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# The Official, Unauthorized Donald J. Trump Guide to Devastating a Nation's Trust in Their Own Elections
- URL: https://a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io/the-official-unauthorized-donald-j-trump-guide-to-devastating-a-nations-trust-in-their-own-elections/
- Published: 2026-09-18T01:01:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-18T01:01:09.000Z
- Author: Lord Hugo Dastardly

It was 2016\. And at the time, the presidential election felt pretty farcical. 

On one side, you had a former first lady, US senator, and Secretary of State. While Hillary Clinton was subject to [many of the criticisms often lobbed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-impossible-expectations-of-hillary-clinton-and-all-women-in-authority/2016/02/19/35e416d0-d5ba-11e5-be55-2cc3c1e4b76b%5Fstory.html?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io) at successful, take-charge women, she had years of public service experience. Her opponent had zero. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/34/b3345409-5a56-42f7-9001-6c8ecd090bb1/content/images/2026/09/queen.jpg)

We could have this but y'all playin'.

We all know how that one ended. [Pollsters forecast a fairly easy win for Clinton](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/09/why-2016-election-polls-missed-their-mark/?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io), which made sense. She was, after all, eminently more qualified for the role. Donald Trump was controversial and unserious, openly [mimicking a disabled reporter](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34930042?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io) and trying to distance himself from a leaked tape in which he [bragged about committing sexual assault](https://www.npr.org/2016/10/07/497087141/donald-trump-caught-on-tape-making-vulgar-remarks-about-women?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io) (a crime he would later be [found liable for in civil court](https://apnews.com/article/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io))—among countless other transgressions, any number of which would have sabotaged pretty much any other candidacy at the time.

Reports indicate that [Trump never expected to win the election](https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pence-donald-jr-and-melania-never-thought-trump-would-become-president-769701?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io), and the evidence bears it out. Perhaps the greatest indicator is found in his relentless assault on election integrity. 

Yes, we’re all familiar with his obsession with the 2020 election. He did not win; therefore, it must be stolen. 

Even professional mildewy dishrag Ted Cruz saw through it, back when Republicans allowed themselves to speak without being controlled like a sock puppet: “Apparently, when anyone votes against him, it’s an act of theft.” The quote goes back to a [2016 interview in which Cruz compared Trump to a mob boss](https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/275984-cruz-to-trump-stop-acting-like-a-mobster/?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io)—a comparison that has certainly grown no less apt, even if Cruz is now a made man, beholden to the family.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/34/b3345409-5a56-42f7-9001-6c8ecd090bb1/content/images/2026/09/images--13-.jpg)

Young Donald Trump assembles the lads for some good, clean crime.

Trump expected to lose in 2016\. Therefore, he griped in the months before the election that it would be stolen. That ludicrous orange [manchild](https://amzn.to/3UGcYrT?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io) cannot abide losing—’tis woefully incompatible with the elaborate fiction he maintains inside that narcissistic head of his. If you’ll forgive the bit of shameless self-promotion, I’m reminded of a bit from my novel [*The Orange Man and Me*](https://amzn.to/3UJpRkV?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io)*:*

> “*MOTHERFUCKER!”* the President roared. I flinched back and looked around. He had hurled his plate against the wall. Ketchup splattered like blood against the white backdrop. A couple of stray fries peeked out among the broken pieces of dinnerware.

> “They fucked it up. Fucked it up,” the President fumed. “Lost the seat after *I endorsed him*.”

> I had been following the race. It was the first Democrat to win a Senate seat from Alabama in 25 years. But I knew the silver lining, too. “It’s okay, Mr. President. Republicans still control the Senate. This just narrows the margin a bit.”

> Breathing heavily from his outburst, he turned to look at me. I never saw such a cold, disgusted expression on his face. “I don’t give a flying fuck about the margins in the Senate. *I endorsed him*,and he *fucking lost.* I’m a winner. Winners. Don’t. Associate. With. Losers. Do you understand?”

While the President in my novel is entirely fictional, I must admit to seeing certain similarities between him and the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In sheer breadth of vocabulary if nothing else.

