotten the same turnout?
• 48:18
  Without softening January 6th in the public eye,
• 48:23
  might a few more moderates have rejected him?
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_01: Possibly, probably.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: Again, in such a close race, everything matters.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_01: The eighth deceit and lie,
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's campaign engaged in highly questionable fundraising practices,
• 48:40
  essentially cheating his own supporters out of money through
• 48:44
  deception to amass a
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: war chest that overwhelmed his opponent.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_01: Why bring this up in an argument about winning the election by cheating?
• 48:54
  because the funds he raised under false pretenses were used to
• 48:59
  flood the campaign
• 49:01
  with ads and resources that otherwise might not have been
• 49:06
  available as part of how
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: he gained an unfair edge.
• 49:09
  We learned in this trial how the Trump campaign and its
• 49:12
  affiliated fundraising platforms
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_01: like the Republican online donation system,
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: WinRed,
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_01: used deceptive tactics to extract as much money as possible from donors,
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_01: often without their clear consent.
• 49:26
  Fine print and pre-checked boxes turned one-time donations into
• 49:31
  recurring charges.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_01: Emails with alarmist, misleading subject lines.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_01: Final notice, please reply or we'll tell Trump you abandoned him.
• 49:41
  were sent to millions,
• 49:43
  including vulnerable seniors,
• 49:46
  pressuring them into giving.
• 49:48
  There were even instances where donors were charged amounts
• 49:52
  multiple times in what
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_01: looked like duplicate transactions,
• 49:56
  essentially billing errors or abuses that went unnoticed by the
• 50:01
  campaign until
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_01: people cried foul.
• 50:05
  In one stark example,
• 50:06
  an elderly gentleman gave what he thought was $25 to support Trump.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_01: He ended up getting charged $25 every week for months,
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_01: draining hundreds of dollars from his account.
• 50:21
  because the donation form's tiny text had an opt-out for
• 50:25
  recurring donations that
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_01: he didn't see.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_01: His story is not isolated.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thousands of everyday folks,
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_01: many not tech savvy,
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_01: fell prey to this scheme in 2020,
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_01: and the campaign had to refund
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_01: over $120 million after that election.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_01: You'd think they would stop such tactics after the exposure,
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_01: but the evidence shows they continued in 2024,
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_01: albeit with slightly adjusted language.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_01: They still had recurring donation boxes,
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_01: now maybe in a less tiny font,
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: but still easy to overlook.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_01: They still used deceptive matching pledges.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_01: Your donation will be 1,000% matched with no proof of any actual matcher.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_01: They still sent scare-mongering fundraising messages,
• 51:19
  some even implying donor citizenship or party registration
• 51:23
  could be in jeopardy if
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_01: they didn't give.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_01: This is predatory and dishonest.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_01: you may wonder,
• 51:31
  what does tricking supporters into giving money have to do with
• 51:35
  winning an election?
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's simple.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_01: Money buys influence.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: The tens of millions of extra dollars Mr.
• 51:42
  Trump's campaign pulled in via these shady methods were tens of
• 51:47
  millions that his
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_01: opponent didn't have.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_01: Those funds paid for a deluge of attack ads,
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: social media campaigns,
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_01: get out the vote efforts for Trump,
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_01: and endless propaganda pushing the very lies we've been discussing.
• 52:03
  Essentially,
• 52:04
  he financed his misinformation machine in part by misinforming
• 52:09
  his own donors.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_01: Imagine a boxer in a match
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_01: who secretly slips horseshoes into his gloves for extra weight.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_01: He's cheating to hit harder.
• 52:21
  In this election,
• 52:21
  money is the force behind the punches of ads and outreach.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 52:27
  Trump loaded his gloves with dollars obtained under
• 52:31
  questionable pretenses,
• 52:33
  hitting his opponent with far more advertising and ground game
• 52:38
  than honesty would
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_01: have allowed.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_01: His opponent,
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_01: by contrast,
• 52:42
  ran a traditional fundraising operation with clear disclosures
• 52:47
  and ethical standards.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: She didn't trick people into signing up for repeated charges.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_01: That meant she perhaps left money on the table.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_01: Ethically so.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_01: Mr. Trump had no such scruples.
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_01: Furthermore, consider the ethical bankruptcy of this.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: Trump often claims to fight for the common man,
• 53:10
  yet his campaign was effectively picking the pockets of his own
• 53:15
  supporters at times.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_01: Some of these people later said they felt
• 53:20
  betrayed or duped but of course by the time they realized it
• 53:25
  the election was over
• 53:26
  and their money um had already been spent to ensure mr trump's
• 53:31
  victory it's a cruel
• 53:33
  irony he cheated them in order to win for them or more
• 53:37
  accurately to win for
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_01: himself
• 53:40
  Additionally,
• 53:41
  the culture of dishonesty and fundraising bled into other areas.
• 53:46
  A campaign willing to mislead grandma out of her social
• 53:50
  security check is certainly
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_01: willing to mislead the press,
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_01: the public or anyone about other things.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's all part of the same disdain for truth and on the margins,
• 54:01
  those fundraising emails also served as another channel of misinformation.
• 54:07
  They often contained the same lies about opponents or fraud or immigrants,
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_01: just packaged as a plea for money.
• 54:16
  So they double counted,
• 54:18
  bringing in cash and reinforcing false narratives.
• 54:23
  We must also mention the repeat billing scams that targeted
• 54:28
  people who possibly had
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_01: memory issues or dementia,
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_01: as investigative reports uncovered.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's heartbreaking.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_01: Families found their elderly relatives had given away thousands
• 54:42
  unknowingly while one might say that's not about winning votes
• 54:47
  think about the
• 54:48
  fervor it creates some of these donors once they realized they
• 54:53
  gave so much felt
• 54:54
  even more invested in trump's success i gave him so much i have
• 54:59
  to support him
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_01: fully
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_01: Others might not have realized at all and remained in Trump's thrall,
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_01: receiving daily bombardments of propaganda in those email solicitations.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's an ugly picture,
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_01: a campaign fueled by a kind of financial fraud,
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_01: and while campaign finance violations or trickery
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_01: are not as viscerally emotional as lies about crime or rigged elections.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_01: They are a form of cheating nonetheless.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's saying,
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_01: I can't rally enough support on inspiration and merit,
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_01: so I'll squeeze it out of people by hook or by crook.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_01: Trump in 2024 had one of the largest campaign treasuries ever seen,
• 55:46
  much of it from small donors who were effectively deceived into
• 55:51
  giving more than
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_01: they intended.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_01: That huge money advantage,
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_01: particularly in the final weeks in swing states,
• 55:58
  allowed him to blanket airwaves with negative ads and deploy
• 56:02
  staff to knock on more doors.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_01: Those are tangible edges that can turn a close election.
