Even the Capitol riot failed to roust them from their stupor. No GOP leader has made speeches from the floor presenting evidence to disprove Trump’s lies. No third party has been surreptitiously engaged to fight the battle for public opinion in conservative media. Trump’s continued fixation on 2020 is obvious to all, yet no one in any leadership position will push back when he tries to make his toxic claims the central issue of the midterms.

The fault does not simply lie with political leadership. No major conservative media outlet has systematically tried to push back against the lies. Imagine if Fox News had invested resources into reviewing Trump’s claims and showed how spurious they are. Imagine if one of its hosts had commissioned an investigative report airing these facts. Trump once said he would love to debate someone on 2020 fraud; imagine the ratings bonanza that could have been. No one on the right took up the offer.

Now Republican leaders might have to face their worst nightmare: having to choose between backing prominent election denialists or running away from their own nominees. If they choose the former, they raise the profile of an issue they know will push moderates away from the GOP, even if those voters disapprove of President Biden’s performance. If they choose the latter, they do so without any plausible explanation for voters who have been allowed to believe the lie of a stolen election. Why should they believe party leaders who belatedly declare such beliefs as beyond the pale for the party?