Donald Trump and his supporters seek comfort in conspiracy as election hopes dim

Trump’s campaign has filed more than a dozen lawsuits in its attempt to throw out votes or overturn counts, the vast majority of which have been unsuccessful.

And yet the president’s amplification of conspiracies has found a receptive audience among his base — both seem unwilling to accept the loss.

“Trump was ahead in Pennsylvania by 800,000 votes. They stopped the count and then Biden passed him. Magically they found pallets of ballots in the middle of the night,” said Despina, who came to DC from Philadelphia.

Brandon Zeigler, also from Philadelphia, said there were “multiple videos online that are being censored on Facebook and Instagram of people on live TV in courthouses, and you can live watch people vote one after the other for Biden, they are just throwing in the pile for Biden, no dates, no names.”

The fact that Trump has spent years making unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, always without evidence, has done little to dampen his supporters’ belief this time around – rather his history of claims seems to have bolstered their popularity now.

Many of Trump’s colleagues in the Republican Party have said privately that the president’s baseless claims are little more than “theatre” and he will eventually concede. But litle thought appears to have been given to the long-term impact this theatre might have.

This crowd was united in their belief that the election had been stolen. But there were groups of people here who have been bound together since long before any votes were cast, simply by their admiration and support for Trump and his rhetoric.

The Proud Boys, a far right neo-fascist group, came along to support the president. They refused to talk to the press. As did a few Boogaloo Boys, a loosely organised anti-government extremist group. They were joined by the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia made up of former law enforcement officials and military veterans.

These groups, too, have bought the claim that the election has been stolen. Some have hinted at the use of violence to resist any administration that is not led by Trump.

“I think about half this country won’t recognise Biden as legitimate. They won’t recognise this election,” said Stewart Rhodes, who founded the Oath Keepers, which is one of the largest anti-government militias in the country.

“What that means is that everything that comes out of his mouth will be considered not of any force or effect, anything he signs into law we won’t recognise as legitimate. We’ll be very much like the founding fathers. We’ll end up nullifying and resisting.”

When Trump leaves office in January, the anger and resentment he has fuelled will not disappear. And it will be largely up to him to choose what to do with it.