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_01: So,
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_01: members of the jury,
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: when you consider the fairness of this election,
• 56:13
  consider that one side played fair with its finances and one
• 56:18
  side did not.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_01: One side respected its donors, the other exploited them.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_01: And by exploiting them,
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_01: Trump exploited the electoral process itself,
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_01: buying himself an outsized megaphone funded by deceit.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's one more layer of how he cheated to win.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_01: The ninth deceit and lie,
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 56:40
  Trump and his allies attempted to tilt the electoral process
• 56:44
  itself by placing
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_01: partisan loyalists in key election oversight positions.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_01: This is a more insidious form of cheating.
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_01: Not a lie told to voters directly,
• 56:56
  but a behind-the-scenes stacking of the deck so that the
• 57:00
  referees of our democracy
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_01: might favor one team.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_01: After 2020,
• 57:05
  we witnessed a concerted effort by election deniers fueled by
• 57:10
  Trump's false stolen
• 57:11
  SPEAKER_01: election narrative to run for offices like Secretary of State,
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_01: county election boards,
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_01: and other positions that hold power over vote counting and certification.
• 57:25
  Many of those high profile candidates lost in 2022,
• 57:29
  but the push didn't stop.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_01: By 2024,
• 57:32
  SPEAKER_01: in various states,
• 57:34
  individuals who openly supported Trump's fraud lies or were
• 57:38
  unabashed partisans
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_01: ended up in roles managing aspects of the election.
• 57:45
  Some state legislatures sympathetic to Trump also passed laws
• 57:49
  that gave them or
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_01: their appointees more control over election administration.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_01: In short,
• 57:56
  the Trump movement tried to replace impartial referees with
• 58:01
  cheerleaders wearing
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_01: the same jersey as him.
• 58:04
  Consider places like Arizona and Georgia battlegrounds where
• 58:10
  2020 results were
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_01: contested heavily.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_01: While those states thankfully retained some independent officials,
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_01: there were local county boards,
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_01: for example in rural counties,
• 58:23
  that had Trump-aligned members flirting with refusing to
• 58:27
  certify results if Trump lost.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_01: We heard evidence that in one Arizona county in 2022,
• 58:35
  officials did attempt to refuse certification of a legitimate
• 58:39
  election until a
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_01: court compelled them.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_01: That was a trial run for 2024.
• 58:46
  If enough like-minded people were in positions of authority in
• 58:49
  key counties or states,
• 58:51
  SPEAKER_01: there was a real fear that if Mr.
• 58:53
  SPEAKER_01: Trump lost,
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_01: they would improperly block or delay the certification of results,
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_01: plunging the election into chaos.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_01: since Mr.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_01: Trump ended up winning in the electoral college,
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_01: some might say,
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_01: those people didn't need to act,
• 59:10
  SPEAKER_01: so no foul,
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: but the threat alone may have influenced the outcome.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_01: How?
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_01: Imagine you are a voter or campaign worker.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_01: in a heavily Democratic area of a swing state,
• 59:21
  and you hear that your county board is led by election deniers
• 59:26
  who might throw out votes,
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: that could discourage some from even bothering to vote.
• 59:31
  SPEAKER_01: What's the point if they won't count it?
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: Ty, again, suppressing turnout indirectly.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or imagine you are a local election official trying to decide whether to,
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_01: say,
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_01: keep polls open an extra hour due to
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_01: Long lines,
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_01: if you know your state board is hyper-partisan,
• 59:51
  you might fear doing anything that could be construed as
• 59:55
  helping the other side so
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_01: you don't.
• 59:59
  These subtle pressures can affect the voter experience and vote
• 1:00:04
  counts in myriad ways.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 1:00:07
  Trump's team also strategically supported lawsuits and measures
• 1:00:11
  to give partisan
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_01: poll watchers more power to challenge voters at polling places.
• 1:00:18
  In some states,
• 1:00:19
  they pushed for laws allowing aggressive purges of voter rolls,
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_01: or rejecting mail ballots on technicalities,
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_01: all under the guise of election integrity,
• 1:00:29
  but clearly aimed at making voting more cumbersome in areas
• 1:00:34
  that lean Democratic.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_01: While some of these efforts were blocked or mitigated,
• 1:00:38
  SPEAKER_01: the pattern shows an intent to rig the rules of the game
• 1:00:42
  SPEAKER_01: in his favor.
• 1:00:44
  SPEAKER_01: It goes further.
• 1:00:45
  Remember the chilling evidence that in certain states Trump
• 1:00:49
  loyalists were
• 1:00:50
  recruited to serve as precinct officials or poll workers with
• 1:00:55
  the explicit
• 1:00:56
  SPEAKER_01: encouragement to find fraud.
• 1:00:59
  Some training seminars secretly recorded revealed instructions
• 1:01:03
  for these partisan
• 1:01:04
  volunteers to challenge voters and generally gum up the works
• 1:01:10
  in Democratic precincts.
• 1:01:11
  SPEAKER_01: The hope was to slow down voting,
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_01: cause long lines dissuading voters who can't wait hours,
• 1:01:20
  or create incidents that could be later spun as controversial
• 1:01:24
  to dispute results.
• 1:01:26
  This is not the normal civic-minded poll watching both parties
• 1:01:32
  have traditionally done.
• 1:01:33
  This was an organized effort to turn supposedly neutral
• 1:01:38
  election administration
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_01: into a partisan weapon,
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_01: Why is this cheating?
