Trump didn't have to try to steal this election to win

I didn't sleep much after President-elect Donald Trump won Pennsylvania, catching maybe two hours of rest during Wednesday's predawn hours. Awake and restless, I opted to take a walk down my block, the sun weirdly warm and bright for November. I glanced down as I passed by a bit of graffiti — "Trump/Vance 2024" — that had been spray painted in a bike lane a few weeks back.

At the time, I'd only noticed how much the vandalism felt like an intrusion into my progressive New York City neighborhood. It wasn't until Wednesday morning that I looked up to see that it had been placed directly in front of a synagogue. What I'd taken as a bit of spite, or a political prank, suddenly felt far crueler. It called to mind the shooter who attacked a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 based on the far-right "great replacement" conspiracy that's been embraced in the MAGA camp. It's almost too apt a metaphor given how clearly millions of Americans had delivered the message that Trump's brand of cruelty is exactly what they were craving.

What I'd taken as a bit of spite, or a political prank, suddenly felt far crueler.

I'll admit that Trump's win isn't an outcome I had braced for. I'd spent the better part of the last two years focused on how he might once again deny an Election Day loss . Yes, the polls showed a razor-thin contest between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. But she had outperformed him on most metrics by which campaigns are usually measured. There was a chance that he might win the national popular vote , but if the "blue wall" of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania held, then she had the clearest path to 270 electoral votes.

Additionally, Trump gave every indication that a victory would be the only outcome he'd accept as being free from "cheating." His failed efforts to stay in power in 2020 lingered over everything, prompting worries that he would lean on Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to refuse to certify any loss. Even while polling places were open Tuesday, Trump was busy pushing false claims about fraud.

The "blue wall" obviously did not hold in an election that was much different from the previous two with Trump's name on the ballot. Trump didn't need foreign help to secure a win. Nor did he need an arcane loophole in the rules or the threat of a violent mob bearing down on lawmakers to try to avoid or deny a loss. The advantages he held were almost all tied to him having the opportunity to run at all and were baked in long before Election Day.

Trump didn't need to file frivolous lawsuits before federal courts. The Supreme Court wasn't given a chance to throw the election his way in a redux of 2000's Bush v. Gore. The false bomb threats to polling places that have been ascribed to Russian actors don't appear to have had any measurable effect. There's been no reporting that indicates that the promised hordes of MAGA-trained poll watchers blocked any Democratic voters from casting their ballots.

He just won.

Tuesday's victory wasn't a re-do of 2016's narrow victory in the Electoral College as he lost the popular vote. Trump was poised Wednesday afternoon to potentially sweep all the battleground states and become the first Republican in 20 years to win a majority of the country's votes. This is the kind of sweeping triumph that Trump falsely claimed had been stolen from him in 2016 and 2020. This time it's not false.

Trump told America the truth about how mean and brutal and small he and his vision are, and many counties across the country still shifted to the right to support him

The one thing that might soften that blow is how much Trump had to lie to do it. He had to lie about where he stands on abortion . He had to lie about migrants posing a threat to American communities. He had to lie about the many criminal charges against him . He had to lie about how great the economy will be under a disastrous tariff policy . He had to lie about trans kids and crime rates , and his claim in his convention speech that he was offering " a hand of loyalty and friendship " to every American was an obvious falsehood.

Lying is a well-established part of Trump's brand by now. What's remarkable is the willingness of the American people to accept his lies and how much they've wanted to hear him tell them for the better part of a decade.

Worse still, though, are the things he didn't lie about. Trump sold voters on a plan to deport millions of people from the country. He made no secret of his desire to seek out revenge on his political enemies , turning the Department of Justice into his own enforcement team. His candor regarding those plans is much more frightening, even if many of his supporters have convinced themselves that those are the things he's actually lying about.

Trump told America the truth about how mean and brutal and small he and his vision are, and many counties across the country still shifted to the right to support him. There is likewise no need for whoever painted "Trump/Vance 2024" in front of the synagogue in my neighborhood to pretend they didn't deliberately choose that location. The American people know exactly who Trump is , and the American people still picked him.

The depressing truth is he came by this win honestly — or as honestly as it gets with him.