To the editor:

The midterms are upon us, and there is much talk of rigged elections. This comes mostly from President Trump and his followers. But when Trump says he is concerned about election integrity, voters should be skeptical and remember that, according to a chapter (“How to Fix a Poll”) in Michael Cohen’s 2020 book Disloyal,” it is Trump who is quite capable of cheating. Cohen goes into great detail describing how Trump tried to fix a CNBC “online poll to determine the twenty-five most influential business people alive” (187). Trump, then ranking 187 out of 200, directs Cohen to find a way to manipulate the poll so he finishes in the top ten. So, Cohen, Trump’s “Fixer,” phones an information officer at Liberty University, who, for a few thousand dollars, cracks the CNBC computer system and adds enough votes to move Trump from 187th to 9th. The following day, without giving a reason, CNBC deleted Trump’s name from the list. While Trump should have been glad CNBC did not publicize his attempt to cheat, he is instead furious for having his name removed and tells everyone that he “really” finished 9th and cannot understand why his name was removed. Hmmm?

So, given Cohen’s detailed account of Trump’s attempt to fix the CNBC poll, if anyone is concerned about election integrity, perhaps they should first suspect it is Trump’s people who are willing to manipulate the election’s results?

Donald Hatcher,

Lawrence