• 1:01:44
  Because in a democracy we rely on a fair process not just fair campaigning.
• 1:01:49
  If one team tries to load the officiating crew with its fans
• 1:01:53
  that's a form of
• 1:01:54
  cheating as surely as deflating a football or doping a
• 1:01:58
  racehorse would be in sports.
• 1:02:01
  It might not show up in a campaign ad but it can very much
• 1:02:05
  determine the outcome.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_01: Trump infamously pressured state officials in 2020,
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_01: like Georgia's Secretary of State,
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_01: telling him to find votes.
• 1:02:17
  SPEAKER_01: Learning from that failure in 2024,
• 1:02:20
  he and his allies attempted to ensure that next time those
• 1:02:24
  positions would be held
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_01: by people who wouldn't resist.
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_01: Even though the most prominent election deniers lost in 2022,
• 1:02:34
  SPEAKER_01: at lower levels,
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_01: some did win and others remained in office.
• 1:02:39
  We saw cases in states where new laws made it easier for
• 1:02:44
  partisan actors to interfere.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_01: For instance,
• 1:02:47
  giving state legislatures power to seize control of election
• 1:02:51
  boards in certain
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_01: problematic counties,
• 1:02:54
  SPEAKER_01: with problematic often meaning opposition strongholds.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's influence and pressure were behind many of these moves,
• 1:03:03
  SPEAKER_01: either directly or through surrogates like party leaders he backed.
• 1:03:09
  I want to stress the election officials across America are
• 1:03:14
  overwhelmingly honest
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_01: public servants.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_01: Many Republicans refused to do Trump's bidding in 2020, which saved us.
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_01: But Trump's plan was to remove those people or override them.
• 1:03:28
  SPEAKER_01: That plan in itself is a kind of electoral cheating blueprint.
• 1:03:32
  SPEAKER_01: In 2024,
• 1:03:33
  SPEAKER_01: he fortunately didn't get to test it to the extreme because he won,
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_01: but we can't ignore that he tried the mere process.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_01: presence of that strategy likely affected behavior.
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_01: For example,
• 1:03:45
  SPEAKER_01: in Michigan,
• 1:03:46
  the state legislature passed laws clarifying that local boards
• 1:03:51
  must certify results
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_01: based on counts after some partisan members tried to balk in 2020.
• 1:03:59
  SPEAKER_01: Good, right?
• 1:04:01
  But the fact that such laws had to be passed shows how real the
• 1:04:06
  threat was.
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile,
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_01: in states like Texas,
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_01: new laws allowed state authorities,
• 1:04:12
  SPEAKER_01: Republican-controlled,
• 1:04:14
  SPEAKER_01: to potentially take over elections in big counties,
• 1:04:18
  SPEAKER_01: like Houston's Harris County,
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_01: if they declared issues.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_01: That sword dangled over predominantly Democratic voters.
• 1:04:25
  SPEAKER_01: Ask yourselves,
• 1:04:26
  SPEAKER_01: is it a coincidence that all these maneuvers happened to align with Mr.
• 1:04:31
  SPEAKER_01: Trump's interest?
• 1:04:32
  SPEAKER_01: No, this was part of a concerted effort.
• 1:04:36
  SPEAKER_01: He had an entire ecosystem working to secure his win by any means,
• 1:04:42
  including having friendly hands on the levers of vote counting
• 1:04:45
  where possible.
• 1:04:46
  In the end,
• 1:04:46
  even a few such officials can cast doubt or subtly shift outcomes.
• 1:04:52
  We heard about one county where a partisan clerk rejected
• 1:04:56
  numerous mail ballots
• 1:04:58
  SPEAKER_01: over signature matches at a higher rate than normal.
• 1:05:02
  Many of those ballots were from young college voters likely to
• 1:05:06
  favor the Democrat.
• 1:05:08
  SPEAKER_01: That might have only netted Trump a few hundred votes advantage,
• 1:05:11
  SPEAKER_01: but in a tight race,
• 1:05:12
  SPEAKER_01: every bit helps.
• 1:05:14
  SPEAKER_01: So while this point is complex, it boils down to this.
• 1:05:19
  SPEAKER_01: Trump did not trust the American people alone to choose him,
• 1:05:23
  SPEAKER_01: so he made sure to have sympathizers installed immediately.
• 1:05:27
  SPEAKER_01: as gatekeepers of the vote.
• 1:05:30
  It's like a contestant trying to bribe or place judges in a
• 1:05:35
  competition beforehand.
• 1:05:36
  SPEAKER_01: It is utterly against the spirit of free and fair elections
• 1:05:40
  SPEAKER_01: We cannot tolerate a system where election oversight is partisan spoils.
• 1:05:46
  SPEAKER_01: Once that line is crossed, election outcomes lose legitimacy.
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 1:05:51
  Trump's willingness to cross that line to essentially game the
• 1:05:55
  system from the
• 1:05:57
  SPEAKER_01: inside is further proof that his goal was power,
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_01: not a fair mandate from the people.
• 1:06:03
  SPEAKER_01: And finally,
• 1:06:04
  SPEAKER_01: the 10th deceit and lie,
• 1:06:06
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 1:06:06
  Trump crafted a narrative of inevitability around his candidacy
• 1:06:11
  by cherry-picking
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_01: polls and data,
• 1:06:14
  SPEAKER_01: creating a bandwagon effect.
• 1:06:17
  He incessantly touted that he was leading everywhere and that
• 1:06:20
  victory was assured
• 1:06:22
  SPEAKER_01: even when many polls showed a tight race,
• 1:06:25
  SPEAKER_01: or him trailing in key areas.
• 1:06:28
  This was psychological manipulation aimed at both energizing
• 1:06:33
  his supporters and
• 1:06:34
  SPEAKER_01: discouraging his opponents.
• 1:06:36
  Throughout 2024,
• 1:06:37
  you likely heard Mr.
• 1:06:40
  Trump Crow about every poll that had him up.
• 1:06:44
  SPEAKER_01: If one poll out of five showed him leading nationally,
• 1:06:47
  SPEAKER_01: he blasted it on social media and at rallies.
