As we reach the one week mark of the announcement of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election, a lot is still up in the air, specifically Trump's refusal to concede. After being MIA for nearly a week, Trump's only form of communication with the American people has been through a series of angry tweets claiming that the election was rigged and fraudulent. Unsurprisingly his band of followers supported him on this, calling out baseless claims regarding mail-in-ballots and demanding recounts in numerous states. His administration has clearly made no effort or progress in his decision to concede, except for Mike Pompeo saying that there will be a “smooth transition” into Trump’s second term. It seems as if the GOP is living in a fantasyland of victory even though global leaders have offered their congratulations to the Biden campaign.
Just this morning Trump tweeted, “He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. Concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!” after he has waved on his supporters protesting the election results outside the White House Saturday Night. These protests quickly became violent as different groups began to clash throughout the night. Again, these clashes further highlight how Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his loss have the ability to jeopardize the status of our democracy.
If Trump still has not conceded by the January 20th date for inauguration and has exhausted all of his legal rights and funds, Biden has stated multiple times that he has no doubt that the US Military will physically remove him from office. Although only a temperamental fix, Trump would be pushed out of the white house and would have to continue his legal fiasco elsewhere. However, this is the first time that such an occurrence has happened in the US so we would be entering uncharted territories, without any real guidance for what to do.
As people, there is not much we can do, and many are afraid. The people have no control and must rely on a government to protect the liberties of democracy. As for now, we can just hope that Trump concedes before January, and if not, there will be a lot to come out of the early months of 2021.
Links:
https://nypost.com/2020/11/05/what-happens-if-trump-loses-2020-election-and-wont-concede/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-15/trump-acts-defeated-while-still-insisting-he-beat-joe-biden?srnd=premium
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/14/us/politics/thousands-rally-in-washington-as-clashes-erupt.html?searchResultPosition=4
10 comments:
Trump has historically been one to utilize every possible avenue to get out of or delay lawsuits and other sticky situations. While he appears to be following a similar strategy with respect to the current election results, he has been failing. Claims of voter and election fraud have been widely refuted and lack evidence, and his "voter fraud reporting hotline" has been viewed as a joke by many and subject to prank calls of all kinds to harass those that respond to calls. Furthermore, although there are many members of the GOP that are supporting Trump in his legal pursuits, many others view his actions as disrespectful to the status of the United States as a whole and the system that is in use. He has also brought about many people who are protesting the vote count that appear to be uncertain of what they should be fighting for other than the idea of "voter fraud."
Despite the rough patch that the United States is currently experiencing, many global leaders have already congratulated Joe Biden on his victory, and are looking forward to working with him. Biden too has begun to convey his plans for office, with a plan for combatting COVID-19 at the forefront of this effort. However, Trump's refusal to concede may pose a threat to Biden's plan given that he is locked out of information that may be crucial to dealing with COVID-19 in the future, putting the lives of many Americans at risk. Trump's concession seems inevitable, but the timing is something that is uncertain, and potentially something that will put American lives at risk.
Trump is attempting to challenge and invalidate what his administration alleges are "illegal votes" and it is almost unlikely to validate his claims in regards to something systematic. Although we have not seen a recount in the presidential election with an extreme turn of voter counts like 10,000 to 20,000 difference, it still gives Trump no chance in winning this election. In order for him to be successful, he would have to significantly change the vote total in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia which is super unlikely that all three of these states would have an extreme miscounted vote difference.
Trump may choose to never concede but according to the 20th Amendment, the candidate with the majority motes becomes president on January 20th, and the current president's term would be over right before noon, therefore, whether if it is in Trump's favor, he would be removed and Joe Biden would take over his presidency.
People are freaking out a little too much about this. This is not going to "jeopardize democracy" because what is he actually going to do? Its all talk. He never built a wall, he never banned tik Tok, and he is not going to prevent a peaceful transfer of power. But what if he actually refuses to concede? Im sure the secret service will escort him out of the White House to Trump Tower, where he will get a taste of the sweet billionaire life and forget about politics all together. People say this is one of the "most important elections ever" but thats not true. Its just another election. In 16 years people will hardly remember him. He will just be another president. And we will be living in a whole new world.
