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COLUMN: When the Architect of Lies Turns Against His Creator

Jacques Pj Provost

2026-06-20 21:08:28

When Trump Sabotaged His Own Voters

Let’s rewind to 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic was hitting the world hard. The U.S. presidential election was approaching, and with it came a crucial question: How could people vote safely? Mail-in voting then became an obvious solution, particularly for older adults, who were the most vulnerable to the virus. But Trump, in his growing paranoia, saw this system as a threat to his reelection. He then launched a massive disinformation campaign, repeating to anyone who would listen that mail-in voting was fraudulent, that ballots would be lost, tampered with, or forged. “Don’t vote by mail,” he hammered home to his supporters. “It’s rigged, it’s corrupt.” Christie recalls that period with palpable bitterness. “I and others around him kept telling him: don’t say that,” he confided during his televised appearance.

How can anyone be so blind? How can anyone knowingly sabotage their own chances of victory out of sheer pride, out of sheer obstinacy? Trump had advisors around him who understood the reality on the ground. People who knew that his most loyal voters were often seniors—older people who were afraid to leave their homes in the midst of a pandemic. And instead of reassuring them, instead of making it easier for them to vote, he told them not to vote by mail. It’s mind-bogglingly stupid.

Section 3: Seniors Abandoned by Their Champion

A Voter Base Sacrificed on the Altar of Paranoia

Older Republican voters found themselves facing a cruel dilemma. On one hand, their loyalty to Trump and their desire to see him re-elected. On the other, the legitimate fear of contracting the virus by going to the polls. Christie explains it with disarming clarity: “Many of your voters are seniors who will be afraid to go to the polls because they’re afraid of catching COVID. And if they don’t vote by mail because you say it’s rigged—and that the only people who vote by mail are those who vote against you—those numbers are going to be even worse.” ” It was a prediction. A warning. A caution that Trump chose to ignore. The result? Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Republican voters who stayed home, paralyzed by the conflict between their political loyalty and their survival instinct. Meanwhile, the Democrats were making massive use of mail-in voting, without qualms, without hesitation.

I can imagine these elderly people, alone in their homes, watching the news, listening to Trump tell them that mail-in voting is a scam. I can imagine their confusion, their distress. They wanted to vote for him, but he was telling them not to use the only safe way to do so. It’s cruel. It’s deeply cruel. And the worst part is that Trump knew. His advisors told him so. Christie told him so. But his ego was stronger than anything else.

Section 4: A Disease That Persists Five Years Later

The virus of mistrust continues to spread

Christie uses a medical term to describe the situation: a disease. “It’s a disease that still hasn’t been cured within the Republican Party,” he says. Five years after the 2020 election, Republicans continue to get “crushed” on the issue of mail-in voting. Why? Because Trump has conditioned a large portion of his voters to believe that their votes would not be counted. This distrust has become deeply ingrained in the collective Republican mindset. It has become an article of faith, an unshakable belief. Democrats, on the other hand, have no qualms about using every legal means to vote, including mail-in voting. The result: a structural imbalance that systematically penalizes Republican candidates. And Trump, instead of acknowledging his mistake—instead of encouraging his supporters to use all the democratic tools at their disposal—continues to double down. He persists in claiming that the elections are rigged and that mail-in voting is fraudulent.

It’s both fascinating and terrifying. It’s fascinating to see how a lie can take root and become an “alternative truth” for millions of people. It’s terrifying to see that even in the face of obvious failure, even in the face of the numbers proving that this strategy is a losing one, Trump refuses to change course. It’s like watching someone drown and refuse the lifebuoy you’re holding out to them. Out of pride. Out of arrogance. Out of an inability to admit he was wrong.

Section 5: The Trump Paradox: Creating the Problem and Complaining About It

The Art of Shooting Yourself in the Foot

There is something deeply ironic about the current situation. Trump constantly complains that late votes and mail-in ballots aren’t working in his favor. He cries foul, alleging fraud, manipulation, and conspiracy. But as Christie points out with a touch of sarcasm, “Let me tell you one of the reasons why they aren’t working in his favor.” The reason is simple, almost comical in its circular logic: Trump himself has discouraged his voters from using mail-in ballots. He created the very problem he’s now complaining about. It’s as if someone set their own house on fire and then accused the firefighters of not arriving quickly enough. Christie can’t help but throw in this scathing jab: “What I’d say to him on this front is: Doctor, heal thyself.” The message is clear: Trump is both the patient and the disease, the problem and his own solution.

There’s something pathetic about this inability to own up to his mistakes. Trump has always been like this—unable to acknowledge that he might have been wrong, that he might have made an error in judgment. So he makes up excuses, he concocts conspiracies, he blames everyone but himself. And meanwhile, the Republican Party continues to lose elections it could win. It’s tragic. It’s pathetic. It’s outrageous.

Section 6: Fact vs. Fiction

When Reality Contradicts the Trump Narrative

Christie emphasizes a crucial point: Trump’s claims of election fraud “simply do not match the facts.” This is a significant statement coming from a man who was part of the president’s inner circle, who had access to information, and who knows the inner workings of power. If Christie says there is no evidence of widespread fraud, it’s because he knows what he’s talking about. U.S. courts have reviewed dozens of lawsuits filed by the Trump team after the 2020 election. The result? Virtually all were dismissed for lack of evidence. Election officials, including Republicans, have certified the results. Audits and recounts have confirmed the initial figures. But Trump refuses to accept this reality. He prefers to live in a parallel universe where he won, where victory was stolen from him, where dark forces rigged the election.

