MAKE IT MAKE SENSE: Reining in the gish gallop

Donald Trump’s weave doesn't hold up in court -- can it still sway the people?

In today’s letter: As revenge prosecutions get tossed out by grand juries and judges, are big lies losing their luster?

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THE GIST: Is persistence really a virtue?

While the facts have often failed him, Donald Trump has had considerable success just sticking to his story. Consider that as of last year, some 36 percent of Americans believed — regardless of the complete lack of supporting evidence — that the 2020 presidential election was illegitimate.

And historically, there is plenty of evidence to support the notion that, as Office of Strategic Services psychologist Walter C. Langer wrote of Nazi propaganda, “People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough, people will sooner or later believe it.”

But, it turns out, some people aren’t so easily swayed.

Federal judges and grand juries, for instance.