Why can’t JD Vance just admit that Trump lost the 2020 election?

During Tuesday night’s relatively cordial vice presidential debate, Ohio senator and Republican nominee JD Vance predictably dodged questions about whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. When directly asked by his Democratic opponent Tim Walz if Trump lost, Vance deflected harder than a 150 SPF sunscreen, saying he was “focused on the future.” Further, he pivoted to criticizing social media censorship, of all things, for bringing up at the moment instead of just flat-out acknowledging the election results as fair play.

This refusal to admit Trump’s defeat is not unique to Vance. It has become a litmus test for many Republican politicians seeking Trump’s endorsement or trying to appeal to his base. Why, though, is it so interminably difficult for people like Vance to communicate an obvious fact—that Joe Biden clearly won the 2020 election?

Well, the answer(s) lies in the fundamental nature of the MAGA movement Trump has cultivated. At its core, MAGA functions as a sectarian, anti-government ideology that thrives on sowing doubt about the legitimacy of federal institutions. Admitting Trump’s loss saps the movement of its vitality and intrinsically undermines several fundamental tenets of a violently warped and racist worldview.

First, any sort of loss whatsoever acknowledges weakness in their leader (Trump) and movement on its whole. The personality cult religion of Trump as an undefeatable force is crucial to maintaining enthusiasm among supporters. Admitting defeat punctures that aura of invincibility; so you just say you didn’t lose. It’s a pretty straightforward thing.

Second, accepting the election results validates the very democratic systems and institutions that MAGA rhetoric paints as corrupt and untrustworthy. If the 2020 election becomes legitimate, it also becomes harder to claim the U.S. government is fundamentally broken or controlled by these nefarious, forever-plotting liberal forces hiding in dark corners to sort out conservative demise by giving trans people access to health care.

Third, the “stolen election” narrative, no matter how weak and ridiculous is is in all directions, provides an ongoing grievance to rally mouth-breathers around. It fuels anger and resentment that can be channeled into political action and donations. Letting go of this grievance would mean losing a powerful motivating force.

Perhaps most importantly, I’d argue, is that maintaining doubt about election integrity allows MAGA politicians to lay the groundwork for challenging future elections they lose. By refusing to accept past (and any) results, they normalize skepticism of the democratic process itself—a core point of MAGA’s unhinged ideology.

For aggressively ambitious politicians like Vance, who will do apparently anything to boost himself up, fully breaking with Trump’s election lies risks alienating a significant portion of the Republican base. But in clinging to these falsehoods, they perpetuate a dangerous erosion of faith in American democracy—all to maintain their own political viability.