• 1:06:51
  SPEAKER_01: Look, we're winning big.
• 1:06:53
  SPEAKER_01: If a poll in,
• 1:06:54
  SPEAKER_01: say,
• 1:06:55
  SPEAKER_01: Ohio showed him ahead by two points,
• 1:06:58
  SPEAKER_01: he'd round up and say he's ahead by many points.
• 1:07:02
  When confronted with less favorable polls,
• 1:07:05
  he dismissed them as fake news or suppression polls.
• 1:07:09
  SPEAKER_01: Essentially, he presented a one-sided picture.
• 1:07:13
  SPEAKER_01: Any data that made him look good was true.
• 1:07:16
  SPEAKER_01: Anything else was false.
• 1:07:18
  SPEAKER_01: This had a couple of effects.
• 1:07:20
  SPEAKER_01: One, it helped keep his base extremely confident and enthusiastic.
• 1:07:26
  SPEAKER_01: People like to feel they're part of a winning team.
• 1:07:29
  SPEAKER_01: So Trump supporters,
• 1:07:30
  SPEAKER_01: hearing him talk about impending victory,
• 1:07:33
  SPEAKER_01: likely felt motivated to turn out and be part of that win.
• 1:07:38
  SPEAKER_01: More importantly,
• 1:07:38
  it gave the impression to the media and the country that Trump
• 1:07:43
  had unstoppable momentum.
• 1:07:45
  SPEAKER_01: Remember,
• 1:07:46
  SPEAKER_01: in the final weeks,
• 1:07:48
  SPEAKER_01: many pundits were hedging,
• 1:07:50
  SPEAKER_01: saying things like,
• 1:07:51
  SPEAKER_01: it looks like Trump has the edge in enthusiasm,
• 1:07:55
  SPEAKER_01: or Trump seems to be surging.
• 1:07:58
  Some data did show a tightening race,
• 1:08:00
  but Trump exaggerated it into a tidal wave narrative.
• 1:08:06
  meanwhile what message did that send to those considering
• 1:08:10
  voting for his opponent
• 1:08:11
  or to those 90 million eligible americans who sometimes opt out
• 1:08:16
  of voting it
• 1:08:17
  possibly sent a message of inevitability trump is going to win
• 1:08:22
  anyway and for some
• 1:08:24
  SPEAKER_01: marginal voters that can be demoralizing if you strongly dislike trump
• 1:08:29
  Hearing that everyone else was apparently supporting him might
• 1:08:33
  make you feel a
• 1:08:34
  SPEAKER_01: sense of despair or futility.
• 1:08:37
  SPEAKER_01: Can we even stop him?
• 1:08:39
  SPEAKER_01: Some might think their vote wouldn't matter if he's so popular.
• 1:08:43
  SPEAKER_01: Others might feel intimidated as though their community or country had
• 1:08:49
  SPEAKER_01: overwhelmingly gone to the other side.
• 1:08:52
  This bandwagon strategy also aimed to squeeze out any thought
• 1:08:56
  of third options or
• 1:08:58
  SPEAKER_01: protest abstentions among conservatives.
• 1:09:01
  SPEAKER_01: By claiming he was winning and beloved,
• 1:09:04
  SPEAKER_01: he signaled to right-leaning voters,
• 1:09:07
  SPEAKER_01: don't even think about a third party or staying home,
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_01: join the winning team.
• 1:09:12
  SPEAKER_01: It puts pressure on people to conform to the perceived majority.
• 1:09:16
  SPEAKER_01: Crucially,
• 1:09:17
  SPEAKER_01: we know Mr.
• 1:09:18
  Trump's narrative was selective because the actual result was
• 1:09:22
  nearly a 50-50 split.
• 1:09:25
  SPEAKER_01: The country was not overwhelmingly behind him.
• 1:09:29
  SPEAKER_01: It was deeply divided.
• 1:09:31
  But his propaganda of polling would have you believe a red wave
• 1:09:36
  was coming.
• 1:09:37
  SPEAKER_01: In reality,
• 1:09:38
  SPEAKER_01: the wave was more of a ripple,
• 1:09:41
  SPEAKER_01: but by convincing many it was a wave,
• 1:09:44
  SPEAKER_01: he may have helped bring in just enough extra water,
• 1:09:48
  SPEAKER_01: if you will,
• 1:09:48
  SPEAKER_01: to crest over the opponent.
• 1:09:51
  SPEAKER_01: Remember the specific instances.
• 1:09:53
  SPEAKER_01: After one debate, his campaign circulated internal polls
• 1:09:57
  SPEAKER_01: claiming he won decisively even though scientific polls were mixed.
• 1:10:02
  SPEAKER_01: His surrogates blanketed talk shows saying things like,
• 1:10:06
  SPEAKER_01: the numbers are clear,
• 1:10:08
  SPEAKER_01: America wants Trump back.
• 1:10:10
  They pointed to crowd sizes at his rallies as if that alone
• 1:10:14
  indicated the entire
• 1:10:16
  SPEAKER_01: electorate's preference.
• 1:10:17
  SPEAKER_01: They even touted social media metrics,
• 1:10:21
  SPEAKER_01: like the number of views on a Trump post as proof of popularity.
• 1:10:26
  These are not reliable indicators of actual votes,
• 1:10:30
  but they created a perception of dominance.
• 1:10:33
  SPEAKER_01: Perception can influence reality.
• 1:10:36
  SPEAKER_01: If voters in swing states heard constantly that Trump is up by five here,
• 1:10:41
  SPEAKER_01: up by 10 there,
• 1:10:42
  SPEAKER_01: some might hop on board thinking,
• 1:10:44
  SPEAKER_01: I want to vote for the winner.
• 1:10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Others might give up on canvassing or phone banking for the other side,
• 1:10:50
  SPEAKER_01: thinking it's hopeless,
• 1:10:51
  SPEAKER_01: thereby making it a bit more likely Trump actually wins.