How can anyone live in such denial? How can anyone ignore dozens of court rulings, hundreds of election experts, and thousands of testimonies—all pointing in the same direction? It’s a form of collective madness. And the scariest part is that millions of Americans are following Trump down this delusional path. They truly believe the election was stolen. They truly believe there was massive fraud. Despite the total lack of evidence. Despite all the facts that prove the opposite.

Section 7: Christie, the Man Who Helped Create the Monster

The Former Advisor’s Responsibility

We still have to ask the uncomfortable question: Where was Christie when all this was happening? He prepared Trump for two presidential debates. He was there, in the inner circle, when decisions were being made. He now says he warned Trump against his rhetoric on mail-in voting. But did he do enough? Did he resign when he saw that his advice wasn’t being heeded? Did he publicly denounce this suicidal strategy? No. He stayed. He continued to support Trump. And now, five years later, he’s telling us, “I told you so.” That’s a bit too easy. Christie isn’t innocent in this story. He helped legitimize Trump, make him presentable, and prepare him to face his opponents. He bears some responsibility for the current disaster. His belated criticism, however valid it may be, cannot erase that fact.

I can’t help but feel a certain anger toward Christie. Yes, he’s right on the substance. Yes, his analysis is spot-on. But where was he when it was time to stand up and say no? Where was he when it took courage to break with Trump? He waited until the ship was sinking to say he’d seen the iceberg. That’s cowardly. That’s opportunistic. It’s exactly the kind of behavior that has allowed Trump to thrive all these years.

Section 8: The Republican Party Faces Its Own Trap

A Political Party Trapped by Its Own Lies

The Republican Party finds itself in an inescapable predicament today. On the one hand, it cannot abandon Trump, who remains extremely popular with the party’s base. On the other hand, it cannot continue to follow an electoral strategy that dooms it to defeat. Republican leaders are caught between their loyalty to Trump and their desire to win elections. Some are tentatively trying to encourage mail-in voting, but they immediately run up against the mistrust that Trump has instilled in voters. Others choose to remain silent, hoping the problem will resolve itself. But as Christie points out, this disease “has still not been cured.” It continues to spread, infecting the party and undermining its electoral prospects. And as long as Trump is around, as long as he continues to hammer home his lies about election fraud, the Republican Party will remain trapped in this trap of its own making.

It’s almost a Shakespearean tragedy. A political party destroying itself from within, unable to free itself from the grip of a man who is leading it to its downfall. The Republicans know they have a problem. They see it in the election results. They feel it on the ground. But they are paralyzed, unable to act, terrified at the thought of crossing Trump and his fanatical base. It’s both pathetic and fascinating.

Section 9: The Long-Term Consequences for American Democracy

Beyond Partisan Politics

The problem extends far beyond the Republican Party. What Trump has done is undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system itself. Millions of Americans now believe that elections are rigged, that their vote doesn’t count, and that the system is corrupt. This loss of confidence is poison for democracy. It creates fertile ground for extremism, political violence, and rejection of institutions. We saw this on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, convinced they were defending democracy against an imaginary fraud. We see it again today, in threats against election officials, in attempts to intimidate voters, and in the proliferation of conspiracy theories. Trump has opened a Pandora’s box that will be very difficult to close. And even if Christie and other Republicans are beginning to distance themselves, the damage is done. Trust, once lost, is extremely difficult to rebuild.

That’s what terrifies me the most. Not Trump’s political maneuvering, not his lies, not even his megalomania. No, what terrifies me is the legacy he’s leaving behind: this widespread distrust of democratic institutions; this conviction that everything is rigged, that everything is corrupt. How can we rebuild a healthy democracy when a significant portion of the population no longer believes in it? How can we hold elections when millions of people think the results will be rigged anyway? Trump may have lost in 2020, but he has gained something far more dangerous: he has succeeded in making Americans doubt their own democratic system.

Conclusion: The Doctor Who Refuses to Seek Treatment

An Uncertain Future for American Politics

Chris Christie’s appearance on MS NOW will go down as a symbolic moment. A former ally who finally dares to speak the truth, who dares to call out Trump’s lies and strategic mistakes. But will it be enough to change anything? Probably not. Trump has shown time and again that he is impervious to criticism, incapable of learning from his mistakes, and determined to press on no matter what. The Republican Party will likely continue to grapple with this internal contradiction, torn between loyalty to Trump and the desire for electoral victory. American voters, for their part, will have to navigate this increasingly fragmented, increasingly polarized, and increasingly toxic political landscape. Christie is right about one thing: Trump caused this problem. But the real question is: who is going to solve it? And how? For now, no one has an answer. And perhaps that is what is most worrying.

I end this column with a sense of weariness. Weariness with these never-ending political games. Weariness with these lies repeated ad nauseam until they become “alternative facts.” Weariness with this collective inability to say, “Stop, that’s enough, let’s call it quits.” Christie had the courage to speak out. But how many other Republicans will follow? How many will dare to break the code of silence? How many will choose the truth over blind loyalty? I’m not optimistic. But I hope I’m wrong—for the sake of American democracy. For the sake of all of us.

Signed, Jacques Provost