“Please raise your right hand… I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States… I’m going to get my friends, my family, and we are going to vote on Nov. 3, or we are going to vote before that… I don’t care if I’m registered or not. I’m going to try and cheat like hell, like they do… “
— President Trump, in a speech to supporters, Sept. 10, 2026
Donald Trump has lied and cheated his way through life. He cheated in his graduation picture from a military prep school by borrowing a uniform and medals to show he had been awarded more than the “neatness and order” decorations he earned. He cheated by evading the Vietnam-era draft with phony medical diagnoses from a tenant of his father. He lied and cheated as a young businessman when charged with discrimination in his rental policies. He lied and cheated on his three wives multiple times during 50 years of marriage. His cheating on ethics rules, along with his documented lies during his presidencies, runs into the tens of thousands.
His administration has enthusiastically followed his lead. They’ve lied and cheated on immigration enforcement, tariffs, the war in Iran, no-bid contracts, insider trading, and the Epstein files.
This isn’t news to anyone even marginally awake during the past 10 years. But in his recent speech, he offered a justification for cheating and opened a small window into the darkness of his soul. He supports cheating in elections because “they [his opponents] do.” Although more than 60 court cases showed no evidence of widespread fraud (many decided by Trump- or Republican-appointed judges), Trump and his supporters remain unswayed.
How is that possible? It’s because they retain an unshakable, negative view of human nature which is just as strong as any other unprovable belief in God, science, or mankind. They are “misanthropes,” defined as people whose actions reflect “a general dislike, distrust, or contempt for the human species and human nature.” They are convinced many people cheat in elections, even if it hasn’t been proven.
In their view, it’s OK to commit harmful or illegal acts because everyone else does. Like Trump himself, they believe people in the United States and the wider world are basically motivated by self-interest, greed, and the narcissistic need for the approval of others (even when it is purchased with bribes or illegal contracts).
In considering this bedrock assumption of Trump and his followers, a thought occurred to me — far-right evangelicals readily dismiss Trump’s “sinful” behavior. In the extreme reaches of today’s fire-and-brimstone theology, people are assumed to commit mortal sins unless they are “born-again” Christian evangelicals and follow MAGA’s political gospel. This negative view of human nature (for anyone outside their in-group) dovetails nicely with Trump’s misanthropy. Trump, his MAGA administration, and hard-line evangelicals all believe that opponents are, or will be, cheating “like hell” because that’s their nature, regardless of evidence to the contrary.
In their view, immigrants aren’t coming to the United States to pursue the American dream. Instead, they’re intent on stealing jobs and diminishing our culture. Canada isn’t a trusted trading partner, but a country intent on “ripping us off.” NATO isn’t a group seeking to maintain independence against Russian threats, but one that has never paid “their fair share.” Judges and journalists aren’t just doing their jobs; they are intent on harming Donald Trump and his minions; etc., etc.
This moral cynicism has poisoned our country, and has been enthusiastically promoted by Steve Bannon and other amoral right-wing operatives. It is especially virulent in our younger generations who have been subjected to far-right megaphones on the internet and electronic screens almost since birth.
I know there are cheaters in every group in our society, including immigrants and political insiders, national and local leaders, newspaper columnists and newspaper readers. But I believe that most Americans are good at heart, wishing the best for our country and its people.
Trump’s view that people will always choose greed and self-interest, including cheating in elections, over empathy and belief in moral and political principles is disproven daily when millions of Americans volunteer to help people in need. Others choose to perform dangerous and poorly paid public service jobs to improve our lives and protect us from the threats around us. There has been no proof of widespread cheating in elections, and protecting voters from intimidation and intentional chaos should be priority No. 1 this November.
Allen Woods is a freelance writer, author of the Revolutionary-era historical fiction novel “The Sword and Scabbard,” and Greenfield resident. His column appears regularly on Saturdays. Comments are welcome here or at awoods2846@gmail.com.