• 1:10:56
  Furthermore,
• 1:10:56
  by dismissing negative data,
• 1:10:58
  Trump also insulated his supporters
• 1:11:01
  SPEAKER_01: from any signs of trouble.
• 1:11:03
  They were shocked in 2020 when he lost because they believed
• 1:11:07
  his hype that he couldn't lose.
• 1:11:09
  SPEAKER_01: In 2024, he tried to avoid any such dampening of enthusiasm.
• 1:11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Everything was always great in Trump land.
• 1:11:18
  SPEAKER_01: This meant even when a poll showed,
• 1:11:20
  SPEAKER_01: say,
• 1:11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Harris leading in a swing state,
• 1:11:23
  SPEAKER_01: his base either never heard about it or didn't believe it,
• 1:11:27
  SPEAKER_01: so their drive never faltered.
• 1:11:29
  SPEAKER_01: One might ask, isn't citing polls just normal campaign talk?
• 1:11:34
  SPEAKER_01: To a degree,
• 1:11:35
  SPEAKER_01: yes,
• 1:11:35
  SPEAKER_01: campaigns spin polls,
• 1:11:37
  SPEAKER_01: but Mr.
• 1:11:38
  SPEAKER_01: Trump turned it into a sustained disinformation campaign.
• 1:11:43
  His team would cite polls that were known outliers or from
• 1:11:47
  partisan firms and treat
• 1:11:48
  SPEAKER_01: them as a gospel.
• 1:11:50
  SPEAKER_01: They would cherry pick favorable demographic cross tabs and trumpet,
• 1:11:55
  SPEAKER_01: for instance,
• 1:11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Trump winning big with independence.
• 1:11:59
  SPEAKER_01: even if that was one poll and others showed the opposite.
• 1:12:03
  SPEAKER_01: They created a false narrative of broad popularity that wasn't there.
• 1:12:07
  It's another form of lying lying with numbers and selective
• 1:12:12
  facts to create a mood
• 1:12:14
  SPEAKER_01: a belief,
• 1:12:15
  SPEAKER_01: and it's particularly ironic because Mr.
• 1:12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Trump loves to call any unfavorable truth fake,
• 1:12:23
  SPEAKER_01: yet he pushed truly fake interpretations of polling data.
• 1:12:28
  SPEAKER_01: The overall effect of this strategy was likely subtle but real.
• 1:12:32
  SPEAKER_01: It could have shifted fractions of a percent of votes.
• 1:12:36
  Perhaps a few thousand lukewarm anti-Trump voters in a swing
• 1:12:41
  state believed the
• 1:12:42
  SPEAKER_01: race was already lost and didn't vote.
• 1:12:46
  Perhaps a small number of low-interest voters saw Trump's
• 1:12:50
  confidence and said,
• 1:12:52
  SPEAKER_01: what the heck,
• 1:12:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'll vote for the guy everyone seems to want.
• 1:12:57
  In a race decided by 0.5% nationally and even slimmer margins
• 1:13:02
  in some states,
• 1:13:03
  SPEAKER_01: those small shifts count.
• 1:13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Even beyond votes, it set the stage for his claim to legitimacy.
• 1:13:11
  SPEAKER_01: He was laying groundwork to say, see, I told you all along I was leading.
• 1:13:17
  SPEAKER_01: My win is the will of the people.
• 1:13:19
  SPEAKER_01: But if the people's will was essentially a 50-50 split,
• 1:13:24
  SPEAKER_01: That narrative is shaky.
• 1:13:26
  So he had to amplify his share artificially and diminish the
• 1:13:31
  opponents in the public eye.
• 1:13:33
  Ladies and gentlemen,
• 1:13:34
  democracy is not a horse race where you bet on who's ahead.
• 1:13:38
  It's a collective decision on who should lead by turning it
• 1:13:42
  into a spectacle of I'm
• 1:13:44
  SPEAKER_01: inevitably going to win.
• 1:13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Join me or be left behind.
• 1:13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Trump cheapened our discourse and manipulated genuine public opinion.
• 1:13:55
  Rather than trust the voters to make up their own minds he
• 1:13:59
  attempted to herd them
• 1:14:00
  SPEAKER_01: like sheep with the perception of inevitability.
• 1:14:04
  It's disrespectful to the electorate and it's another way he
• 1:14:08
  cheated the process.
• 1:14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Instead of responding to what voters wanted,
• 1:14:12
  he tried to tell voters what they wanted by asserting he was
• 1:14:16
  their favorite.
• 1:14:17
  SPEAKER_01: We cannot ignore this psychological gamesmanship.
• 1:14:22
  It's easy to miss because it doesn't sound as nefarious as the
• 1:14:25
  other points,
• 1:14:26
  perhaps.
• 1:14:27
  SPEAKER_01: but it is part of the mosaic of manipulation.
• 1:14:30
  SPEAKER_01: In a free society,
• 1:14:31
  citizens shouldn't feel they must vote for someone just because
• 1:14:35
  everyone else is or
• 1:14:37
  SPEAKER_01: abstain because no one else is.
• 1:14:40
  SPEAKER_01: By pushing a false bandwagon,
• 1:14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Trump undermined the free formation of individual opinion,
• 1:14:47
  SPEAKER_01: a subtle yet real distortion of the one person,
• 1:14:51
  SPEAKER_01: one true voice ideal.
• 1:14:53
  SPEAKER_01: In summary of these 10 points,
• 1:14:56
  SPEAKER_01: each one shows a pattern of dishonesty,
• 1:14:59
  SPEAKER_01: manipulation,
• 1:15:00
  SPEAKER_01: and unscrupulous conduct.
• 1:15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Any one tactic might sway a few votes.
• 1:15:05
  Combined,
• 1:15:06
  they very likely swung enough votes to change the outcome from
• 1:15:10
  loss to win.
• 1:15:12
  SPEAKER_01: This was a campaign that did not trust the voters to choose fairly,
• 1:15:17
  SPEAKER_01: so it chose to trick and pressure the voters at every turn.
• 1:15:21
  Ladies and gentlemen,
• 1:15:22
  when you add it all up,
• 1:15:24
  the conclusion is inescapable.
