About the Book
A Revelatory Account Of The 2020 Election—The Most Secure, Verifiable, And Transparent In American History—And The Heroes Brave Enough To Get It Right
The Big Truth illuminates a crowning achievement in America's quest for a robust democracy in the face of slander by sore losers and opportunists. Filled with interviews of the guardians of democracy—election workers, January 6th Committee members Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) and Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and more—it is an overpowering counterattack against the Big Lie.
CBS Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett and National Election Expert David Becker, the Executive Director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, reveal why Big Lie fraud allegations evaporate under scrutiny. They report what actually happened in 2020 while calling out each Trumpian misdirection designed to con and beguile Americans into chasing phantom allegations of election crimes.
The 2020 election was not what Trumpist deniers claim. Our political parties knew the rules and procedures. We had record turnout and few election snarls. The result: an accurate count, a seven-million-vote margin of victory, 306 electoral votes for Joe Biden, and Republican gains in congressional and state races. But then-President Trump stoked paranoia—never looking for evidence, contesting results even before anyone cast a ballot, and seeking to bend our system until it almost broke with a violent Capitol riot.
The Big Lie—the true corruption of American democracy—has shaken our confidence in stable self-government. On the heels of voter-fraud claims, the Capitol siege, and damaging voting laws, the next midterm and presidential election will test our democracy more severely than at any time since the Civil War. How we react may well determine if we are led into another war against ourselves. The Big Truth debunks the 2020 election conspiracy myth once and for all, while celebrating those who held up our democracy under arguably the most intense scrutiny in American electoral history.
About the Author :
Major Garrett is the Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS News and the CBSN radio host of The Takeout and The Debrief. For over thirty years, his award-winning reporting and writing has tackled the nation's pressing issues. Garrett is the author of four books, Mr. Trump's Wild Ride, The Enduring Revolution, The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics, and Common Cents with former Rep. Tim Penny (D-Minnesota). He lives in Washington, D.C.
David Becker is the Executive Director and Founder of the nonpartisan, non-profit Center for Election Innovation & Research, working with election officials of both parties to ensure accessible, secure elections for all eligible voters. David serves as CBS' election law expert, and his many appearances in the media include The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, PBS NewsHour, and NPR. He resides in Montgomery County, MD.
Review :
A second civil war? What once was the plot device of fiction writers now seems all too thinkable. In a deeply reported look at the corrosion of American democracy, Major Garrett and David Becker see a nation on a ‘springboard' to civil war—and describe what can be done to stop it, before it's too late. The Big Truth is provocative and sobering, but it's not hopeless.
—Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief, USA TODAY, and New York Times bestselling author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power
The Big Truth shows with precision and depth why elections including those held in 2020 that produced President Biden and sizable down-ballot Republican gains—can and should be believed. And it challenges all political actors to step back from the abyss of election denialism, which spread like wildfire in 2020. Ultimately, The Big Truth poses the grand question we all must ask ourselves as Americans: do we really want to be a democracy, or do we just want our side to win?
—Chris Krebs, Former United States Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
The Big Truth provides us with a compass to navigate through the minefield of partisan agendas and hyperbole that permeate our political discourse and equips us with the tools we need to identify and share truthful, trusted information. It is one of the most definitive accounts of what really happened in 2020 and essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the depths and nuances of the challenges facing our American democracy and what we can collectively do to overcome them.
—Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State
Will America survive as a unified nation until its 300th birthday in 2076? In this urgent, timely and passionate book, Major Garrett and David Becker persuasively argue that the answer will turn on what happens between now and its 250th in 2026. With razor-sharp argument and encyclopedic command of the evidence they dismantle Donald Trump's wild claims of 2020 fraud and document the full sweep of what they accurately call his ‘attempted coup.'
—Ron Brownstein, Senior Political Analyst at CNN and New York Timesbestselling author of Rock Me on the Water: 1974—The Year Los Angeles Transformed Music, Movies, Television and Politics
If American democracy has a modern mirror, Major Garrett and David Becker hold it up and brazenly stand behind it. From its very first page, the authors argue the fragility of the American experiment and the need to defend it, connecting the past to our turbulent present. From their posts in journalism and election law, Garrett and Becker narrate the facts of the election and call out the lies perpetrated by the craven grifters seeking to undermine our democracy.
—Kyung Lah, Senior National Correspondent, CNN
Concerned that the sanctity of the 2022 midterm elections are at stake, if not democracy itself, Major Garrett, CBS's Chief Washington Correspondent and elections expert David Becker have written one of the definitive books on the subject. Vivid, doggedly researched, and deeply important, it is a crucial work at an important time. It will be of interest to citizens of all parties and political persuasions alike.
—Jay Winik, historian and New York Times bestselling author of April 1865: The Month That Saved America and 1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History
The Big Truth shows how American democracy is threatened, even as everyone claims to be defending and protecting it. This book is a stark warning for every American who thinks that it can't happen here, that our nation cannot turn against itself. Major Garrett and David Becker show that our union is closer to dissolving than we might think and our democracy is very much at risk. The political project of our time is to rebuild national trust and defend democracy.
—Jennifer Mercieca, award-winning historian and author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump
A thoughtful consideration of how and why to protect the vote—and, with it, American democracy.
—Kirkus Reviews
The story of our times...Essential reading.
—Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°