Of course, these characteristics are nothing new. Even many of Trump’s supporters admit that he’s self-centered, even if *raging, incurable megalomaniac* would be more accurate. He is, to his credit, quite upfront about the fact that [he doesn’t like to lose](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/trump-obamacare-repeal-236799?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io), which might explain his curmudgeonly disposition and the fact that any joy he exhibits seems mean-spirited. He loses a great deal. One report from 2025 concluded his [success rate in court is only 31%](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/07/09/trumps-success-rate-in-the-courts-so-far-31/?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io)—and he’s sustained multiple high-profile losses since that accounting.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/34/b3345409-5a56-42f7-9001-6c8ecd090bb1/content/images/2026/09/8.-Bufford-orange-man.jpg-c1887---R.jpg)

Honestly, if he wasn't such a dapper gentleman, I can't imagine he would have ever won an election.

Since genuine success has proved so elusive, Trump does his best to manipulate the system. Recently, he’s tried to do so by illegally controlling elections, a right [the Constitution gives to the states](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S4-C1-2/ALDE%5F00013577/?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io). It all adds up to yet more losing. He’s [lost 23 legal battles](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doj-voter-data-letter-election-lawsuits-b3048223.html?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io) over his attempts to access and manage voter data to date.

But his primary tactic has proven effective whether he’s in office or not. He lies, he cries foul, he proclaims the game rigged. He did it in 2016 until he, to everyone’s surprise, won the electoral college (but notably, not the popular vote; 2,868,691 more American voters cast a ballot for Clinton). 

While independents and Democrats have largely stayed consistent on the issue, Republican confidence in the integrity of American elections has plummeted. Gallup reports that [55% of Republican voters were at least somewhat confident](https://news.gallup.com/poll/651185/partisan-split-election-integrity-gets-even-wider.aspx?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io) in US elections in 2016\. Ten years later, a recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts shows [that number has dropped to 29%](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/as-midterms-approach-new-poll-finds-that-few-americans-trust-campaigns-or-trump?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io). 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/34/b3345409-5a56-42f7-9001-6c8ecd090bb1/content/images/2026/09/images--14-.jpg)

To be clear, voter confidence didn't just tumble off the cliff. It was pushed—nay, **shoved.*

We all know what happened in 2016\. Some of us may have blocked it for our own sense of psychological and physical safety, of course, but honestly I covered it just above so you can scroll if you’ve quickly re-blocked.

Donald J. Trump has caused a lot of damage to the United States. Historians will probably spend years cataloging and ranking the many ways that he and this partisan Supreme Court have left the highest office in the land considerably worse than they found it. The fact that the President is now above the law? Trade wars and antagonizing our nearest allies? The Iran War? The assault on our national parks? Heavens! The surface remains uncracked.

I believe his intentional torpedo to the confidence of American voters is a strong contender for his Top 5 worst acts.

It is no exaggeration—merely grim arithmetic—to speculate that we will be dealing with the fallout of his lies and fearmongering for decades. His self-serving bullshit has [already led to violence](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56004916?ref=a-dastardly-dustup.ghost.io). Americans have quite literally died because of his conspiracy theories. Would any of us be surprised if it led to more violence in the future? I, for one, would not.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/34/b3345409-5a56-42f7-9001-6c8ecd090bb1/content/images/2026/09/images--15-.jpg)

Pictured: Trump (right); Trump's ego (left). Still not pictured: Lord Hugo Dastardly.

And it’s all in service of an enormous ego. That, I fear, is the proverbial kicker. Is it possible that Trump is so ensconced in his own mythology that he believes his own hype? Indubitably. But I’m not interested in grading him on a curve simply because he is too incredibly insulated and surrounded by sycophants for reality to break through.

The precipitous damage to US democracy is not lessened if his lies come from a place of genuine belief rather than deliberate manipulation.

I cannot conceive of anyone who genuinely loves this country deliberately causing so much damage for personal gain. No, he only loves himself. With all apologies to Natalie Harp.