• 1:15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Donald Trump won the 2024 election by deceiving the American people.
• 1:15:32
  SPEAKER_01: He did not win on merit or a positive vision or honest debate.
• 1:15:38
  SPEAKER_01: He lied about how you vote.
• 1:15:40
  SPEAKER_01: He lied about his opponent.
• 1:15:42
  SPEAKER_01: He lied about the economy.
• 1:15:44
  SPEAKER_01: He lied about the election itself.
• 1:15:46
  SPEAKER_01: He lied about immigrants, about public health,
• 1:15:50
  about a violent attempt to subvert democracy and about his own popularity.
• 1:15:56
  SPEAKER_01: He cheated people out of their money to fund his ambitions.
• 1:16:00
  SPEAKER_01: He attempted to cheat the system by stacking it with loyalists,
• 1:16:05
  SPEAKER_01: and he created an atmosphere of fear,
• 1:16:07
  SPEAKER_01: anger,
• 1:16:07
  SPEAKER_01: and inevitability that subverted the very idea of a rational electorate.
• 1:16:13
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 1:16:14
  SPEAKER_01: I turn to you,
• 1:16:15
  SPEAKER_01: the jury,
• 1:16:16
  SPEAKER_01: not just the 12 sitting in a box,
• 1:16:18
  SPEAKER_01: but metaphorically,
• 1:16:19
  SPEAKER_01: every American citizen is on this jury.
• 1:16:22
  I especially want to address those 90 million Americans who did
• 1:16:27
  not vote in 2024.
• 1:16:29
  SPEAKER_01: You were spectators to this.
• 1:16:33
  Perhaps you felt disillusioned or you thought both sides were
• 1:16:37
  the same or you just
• 1:16:39
  SPEAKER_01: couldn't be bothered.
• 1:16:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not here to scold you.
• 1:16:42
  SPEAKER_01: but I am here to urge you to reflect.
• 1:16:45
  What we've laid out is a concerted effort to undermine your
• 1:16:49
  voice even before you
• 1:16:51
  SPEAKER_01: tried to use it.
• 1:16:53
  SPEAKER_01: If this doesn't anger or alarm you,
• 1:16:56
  SPEAKER_01: What will?
• 1:16:57
  By staying home,
• 1:16:58
  by disengaging,
• 1:17:00
  those 90 million allowed misinformation to fill the void.
• 1:17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Democracy is not a spectator sport.
• 1:17:07
  SPEAKER_01: When too many decent citizens sit it out,
• 1:17:10
  SPEAKER_01: the field is left wide open for indecent tactics to prevail.
• 1:17:15
  SPEAKER_01: To the American people as a whole,
• 1:17:17
  SPEAKER_01: we must render a verdict on what happened here,
• 1:17:20
  SPEAKER_01: not in a court of law.
• 1:17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Mr.
• 1:17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Trump may never face legal punishment for most of this,
• 1:17:28
  as much of it skates just at the edge of legality or falls into
• 1:17:33
  free speech gray areas.
• 1:17:34
  But in the court of public opinion and moral judgment,
• 1:17:37
  we can and must hold him accountable.
• 1:17:40
  SPEAKER_01: We must say loudly that winning this way is unacceptable.
• 1:17:44
  SPEAKER_01: We must treat this narrow victory as tainted.
• 1:17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yes,
• 1:17:48
  SPEAKER_01: he may sit in the Oval Office again,
• 1:17:50
  SPEAKER_01: but we do not have to legitimize the methods by which he returned.
• 1:17:54
  SPEAKER_01: What can we do?
• 1:17:56
  SPEAKER_01: First, recognize the truth.
• 1:17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Do not let the barrage of lies numb you.
• 1:18:00
  SPEAKER_01: We've carefully researched and presented the facts.
• 1:18:03
  SPEAKER_01: Hold on to them.
• 1:18:04
  When you hear someone repeat the lies that mail voting was
• 1:18:08
  fraudulent or that the
• 1:18:09
  SPEAKER_01: opponent was a Marxist or that the election was rigged,
• 1:18:13
  SPEAKER_01: correct them with confidence.
• 1:18:15
  Each of us can help dispel the fog of falsehood if we commit to
• 1:18:21
  speaking truth in
• 1:18:22
  SPEAKER_01: our communities.
• 1:18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Second, demand better.
• 1:18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Demand better from leaders, from media, from ourselves.
• 1:18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Do not reward those who lie to you.
• 1:18:32
  Regardless of party,
• 1:18:33
  we must insist on a basic level of honesty and honor.
• 1:18:37
  SPEAKER_01: If a politician thinks lies win elections, they will keep lying.
• 1:18:42
  It's on us,
• 1:18:43
  the voters,
• 1:18:44
  to show them that lies repulse us,
• 1:18:47
  not attract us.
• 1:18:48
  That might mean writing to your representatives to enforce
• 1:18:51
  stricter truth and
• 1:18:52
  SPEAKER_01: politics norms,
• 1:18:53
  SPEAKER_01: supporting reforms that combat disinformation,
• 1:18:57
  SPEAKER_01: or simply voting out liars next time.
• 1:19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Third, protect our democratic processes.
• 1:19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Support efforts to strengthen election security in a real way.
• 1:19:07
  SPEAKER_01: Not the fake fraud narratives, but real protections.
• 1:19:11
  SPEAKER_01: secure voting machines,
• 1:19:13
  robust auditing of results and laws to prevent partisan
• 1:19:18
  meddling in vote counting.
• 1:19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Support organizations that fight voter suppression and educate voters.
• 1:19:26
  SPEAKER_01: If someone tries to intimidate or confuse voters,
• 1:19:30
  SPEAKER_01: as we saw with those tactics.
• 1:19:32
  SPEAKER_01: Shine a light on it.
• 1:19:33
  SPEAKER_01: Volunteer to be a poll worker or observer to ensure fairness,
• 1:19:37
  SPEAKER_01: one committed to fairness,
• 1:19:39
  SPEAKER_01: not a partisan disrupter.
• 1:19:40
  SPEAKER_01: This is our republic.
