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Only 27 congressional Republicans were willing to acknowledge the results of the November election in a Washington Post survey this month. A majority of Republicans in Congress backed a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of Texas to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Multiple news outlets reported that on Friday, President Donald Trump discussed invoking martial law and appointing a conspiracy theorist to investigate voter fraud. On Sunday, he asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse three Pennsylvania Supreme Court rulings on ballots cast there.
Many have been shocked by the silence and even support of so many elected members of the GOP in response to Trump’s increasingly outlandish claims. But their behavior isn’t at all surprising to social psychologists: It’s a perfect demonstration of how toxic environments grow gradually, as problematic behavior starts with something small that then continues and expands.