After dying and going to Heaven a Trump supporter stands before God who says, “You’ve lived a good life, welcome to eternity. Do you have any questions?” “Yes”, he replies, “who really won the 2020 election?” “Biden”, replies God. “Wow”, says the Trumper, “this goes higher than I thought.”

This is the situation we now face. Donald Trump received 2.9 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016 yet won the Electoral College vote by a whisker. In 2020 he received 7 million fewer votes than Joe Biden while also losing the Electoral College. This fact is unacceptable to many Trump supporters who instead accept an alternate reality of voter fraud. That there is no evidence is irrelevant.

In their self-serving fantasy world they ignore the fact that in seven of the past eight presidential elections the Democratic candidate received the majority of the popular vote. That is 32 years when the American people preferred the Democratic nominee all but once.

To maintain their fantasy they must attack the hundreds of Republican poll workers, Secretaries of State, government officials, and governors who have called this election one of the most secure elections in history. Indeed, in the face of a pandemic turnout was extraordinary and both parties made significant gains. This election should be celebrated not condemned.

They fail to accept the words of FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, who made the statement; “We have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it’s by mail or otherwise,” before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

They dismiss Attorney General William Barr, another Trump appointee, who said “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.” Barr is now considering stepping down before being fired for honesty.

Their fantasy requires they reject the ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann, who spent years as a Republican Party official in Pennsylvania and was active in the Federalist Society. In dismissing the case with prejudice Judge Brann wrote, “One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption, such that this Court would have no option but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens. That has not happened. Instead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence.” He further wrote, “Rather than requesting that their votes be counted, they seek to discredit scores of other votes, but only for one race. This is simply not how the Constitution works.”

No, many Trump supporters accept the rule of law only when it favors them. They have created a fantasy world with claims pulled out of thin air to override the democratically elected choice of the majority of Americans. No, that is not how the Constitution works. They seek a radical change, a mutation of American Democracy.

Mr. Trump has claimed voter fraud since before the 2016 election but over five years has failed, dismally, to provide any evidence acceptable to a court of law. Many will continue to believe these unsupported claims from a man who actually paid $25 million to settle a fraud case against him. Many more, as evidenced by the facts of this election, will not. They will rebuild a nation that honors the past while creating a future that is fair for all of us.

Tom Meara is a Jamestown resident.