• 1:19:42
  SPEAKER_01: We have to guard it.
• 1:19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Fourth, engage and vote every time.
• 1:19:45
  SPEAKER_01: To those who sat out, think of what your absence cost.
• 1:19:49
  Imagine if even a quarter of you had voted,
• 1:19:52
  the lies might not have carried the day.
• 1:19:55
  SPEAKER_01: The antidote to a small group swayed by lies
• 1:19:59
  SPEAKER_01: is a large group motivated by truth.
• 1:20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Your voice is your power.
• 1:20:04
  And when you forfeit it,
• 1:20:06
  you cede the battlefield to those very forces of deceit.
• 1:20:11
  SPEAKER_01: We need you back in the game, informed, attentive, and determined.
• 1:20:14
  The next election and the next local council meeting and the
• 1:20:17
  next school board vote,
• 1:20:19
  SPEAKER_01: all of it matters.
• 1:20:20
  SPEAKER_01: Democracy dies when citizens shrug.
• 1:20:24
  SPEAKER_01: It thrives when citizens participate.
• 1:20:26
  Lastly,
• 1:20:27
  we must cultivate a civic culture that values character and
• 1:20:32
  integrity once again.
• 1:20:34
  Winning at all costs,
• 1:20:35
  especially at the cost of truth,
• 1:20:37
  is a recipe for tyranny.
• 1:20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Today it's Trump.
• 1:20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Tomorrow it could be someone else.
• 1:20:41
  SPEAKER_01: perhaps smarter and even more subtle in their manipulation.
• 1:20:46
  SPEAKER_01: If we don't draw a line here, we invite more of the same.
• 1:20:49
  SPEAKER_01: We have to say, as a people, enough.
• 1:20:52
  We want leaders who trust us with the truth,
• 1:20:56
  who respect us enough not to lie to us.
• 1:20:59
  We are not children to be scared with boogeymen or conned with
• 1:21:03
  fake promises.
• 1:21:05
  SPEAKER_01: We are free citizens of a great republic.
• 1:21:08
  SPEAKER_01: In this trial, we have essentially put the 2024 Trump campaign on trial.
• 1:21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 1:21:23
  SPEAKER_01: The verdict is yours to render.
• 1:21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Not to remove him from office.
• 1:21:28
  He won the electoral vote and our constitutional process put
• 1:21:33
  him in that seat.
• 1:21:34
  But your verdict will decide how we remember and respond to
• 1:21:39
  this chapter of history.
• 1:21:41
  SPEAKER_01: Will we collectively say, well, that's just politics.
• 1:21:45
  SPEAKER_01: I guess we accept it.
• 1:21:46
  Or will we stand up and declare this was wrong and we must
• 1:21:50
  never let it happen again.
• 1:21:51
  Donald Trump may have raised his right hand this January and
• 1:21:54
  sworn an oath to preserve,
• 1:21:54
  SPEAKER_01: protect,
• 1:21:54
  SPEAKER_01: and defend the Constitution of the United States.
• 1:21:56
  SPEAKER_01: But let's not forget, he took that oath after attaining power
• 1:22:15
  SPEAKER_01: through means that undermined the very Constitution's spirit,
• 1:22:20
  SPEAKER_01: a free and fair election based on an informed electorate.
• 1:22:23
  SPEAKER_01: The irony is bitter.
• 1:22:26
  SPEAKER_01: It falls to us now to uphold the spirit of that oath from the outside.
• 1:22:33
  SPEAKER_01: If there's one thing I hope you take away, it's that truth matters.
• 1:22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Without it, our votes are cast under false pretenses.
• 1:22:43
  SPEAKER_01: Without it,
• 1:22:44
  SPEAKER_01: our consent,
• 1:22:45
  the consent of the governed is not truly informed and thus not
• 1:22:50
  truly consent.
• 1:22:52
  Mr.
• 1:22:53
  Trump's victory,
• 1:22:54
  squeezed out by lies,
• 1:22:56
  was not a true mandate from the American people.
• 1:23:00
  SPEAKER_01: It was a conjuring trick.
• 1:23:02
  SPEAKER_01: And a trick should not decide the leadership of the free world.
• 1:23:07
  SPEAKER_01: So ladies and gentlemen, what do we do?
• 1:23:10
  SPEAKER_01: We cannot change the result today,
• 1:23:12
  but we can ensure that this modus operandi is condemned and
• 1:23:18
  thwarted going forward.
• 1:23:20
  SPEAKER_01: We can educate our friends and family about what really happened.
• 1:23:25
  SPEAKER_01: We can support accountability,
• 1:23:27
  perhaps through investigations into certain abuses or by
• 1:23:31
  empowering fact checkers
• 1:23:33
  SPEAKER_01: and truth tellers in our society.
• 1:23:36
  SPEAKER_01: We can push for higher standards in debate and advertising.
• 1:23:40
  We can strip the power of lies by refusing to fall for them and
• 1:23:44
  calling them out at every turn.
• 1:23:46
  Each of the 10 points we discussed is like a breach in the
• 1:23:49
  fortress of democracy.
• 1:23:51
  SPEAKER_01: We need to patch every one of them.
• 1:23:53
  We need to defend convenient voting methods like mail-in
• 1:23:56
  ballots and educate
• 1:23:58
  citizens on their security so fear-mongers can't scare people
• 1:24:02
  away next time.
• 1:24:04
  SPEAKER_01: We need to demand social media companies and owners,
• 1:24:07
  SPEAKER_01: be it Mr.
• 1:24:08
  SPEAKER_01: Musk or anyone,
• 1:24:10
  SPEAKER_01: take responsibility so their platforms aren't weapons of mass deception.
• 1:24:15
  We need to insist on factual economic reporting and challenge
• 1:24:19
  politicians who spin
• 1:24:21
  SPEAKER_01: fairy tales about the economy.
• 1:24:24
  SPEAKER_01: We need to laugh baseless rigged claims off the stage by asking,
• 1:24:28
  SPEAKER_01: where's the proof every single time?
• 1:24:30
  SPEAKER_01: And if there is none, dismiss the claimant as a liar.