I agree with Michael that the President is more talk than action, however his narrative is setting a precedent that discourages voter turnout, and low voter turnout for Democrats is exactly what got him elected in 2016. If people don't have faith in the voting system because they think it will result in one outcome regardless, they simply won't vote. This could have catastrophic impacts for future elections, as we most likely wouldn't be electing someone that reflects the beliefs of most Americans. When Trump ran attack ads against Biden targeted to the black community, he wasn't necessarily expecting a good portion of them to join his ticket, but to discourage them from voting for Biden which could be seen as another instance of voter suppression. The issue here isn't necessarily him conceding or not, but its the fact that he's undercutting the basis of democracy based on bogus claims that his own lawyers admitted were false in court (in reference to the lack of Republican poll watchers in Pennsylvania).
Looking back to 2016, Trump hailed his dissenters as unAmerican for not standing by him when he got elected. The tables have turned.
I believe the Tweet you reference was in response to another Tweet from Nov. 15 where Trump wrote “He won because the Election was Rigged,” which appears to be admitting defeat. Some media outlets caught on to his apparent acknowledgment, which probably spurred his later Tweet saying “I concede NOTHING!”
I agree with Michael that the president is more talk than he is action, but his effect on his followers is dangerous for the future of our nation. Throughout his losing, Trump has been denouncing the media: he repeatedly has called out the “fake news media” for calling the election and for assuming Biden will be inaugurated in January. Distrust in the media may last beyond Trump being removed from office. Most communication between Trump and his followers, as Ella said, is regulated through Twitter (seemingly more fact checked during his election Tweet sprees). Fox, which is still decently right leaning, was also denounced during the election after they called Arizona for Biden, leaving Trump supporters with one not fake news media source left: Trump himself. Without a press secretary to talk through with no office, they’ll be left with just his Twitter and perhaps rallies if he chooses to run for president in 2024.
First Tweet: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1327956491056279552
Media outlets recognizing acknowledgement: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/15/us/politics/trump-biden-election.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20201116&instance_id=24145&nl=the-morning®i_id=70702467&segment_id=44585&te=1&user_id=1facead675f2a42dff847eb96105c490
Second Tweet where Trump denounces media: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1328152462331699202
What's more depressing than his tweets are the people who believe in every word the soon-to-be-gone president says. He makes it clear he'll cause problems until the very end. The mindset is that there is something wrong with the whole government system, and it has to be changed so I win every time. Hopefully, Biden is able to reconnect the divisions Trump made throughout his presidency between the parties.
I agree with Ju-Won. It's shameful to see a president that led (I would put that in quotes, but I will respect his leadership) our country for four years, claiming to (as Michael said) only talk about future actions (such as the infamous "Build the Wall" and the recent news regarding banning the popular social media "Tik Tok") rather than acting upon them. The shameful aspect of this entire situation is that every "request" he attempted to fulfill never went through, and he did so in a very childish manner. This just seems to be another childish action that hopefully someone will prevent him from pursuing.
Trump writing angry tweets and saying that he “won the election” proves his immature behavior and his inability to admit his loss. He acts like a powerful man behind a screen, but in reality he is not able to accept Biden winning the election. This has led to fake news such as the election being “rigged”, and Trump’s supporters believing that he is a great leader, and that he is still the President of the United States. I think many Americans have accepted Biden’s win, and even if Trump does not concede, he will be removed from the White House and from his position as President. Trump is trying to stir up drama and create chaos, but at the end of the day, he lost the election and he really can’t do much about it.
Trump writing angry tweets and saying that he “won the election” proves his immature behavior and his inability to admit his loss. He acts like a powerful man behind a screen, but in reality he is not able to accept Biden winning the election. This has led to fake news such as the election being “rigged”, and Trump’s supporters believing that he is a great leader, and that he is still the President of the United States. I think many Americans have accepted Biden’s win, and even if Trump does not concede, he will be removed from the White House and from his position as President. Trump is trying to stir up drama and create chaos, but at the end of the day, he lost the election and he really can’t do much about it.
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