# Will Trump leave office peacefully and normally if he loses the election? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 8, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110 "2020-03-08T17:04:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/41 "2020-03-09T03:28:54Z")
If he refuses to leave, he’ll be frogmarched out, El Chapo style. He still has not accepted the results of the 2016 popular vote where Hilary beat him, so I expect if he loses this year he will claim voter fraud, and tie up the election in the courts for a while until some manufactured crisis can emerge, where he can claim staying in office is “for the good of the country.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/42 "2020-03-09T04:57:38Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > If he refuses to leave, he’ll be frogmarched out, El Chapo style. > > He still has not accepted the results of the 2016 popular vote where Hilary beat him, so I expect if he loses this year he will claim voter fraud, and tie up the election in the courts for a while until some manufactured crisis can emerge, where he can claim staying in office is “for the good of the country.” He can claim whatever he wants, but the Constitution contains no mechanism for extending the president’s term. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/43 "2020-03-09T07:41:35Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > If he refuses to leave, he’ll be frogmarched out, El Chapo style. When? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/44 "2020-03-09T12:22:54Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Will Trump leave office peacefully and normally if he loses the election? > > Yes. If he refuses, he will be escorted out. > [@RioRico](#): > > When? At this rate, January 2025. I begin to regret the ban on betting. I understand the rationale for the ban, but after the 500th iteration of the same thread, the temptation to say “put up or shut up” becomes strong. > [@Superdude](#): > > Neither of them were incumbents. Gore was the incumbent Vice-President, and [staffers vandalized the offices](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/12/us/white-house-vandalized-in-transition-gao-finds.html) out of spite. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/45 "2020-03-09T13:01:09Z")
Incumbent VP is different than an incumbent PotUS, IMHO. However, your point is taken. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/46 "2020-03-09T13:04:42Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > He can claim whatever he wants, but the Constitution contains no mechanism for extending the president’s term. Even if he’s cleared on impeachment? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/47 "2020-03-09T13:29:21Z")
I think a valid comparison would be the fall of Margaret Thatcher. Her own followers turned against her. She ranted and screamed and even cried in public about it, whining about how unfair nit all was. But eventually, when it came time to leave, she walked out of 10 Downing Street. She did not have to be carried out. I doubt Trump will really be any worse. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/48 "2020-03-09T13:35:24Z")
^^ This. It depends on whether there are sufficient Republicans to support him. In the US a person does not become President-elect on election night. Or when the electoral college votes. They become it when the result is certified by Congress. If the election is disputed enough, even with an ostensible Biden/Sanders win, do you guys really think (lets say there is a Republican majority in Congress) that the 'Pubs will not support Trump. They refuse to certify Biden and instead force it to the House? Voting in state delegations? You think they aren’t capable of that. Refuse the returns from enough states to prevent a 270. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/49 "2020-03-09T13:44:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > At this rate, January 2025. > > I begin to regret the ban on betting. I understand the rationale for the ban, but after the 500th iteration of the same thread, the temptation to say “put up or shut up” becomes strong.Gore was the incumbent Vice-President, and [staffers vandalized the offices](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/12/us/white-house-vandalized-in-transition-gao-finds.html) out of spite. > > Regards, > Shodan Gore had a legitimate reason to contest the election, as would Bush have had the few hundred Florida votes been in the other direction. Note that this was part of the OP: > [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > =Biden has won handily with a solid popular vote as well as electoral victory. There is no serious reason to contest anything. There are no legitimate irregularities. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/50 "2020-03-09T14:10:01Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > I’d worry more about how much he can fuck up the government and country with daily executive orders, even more incompetent “acting” department heads and appointees, “national emergency” actions, waves of pardons, and other temper tantrums between election day and inauguration day. Yeah. This is my concern. Of course he’ll physically leave at the appointed time. He’ll get some TV show and bloviate and whip his masses into an Internet frenzy, but that’s just a bunch of noise. But he can do serious damage during his lame duck period. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/51 "2020-03-09T14:21:38Z")
He will most definitely not attend Biden’s inauguration. He will at about 11:45 am, sign a pardon for himself and his family members for any federal crimes they may have committed between birth and the moment he signs the pardons. He will then piss on the Resolute Desk, board Marine 1 for Andrews, flip off the White House and Capitol, and just after noon get a military flight to Mar-a-largo where he will spend the rest of his days tweeting about how terribly he was mistreated. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/52 "2020-03-09T14:45:54Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > Yeah. This is my concern. Of course he’ll physically leave at the appointed time. He’ll get some TV show and bloviate and whip his masses into an Internet frenzy, but that’s just a bunch of noise. But he can do serious damage during his lame duck period. But many people here think he’s doing serious damage now. It’s a matter of opinion, but like so many matters of opinion like minded clusters of people on the internet treat their opinions as facts and reinforce one another. There’s a 100% chance stuff Trump does after being defeated (assuming it) will be _presented_ as ‘serious damage’ in some quarters. And there’s some possibility he would do stuff completely neutral being from another planet would say is serious damage. Then again the completely neutral alien might agree with partisans who say Trump is doing serious damage right now, or not. A scenario of Trump refusing to leave I think though is mainly a way to get people excited to go vote against him, and see if he does. 🙂 Anything’s possible but that’s not likely scenario at all IMO. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/53 "2020-03-09T16:02:07Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A Presidential self-pardon on January 19. Keep in mind that he can only grant pardons “for offenses against the United States” (Article II, Section 2). Nothing stops any number of states from pressing their own charges - for example, “Conspiracy to Deprive Human Rights” of anybody he tried to remove from the country, not to mention all of the immigrants in the detention centers. > [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > If Trump loses I fully expect him to claim massive voter fraud and call the election illegitimate. Hey, it worked for Rutherford Hayes, although the election is going to have to be close enough that he can get enough states with Republican governors that voted for Biden to switch to Trump. Then again, it didn’t work for Ferdinand Marcos when he tried it, and I expect a similar reaction if Trump even thinks about it, in which case, just as it did in the Philippines, it may come down to which side the Armed Forces back. > [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I find it unlikely he will attend the inauguration of his successor. He’ll show up, and then he’ll quickly leave, with the cameras showing him boarding Marine One, similar to when Nixon left. He’ll probably try to make the day all about him. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the National Mall packed for the inauguration, regardless of whether it’s Biden or Sanders, if for no other reason than to show Trump what a real “we packed the Mall” inauguration crowd looks like. Speaking of Nixon, Trump’s wealth gives him another advantage; like Nixon, the Trump Presidential Library can be built with private funds, so he can have it portray him however he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/54 "2020-03-09T16:09:35Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > He will then piss on the Resolute Desk, board Marine 1 for Andrews, flip off the White House and Capitol, and just after noon get a military flight to Mar-a-largo where he will spend the rest of his days tweeting about how terribly he was mistreated. In that case, I can’t wait for President Sanders Biden to order the military flight to stay on the ground, have Trump escorted from the from the plane, and force him to fly commercial to Miami. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/55 "2020-03-09T16:27:08Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > just after noon get a military flight to Mar-a-largo where he will spend the rest of his days tweeting about how terribly he was mistreated. Well, his days between “going to Mar-a-Lago” and "being extradited to New York State to face charges not covered by a federal pardon, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/56 "2020-03-09T18:30:40Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Keep in mind that he can only grant pardons “for offenses against the United States” (Article II, Section 2). Nothing stops any number of states from pressing their own charges - for example, “Conspiracy to Deprive Human Rights” of anybody he tried to remove from the country, not to mention all of the immigrants in the detention centers. True. But I think most of Trump’s biggest crimes have been federal. Tax evasion and all the laws he’s broken as President. A self-pardon should clear up around ninety percent of his legal liabilities. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/57 "2020-03-09T18:35:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > True. But I think most of Trump’s biggest crimes have been federal. Tax evasion and all the laws he’s broken as President. A self-pardon should clear up around ninety percent of his legal liabilities. Certainly there are enough state crimes to keep any lawyer dumb enough to work for him busy for quite some time. I’m not convinced that self-pardons would stand up in court, I’d love to see it challenged. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/58 "2020-03-09T21:04:37Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > To be able to sit in a gaudy New York apartment in his underwear and play critic of whomever replaces him is his dream. At the same time re-writing recent history about his time in office as some fantasy of how rosy everything was and how horrible it’s now going to be. A legend in his own mind. And his followers will be there at his feet blindly lapping up the loads of bullshit. Actually, since he’s no longer a citizen of New York, he imagines himself sitting in a suite at Mar-A-Lago in his underwear. But really, there’s no reason to take him out in handcuffs if he decides to stay in the White House. Just announce the day after the inauguration that a WH food service worker has COVID-19. All WH residents will be taken by special bus to a local military base for testing, quarantine and treatment as needed. If he leaves willingly, great. If he doesn’t just let him know that when he’s ready to leave, he should put a white flag in a specified window so that workers in hazmat suits can escort him out. President Sanders Biden will reside in temporary quarters. Before the announcement of the WH quarantine, all landline communications with the WH will be terminated. As soon as the announcement is made, cellphone jammers that surround the WH will be turned on. With supplies dwindling and all communication with the outside world stopped, I’d say that white flag will be adorning that window in 48 hours, max. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/59 "2020-03-09T21:06:31Z")
Every president prior to Trump has left office peacefully, and Trump will be no exception. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/60 "2020-03-09T21:34:19Z")
I can think of a few that didn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110.md?page=4)