• 1:24:35
  We need to refuse to let pre-election whining undermine
• 1:24:39
  post-election legitimacy.
• 1:24:41
  In other words,
• 1:24:42
  make it clear that if you cry wolf without evidence,
• 1:24:44
  you lose credibility.
• 1:24:46
  We need to counter hateful myths about immigrants with real
• 1:24:50
  stories and data and
• 1:24:52
  SPEAKER_01: uphold America's values of inclusivity.
• 1:24:55
  SPEAKER_01: We need to shine sunlight on conspiracies,
• 1:24:57
  SPEAKER_01: educate people on why these theories are false,
• 1:25:01
  SPEAKER_01: and hold leaders accountable if they lend them credence.
• 1:25:04
  We need to reform campaign fundraising rules to outlaw the
• 1:25:08
  tricks that duped donors
• 1:25:10
  SPEAKER_01: and hold campaigns accountable for transparent,
• 1:25:14
  SPEAKER_01: honest practices.
• 1:25:15
  SPEAKER_01: We need to protect and professionalize election administration,
• 1:25:19
  SPEAKER_01: support nonpartisan election officials,
• 1:25:23
  and pass laws to severely penalize interference or intimidation
• 1:25:28
  of these processes.
• 1:25:29
  And perhaps most culturally,
• 1:25:31
  we need to stop treating polls and politics like sports betting.
• 1:25:36
  Encourage media to focus less on horse race and more on
• 1:25:40
  substance so that false
• 1:25:43
  SPEAKER_01: bandwagon narratives lose oxygen.
• 1:25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen,
• 1:25:47
  SPEAKER_01: members of the jury of public conscience,
• 1:25:49
  SPEAKER_01: the fate of our democracy doesn't rest in the hands of one man,
• 1:25:54
  SPEAKER_01: no matter how powerful it rests in all of ours.
• 1:25:58
  SPEAKER_01: Donald Trump tested our system with lies and found some success.
• 1:26:05
  SPEAKER_01: The system bent, but it did not break.
• 1:26:07
  SPEAKER_01: Now it is our duty to reinforce it.
• 1:26:10
  SPEAKER_01: Do not let this closing argument be the end of the discussion.
• 1:26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let it be the beginning of a renewed commitment,
• 1:26:18
  SPEAKER_01: a commitment to truth,
• 1:26:20
  SPEAKER_01: to fairness and to active citizenship.
• 1:26:22
  SPEAKER_01: Talk to your neighbors,
• 1:26:24
  especially those who might have believed some of these lies
• 1:26:28
  calmly and factually.
• 1:26:31
  SPEAKER_01: Stand up at community meetings and remind people,
• 1:26:35
  SPEAKER_01: that we all benefit from fair play.
• 1:26:38
  Encourage those disillusioned non voters that their voice is
• 1:26:43
  needed more than ever
• 1:26:44
  SPEAKER_01: to counteract the effects of deception.
• 1:26:48
  SPEAKER_01: In ancient times when a sentinel spotted danger approaching the city,
• 1:26:53
  they would sound the alarm and all citizens would rally to
• 1:26:57
  defend the walls.
• 1:26:59
  SPEAKER_01: Consider this closing argument as the alarm.
• 1:27:03
  SPEAKER_01: The danger is not fully passed.
• 1:27:04
  SPEAKER_01: The tactics we've discussed, it could be used again if we don't act.
• 1:27:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now we must rally to defend the walls of our democracy.
• 1:27:13
  SPEAKER_01: Donald Trump lied and cheated to become president in 2024.
• 1:27:17
  SPEAKER_01: That is the verdict of the evidence.
• 1:27:21
  SPEAKER_01: But the final verdict, what we do about that is up to us.
• 1:27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Let us declare that this was not a fair victory and that we,
• 1:27:30
  SPEAKER_01: the people,
• 1:27:31
  SPEAKER_01: will not stand for leaders who win by deceiving us.
• 1:27:35
  SPEAKER_01: Let us reaffirm that in America,
• 1:27:38
  SPEAKER_01: the consent of the governed must be informed and freely given,
• 1:27:43
  SPEAKER_01: not coerced by lies.
• 1:27:45
  And let us pledge that in the next election and everyone after,
• 1:27:49
  we will remember this lesson.
• 1:27:51
  SPEAKER_01: We will be wiser.
• 1:27:52
  SPEAKER_01: We will be louder for truth.
• 1:27:54
  SPEAKER_01: We will be harder to fool.
• 1:27:56
  SPEAKER_01: Our call to action is clear.
• 1:27:57
  SPEAKER_01: Protect our democracy.
• 1:27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Don't reward liars.
• 1:28:00
  SPEAKER_01: Participate, educate, and vote with open eyes and a full heart.
• 1:28:05
  SPEAKER_01: If we do these things,
• 1:28:07
  SPEAKER_01: We will ensure that no one can ever pull off a con like this again.
• 1:28:11
  SPEAKER_01: And if someone tries,
• 1:28:14
  they will face an electorate that is vigilant and united in
• 1:28:18
  defense of the truth.
• 1:28:20
  SPEAKER_01: Members of the jury,
• 1:28:21
  SPEAKER_01: American compatriots,
• 1:28:23
  SPEAKER_01: our democracy has been shaken by falsehoods,
• 1:28:26
  SPEAKER_01: but it is not defeated.
• 1:28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Together, we can fix what's broken.
• 1:28:31
  SPEAKER_01: Together, we can hold the line against the next assault on facts.
• 1:28:35
  SPEAKER_01: Together,
• 1:28:36
  SPEAKER_01: we can show that while a lie can travel fast,
• 1:28:38
  SPEAKER_01: the truth,
• 1:28:39
  SPEAKER_01: once mobilized,
• 1:28:40
  SPEAKER_01: will outrun it and prevail.
• 1:28:43
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening.
• 1:28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for caring.
• 1:28:45
  SPEAKER_01: And please,
• 1:28:46
  let's move forward determined to never let this kind of
• 1:28:49
  deception win the day again.
• 1:28:53
  SPEAKER_01: The future of America depends on it.