It will,. of course, be more harmonious and promote more unity in the country if Trump concedes defeat, but if he doesn’t, then doesn’t it make no difference to Hillary, in terms of the presidency?
I have read article headlines saying things like, “Hillary’s plan in case Trump doesn’t concede,” and I wonder…why does she need a plan? If she wins, she wins. The Inauguration, the White House handover, the moving in to the White House, the briefings, the protocols, the ceremonies…all of that will happen with or without Trump’s approval or concession.
Lopez Obrador’s “I-lost-but-I’ll-act-as-if-I-won” tactics in 2006 didn’t work in Mexico, and such tactics by Trump would work even less in America.
Well, I’m sure people will notice that his SS detail has vanished. But he can whine and bitch all he wants - without substantial evidence of voting irregularities (and I don’t mean black people got to vote!) his refusal to concede will be nothing.
Depends on how close it is. Unless there are actually close enough margins to cause a recount, then it probably won’t make a difference as to whether Hillary becomes president or not on inauguration day, but it still could make a difference (and even a significant difference) as to potential unrest and even violence from some of his supporters. I don’t believe that any significant portion of his supporters would act violently if he loses by more than a tiny margin, but a small portion could still be thousands of people, and if he just incites .1% of his adult male supporters to act rashly and take over a government building (or local Democratic campaign office) or something, then there could be dozens or hundreds of people (or more) hurt.
That is a practical difference. It’s politics and that influences Clinton’s ability to influence the populace to get Congress to implement legislation.
We’ve survived them before, and while Trump might be the first candidate to delay or deny a concession due to a time conflict with a temper tantrum, our democracy is old enough and stable enough it won’t ruin us.
Trump and his supporters can complain quite loudly and undoubtedly will. But the only real action they can take is to file lawsuits. I doubt Trump will do this. Trump prefers to throw lawsuits at people who would worry about the costs of a legal battle; Clinton and the Democrats aren’t going to be intimidated into backing down. And while the election hasn’t occurred yet, I doubt there will be any real improprieties. Clinton’s too smart to take the risk of stealing an election she’s going to win legally.
I think it would make a huge difference to the political landscape of the US. If Trump concedes that he got beaten fair and square (as he absolutely should) then his rabid followers have to admit they are the minority and that the majority of the voting public reject their views.
Him never conceding and insisting it was rigged is going to prolong the alt-rights political rage indefinitely, they get to feel like they’re right and the majority and the system is just rigged against them. This is dangerous long term.
I’ve actually been kinda surprised at how shocked people seem about his possible refusal to concede. I don’t think it matters a whole lot, especially in the context of everything else he says. Did you expect better from him?
Let him not concede and let’s ignore him. Last I checked, a concession was not necessary for her to take the oath of office.
Now if you’re concerned about how his followers will react, those who really like him and actually consider him an authority on something are already crazy and will take out their crazy in other ways even if he concedes. Might actually be useful for all the crazies to march on the White House and all get hosed down and tear gassed at once.
IIRC Al Gore conceded and then took it back as the election started to swing more towards Gore and he was back in the running. So it appears just a courtesy.
As for Trump’s statement, perhaps he will plan to persuade the electoral college members to change their vote.
You’re talking about a minority that refuses to believe they’re a minority, and believes that their views are overwhelming mainstream, but that they have been disenfranchised and muzzled by conspiracy and collusion. They aren’t going to have a face-palm moment of recognizing reality. HRC taking all 50 states, 55% of the vote and 500+ EVs will just be proof that the LibPressMuslimImmigrant conspiracy has more control than anyone thought.
We’ve survived them, but one of the worst contested elections resulted in the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of Jim Crow. White America might have survived it, but for black Americans and other minorities, it was the beginning of a nearly century long nightmare.
I also think we’re being a bit naive here. Donald Trump is truly the first major party nominee who has openly spoken in terms that challenge the legitimacy of the Constitution and the rule of law by a would-be Executive. He is the first presidential nominee to speak of jailing political opposition. He has 40 percent of the American vote.
To the point of the thread, consider what I’ve just said about Trump’s disregard for Constitutional law. Consider that other leaders in his party have been very, very reluctant to confront him. This is because 40% of voters nationwide support him, but more so because majorities - in some cases large majorities - of voters in their own districts violently oppose any attempts to delegitimize Trump. Consider the flagrant attempts at vote suppression already in place. Also consider Trump’s call for (in some cases armed) observers to visit and watch voters. We’re already seeing a lot of aggression and hostility directed at democracy right now - and we’ve not had the results yet.
Who is truly to say that Donald Trump, with his support, wouldn’t be able to wrangle state-level operatives into sowing chaos at the polls and getting state officials and elected members of congress to question the results? There could be a movement to refuse to accept the results.
As much as I trust American voters to to the right thing, as much as I believe these crises pass with far less than worst outcomes… you’ve reawakened the reasons why Trump is so goddamned scary. It’s become a trope in a short time to say “yeah, this is how the Reichstag got torched.”
Waving the flag, using the pole as a weapon, pissing on the Constitution and believing in their hearts that God is on their side… I really hope we can laugh about this thread in a month or so.
Amateur Barbarian wrote: “You’re talking about a minority that refuses to believe they’re a minority, and believes that their views are overwhelming mainstream, but that they have been disenfranchised and muzzled by conspiracy and collusion. They aren’t going to have a face-palm moment of recognizing reality.”
To add to the Trump fear party: what scares me isn’t really Trump . . it’s what comes after. Regardless of what happens in November, something has been resoundingly proven: you can get really close to the Presidency by being a blatant fascist. Sure, other politicians have shown fascist tendencies, but none so obviously, so unashamedly as Trump.
What happens next time, when the fascist has a shred of intelligence?
Exactly, there is no legal necessity for a concession. If the Electoral College chooses Hillary Clinton as President, then she’ll be President. Trump can declare he doesn’t accept the results but that has no legal weight.
A very close election result could be very problematic. I can see Trump demanding recounts in close states. Using the courts to challenge voting irregularities. He’s got a lot of legal options to fight what he characterizes as a rigged election.
Let’s hope for a overwhelming Clinton victory. That makes The Donald old news overnight. He will fade away and return to his former Tabloid life.
Yes, 40% of the people refuse to vote for a Democrat. Most of those people survived just fine with That Muslim in office for eight years, and there was persistent talk of how he wasn’t even an American and how terrible his Socialism was for the country and how Obongocare was destroying America and so on. Most people aren’t anywhere near sociopathic enough to risk their lives in violent action, as most people are minimally sane and human enough to function in big cities. As much as we talk ourselves down, we are not a violent species most of the time, and big cities, by their very existence, prove it.
There’s always a certain percentage of people just waiting for their chance. That hasn’t changed. In fact, very little has changed since 2012 or 2008, and the fact the GOP has shown itself too weak to stand up to Trump is not a precursor to outright civil war.
There’s always a movement to refuse to accept the results. There are radical Socialists in this country, and Klansmen, and insane variants on every religious group you can mention, and so on. What you’re proposing is that Trump, by being Trump, and the GOP, by being a completely weak-willed and out-of-it organization with the brains of a bot fly and backbone to match, are going to convince a minority of white people, most of whom have good-paying jobs, to rise up and revolt in armed insurrection. Because that’s what it would take to destroy democracy in this country. Trump’s numbers prove it.
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