Trump’s election lies are thriving. His GOP rivals aren’t challenging them

Donald Trump’s supporters continue to adopt his bogus narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, with nearly 70 per cent of his Iowa caucus voters falsely believing President Joe Biden was illegitimately elected.

Asked whether they believed President Biden was legitimately elected to the presidency in 2020, more than two-thirds of Iowa caucus goers said no, according to entrance polls from last night’s caucuses.

That includes 69 per cent of Iowa caucus goers who supported Mr Trump. Only 11 per cent of his supporters in Iowa believe the president was legitimately elected.

Mr Trump has relied on conspiracy theories and a fake narrative that the 2020 election was rigged against him to cast doubt on the legitimacy of elections he lost. Those false claims have since animated Republican campaigns for public offices across the country and GOP-drafted legislation in nearly every state to change how elections are run.

The false claims surrounding the 2020 election and the electoral process fuelled violence at the US Capitol on January 6, and the former president is facing criminal charges in Washington DC and in Georgia for his spurious attempts to overturn election results culminating in a mob that stormed the halls of Congress to do it by force.

Sixty-five per cent of caucus goers, including 72 per cent who supported Mr Trump, believe he would still be fit to serve as president even if he is convicted.

By comparison, a majority of Iowa caucus voters who believe President Biden was legitimately elected supported former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Among respondents who agreed, 53 per cent voted for Ms Haley, who came in third place among GOP candidates in Iowa.

Both Ms Haley and Florida Governor