New York, NY – As Joe Biden ascends to the Presidency on January 20, it is time to ask: “How do we help close to 75 million people who voted for Donald Trump shake off his continuing con and join the rest of us here in the imperfect real world of American democracy?

They have, after all, been brainwashed with lies, propaganda and magical thinking for years, from the false claim of record crowds at Trump’s inauguration to the dangerous deception of a killer virus that was just going to “disappear.” Many Trump followers are similar to cult members who need deprogramming. To bring them back from Trump’s Big Lie, here are a few suggestions:

** President-elect Biden: Keep doing what you’re doing. You are sending the right messages. The calm, confident and competent tone and tenor of your transition is absolutely the right stuff. Keep it up in the White House to show Trumpsters how a stable President does things and how important that is.

** Elected Republicans at all levels: It’s time — way past time, actually — to reject Donald Trump and start offering some kind of positive vision of the America you want to see in coming years. Give Trump voters an option to the racism, xenophobia, contempt for the Rule of Law, chaos and corruption he fed them. You’ll be helping them and probably yourselves, too. In fact, your political lives may depend on it. Are you listening, Mitch McConnell?

** The Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump: You might be the folks who come up with that positive vision for Republicans at all levels. I don’t think Tom Cotton, Jim Jordan et al. will be much help on that. Are you listening, Mitch McConnell?

** Democrats on the Left: Take a couple of steps toward the center, please, and show willingness to accept compromise and incremental progress. No push for national unity can work without your shoulders to the wheel, and Trump voters need to see you’re not really all socialists and communists out to take down capitalism as Trump maintained.

** Rupert Murdoch: Stand up and say Donald Trump was dangerous to democracy, and it’s a good thing he lost the election.

** The Media in general: How about giving Trump the minimal coverage he deserves as a soundly defeated one termer? Sure, he could start a war or try to between now and mid-January, and you’ll have to pay attention. But after January 20, there is little reason to listen when Trump burps, is there?

** Donald Trump: Actually, all you have to do is keep doing what you’ve been doing since the voters said: “You’re fired.” The more you refuse to admit defeat and whine, complain, falsely accuse, play the victim, lie and maintain your delusional fantasy of a “stolen election”, the more you confirm for people the mistake they made by giving you their vote.