With the Election Day just weeks away, the Republican Party finds itself in a challenging situation. Their representatives persistently spread falsehoods, and when faced with these inaccuracies, instead of addressing the issue directly, they deflect and cry bias.

While there is indeed media bias against conservatives, when voters hear the GOP deflecting their dishonesty by pointing fingers at Democrats, they don’t perceive valid answers, only justifications for the dishonesty.

It would be much simpler for Republicans to claim bias if they didn’t make it so easy for the media by constantly lying without any legitimate reason.

Republicans Persist in Falsehoods That Damage Their Image

Dishonesty is not a newcomer to politics and has been a hallmark of Washington for ages. Yet, few misrepresent the truth as much as former President Donald Trump, who, despite proclaiming his outsider status, leads the charge on falsehoods. The GOP’s complete alignment with Trump compels them to follow his example.

The most deeply ingrained falsehood revolves around the 2020 election. I find myself repeatedly remarking on this, but had Republicans chosen a different candidate, they could have shifted the conversation about the last election to simply deeming it unfair instead of labeling it as a fraudulent theft.

Unfortunately, Trump’s influence restricts this possibility, forcing the GOP to evade this issue or outright fabricate claims in order to protect his delicate ego.

Recently, Trump made outrageous claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, allegedly consuming pets during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Consequently, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance felt compelled to lie about this despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

A similar situation arose when Vance was questioned regarding the 2020 election during his debate with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Instead of addressing the policies aggressively against Harris, the Republicans found themselves dismissing and defending Trump’s fabrications.

The need for the GOP to continuously cover for Trump’s blunders with lies inevitably overshadows the usual political dishonesty exhibited by Democrats, which lies on a different spectrum compared to lying about an election’s legitimacy.

The GOP Focuses on Blame Instead of Strategy

The Republican perspective suggests that media outlets lean towards seeing conservative candidates unfavorably, leading to increased fact-checking of Republicans over Democrats.

While I can understand the concern about media bias, solely relying on this argument indicates to viewers that you may not be completely truthful.

During the vice presidential debate, Vance criticized the moderators for fact-checking him, despite their assurance that such roles would be left to the candidates themselves.

While I agree with Vance’s challenge against the moderators, the manner of his outburst did not reflect well on him, as he neglected to clarify the actual statement that was fact-checked.

Viewers witnessed Vance responding to a fact-check with outrage towards the moderators holding him accountable, rather than confronting the validity of his statement. This behavior only serves as a reminder to voters of his potentially dishonest claims.

A more constructive reaction would be to present solid proof. However, time and again, Republicans struggle to do this because, in many cases, there is a lack of evidence — as seen with the various unfounded election conspiracies promoted by the GOP since 2020.

Republicans Hide Behind Bias Rather Than Engage with Voters

For decades, it’s been a standard practice in presidential campaigns for candidates to participate in interviews with CBS News’ “60 Minutes.” Since 1968, major party presidential nominees have appeared on “60 Minutes,” typically around this point in the election cycle.

However, similar to many norms disrupted in this election, Trump disregarded tradition.

The wind has shifted, and CBS News indicated that one reason Trump decided to refrain from participating is due to the campaign’s desire to avoid fact-checking.

Choosing to skip confrontational interviews at this stage in the race seems to be a smart move for Trump, particularly since “60 Minutes” edited some of Harris’ replies. Nonetheless, as a voter, it’s disheartening that a major party candidate prefers to abstain, especially considering the significant viewership of the program.

During the 2020 election, I felt it was quite damaging when Joe Biden restricted his media interactions under the pretext of COVID-19 safety. I believe Trump opting out of challenging interviews now for fear of declining poll numbers is equally detrimental.

The public deserves transparency from their candidates. If Trump insists on avoiding traditional media formats, I would have appreciated seeing him propose a different method for engagement.

Instead, the American public witnesses Trump distancing himself from a long-standing practice that candidates have embraced for over fifty years, leading many to question why he seems so unwilling to engage with the electorate.