When the history books are written, they will reflect that Donald Trump did everything he could to delegitimize the 2020 presidential election and the democratic process itself as he headed toward a resounding loss.

It should not be lost in those pages that elected Republican leaders went right along with his lies.

As outrageous as Trumps behavior has been in the days after the Nov. 3 election, hes been signaling for months that he would do anything, even lie and cheat, to stay in office. Hes falsely claimed mail-in ballots lead to widespread fraud. His campaign engaged in voter intimidation . He preemptively refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power. He openly encouraged people to carry out political violence on his behalf. He vowed legal challenges to prevent states from counting ballots after Election Day.

What is arguably more alarming is that Trumps efforts to undermine peoples faith in the democratic process are being echoed by GOP leaders in Congress, longtime politicians who know the president is being dishonest. They simply care more about not upsetting Trumps base of supporters for their own political purposes.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a longtime ally to Trump, on Thursday refused to dismiss the idea that the Pennsylvania legislature should ignore its election results and appoint pro-Trump electors anyway, based on false conspiracy theories about fraud. His comments came as Democratic nominee Joe Biden pulled ahead in the pivotal state as more ballots were counted.

Everything should be on the table, Graham told Fox News Sean Hannity . Philadelphia elections are crooked as a snake, he added, without citing any evidence that dead people and people who do not live in Pennsylvania have cast ballots there.