Even Steve Mnuchin refuses to admit Biden won the election

The Republican plunge into authoritarianism is a trend that predates Trump and has pretty much affected the entire party. In some ways, the most important manifestations are the least visible: not the insurgent gangs, or even the lawmakers planning to turn the next election into a crisis. You can also see the shift in banal statements by colorless figures like Steve Mnuchin.

Appearing on CNBC, the former Treasury Secretary was asked whether Donald Trump was right about Joe Biden stealing the 2020 election. Mnuchin simply refused to answer:

Eamon Javers asked Mnuchin twice, and both times Mnuchin replied to the effect of: Don’t ask me, I just work here. He said he was only watching this from the outside, that I was focusing on our investments, our business going forward, and Trump’s policies were great. He couldn’t bring himself to admit that Joe Biden legitimately won the election and is not the beneficiary of a mass conspiracy.

Mnuchin is important because he is not a nationalist, not a populist, not even a particularly rabid ideological conservative. He is as moderate and respectable a figure as you can find in Trump’s orbit. He is also rich enough not to be financially obligated to Trump supporters to earn a living.

That Mnuchin can’t admit that Biden won the election grant shows that there is almost no room in the party to respect the most basic democratic standards.