The President’s Damaging Lie

<p>When President Trump took to the podium in the White House briefing room Thursday evening to give a statement on the election count, he lied about the legality of the votes against him in key battleground states and called into question the integrity of poll workers, laying a conspiracy at the feet of Democrats.</p><p>Both the Republican establishment and the conservative news media have been split in their responses to his claims.</p><p>Inside the White House and the Trump campaign, there is shock at the direction the contest has taken — many in his camp believed that a win was certain.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/maggie-haberman?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"><strong>Maggie Haberman,</strong></a><strong> </strong>a White House correspondent for The New York Times. </p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>In a stunning appearance in the White House,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/us/politics/biden-georgia-pennsylvania.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> Mr. Trump lied about vote-counting</a>, conjuring up a conspiracy of “legal” and “illegal” ballots being tabulated and claiming without evidence that states were trying to deny him re-election.</li></ul>