# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/81 "2020-03-10T17:19:02Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Keep it handy the next time a fascist is elected president. Of course, the first 44 were not fascists so you might have a long wait. You missed the point. This comes up EVERYTIME a President runs for re-election. It happened when Obama ran for re-election … or are you saying Obama was a Fascist? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/82 "2020-03-10T17:20:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I would say the next President will leave peacefully and normally when his term of office is done. And I have said that Donald Trump will not leave peacefully and normally when his term of office is done if he loses the election and it’s a single term. > > I base both of these predictions on the historical record. All of the people who have held the office of President, with one exception, have recognized the dignity of the office and have behaved accordingly. And Trump has been the exception. How much of a bet are you willing to make on that prediction? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/83 "2020-03-10T17:42:08Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > You missed the point. This comes up EVERYTIME a President runs for re-election. It happened when Obama ran for re-election … or are you saying Obama was a Fascist? _You_ missed the point. This is the first time the President himself has floated the idea as have his acolytes. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/84 "2020-03-10T17:44:59Z")
If Trump wins a second term (shudder), the question may still stand in slightly altered form: \*\*Will Trump leave office peacefully and normally at the end of a second term? \*\* By then he’ll be 78, if his bad health habits haven’t killed him. On the other hand, autocratic types seem to live a long time; didn’t Mugabe hold on to power until he was 93? And who knows, maybe Ivanka will be president-elect (double shudder) so he won’t mind stepping aside. So, putting on my Captain Obvious hat for a moment, a lot could happen between now and 2024. But if he hangs on for another term and the new president-elect is not someone from his inner circle, we are apt to be asking about the nature of his departure four years from now. My prediction, if he loses: I think he’ll leave relatively peacefully although he’ll call somewhat vaguely for an uprising, and his supporters will talk darkly about a revolution in the streets. Nothing much will come of it, though, despite his increasingly outraged and incoherent tweet-storming. In other words, he’ll leave more or less peacefully, but not normally. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/85 "2020-03-10T19:27:07Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I have heard this allegation made during the reelection campaigns of Clinton, Bush, and Obama. It’s frankly ridiculous. > > A president who is not reelected does not have the choice to refuse to leave office. He just becomes a trespasser in the White House. His orders to anyone would be ignored as if I gave orders to government officials. If he orders the Army to attack Canada, that order is as meaningless as if I gave it. > > And as any other trespasser, he would be given the opportunity to walk off of the premises either voluntarily or in handcuffs. As a former president, he would be given more of an opportunity for the former before the latter was used. But he is leaving one way or the other. The problem is that troublesome interval between losing the election in November and the new President being sworn in in January. The loser is still the President and still able to give orders to the military as commander in chief. If he wants to, he can dig his heels in and cry “election fraud”. He might, as a consequence, declare a national emergency, necessitating a nullification of the election results and, just maybe, declare martial law. While the House would be in uproar, the Senate, with Mitch McConnell’s mouth full of Trump’s balls, would likely go along with him. While this sounds far-fetched, consider the shit-stain fucktard we are dealing with. I have a feeling, though, that the military would not cooperate in the end. He has pissed off too many of the generals he claimed to love so much. ---
**Author:** ![weizer2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbce88/32.png) [@weizer2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/weizer2)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/86 "2020-03-10T19:35:28Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > He will have to be carried out, kicking, screaming and grabbing onto the hand rails, like a whiny little bitch. Then, won’t shut up about it for the rest of his worthless life. Which, I hope, will be spent in courts fighting a litany of charges of corruption and other malfeasance. You just described Hillary to a T! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/87 "2020-03-10T19:42:48Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’d like to get ahead of the game. > > Will _ **insert next first-term President here** _ leave office peacefully when _ **opponent** _ wins? > Will _ **insert next first-term President here** _ cancel the next Presidential election? And I’d like to get a jump ahead in the game: Has any President before Trump done [this](https://nypost.com/2019/09/11/eight-more-years-trump-tweets-2024-meme/)? Or [this](https://people.com/politics/donald-trump-suggests-stay-president-forever-video-endorsing-2020-campaign/)? :eek: Note that in both cases Trump himself tweeted or retweeted this nonsense. It wasn’t attributed to him by opponents (as with Dubya) or thrown out into the ether by over-enthusiastic but unauthorized supporters, Trump adopted it as his own. And to get two jumps ahead to leapfrog the inevitable “Trump was joking” imagine the GOP/Fox (but I repeat myself) reaction if Obama had made the same joke as sitting President. :dubious: Not that he would’ve been stupid enough to make that joke, never mind multiple times. ---
**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 10, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/88 "2020-03-10T20:12:08Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > How much of a bet are you willing to make on that prediction? None. I don’t gamble. ---
**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 10, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/89 "2020-03-10T20:22:23Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > If Trump wins a second term (shudder), the question may still stand in slightly altered form: \*\*Will Trump leave office peacefully and normally at the end of a second term? \*\* I think he’ll leave peacefully if not normally after a second term. I would expect a lot of petulant bitterness. But I think he would have passed his peak by the end of a second term. If Trump gets re-elected in 2020, I predict he will spend a significant portion of his second term trying to change the law so he can run for a third term. And I think he will fail because he doesn’t have the skills to push something like that through on his own and he won’t get his usual support from other Republicans on that issue. So Trump will try to lay the groundwork for a third term and fail. And he will then retreat into angry conspiracy theories. Somebody else will become the Republican nominee and Trump will mutter that they’re “betraying” him. Trump will be as unhappy being replaced by a Republican as he would be is a Democrat replaces him. Trump doesn’t want anyone who isn’t himself to be President. Trump’s disapproval will probably split the party and undermine whoever the 2024 Republican candidate is. So the Democrats will probably win in 2024 in Trump gets his second term. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/90 "2020-03-10T20:52:46Z")
> [@weizer2](#): > > You just described Hillary to a T! In what universe? Is it the one where Spock has a beard? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/91 "2020-03-10T21:21:30Z")
Maybe he meant Sir Edmund Hilary. You know how he was always going about Everest this and Everest that. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/92 "2020-03-10T22:17:48Z")
Maybe “T” means troglodyte? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/93 "2020-03-10T23:11:24Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > …Statues will rise. Hymns will resonate… Urinals will flush… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/94 "2020-03-11T02:50:07Z")
Very few people agree with me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he committed suicide somewhere along the way. (No, I don’t want that to happen, especially because of Barron.) ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/95 "2020-03-11T03:36:36Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Urinals will flush… Back in the Nixonian era, I was gifted with a pad of elegant stickers. RICHARD M NIXON MEMORIAL TOILET I adorned public restrooms across the land. I felt empowered. Right. But this is a new age in need of new approaches. Sure, I could go with: DONALD J TRUMP OFFICIAL PISSPOT It just doesn’t have the right ring to it. We need some vivid slogans. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/96 "2020-03-11T14:37:13Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Back in the Nixonian era, I was gifted with a pad of elegant stickers. > RICHARD M NIXON > MEMORIAL TOILET > I adorned public restrooms across the land. I felt empowered. Right. > > But this is a new age in need of new approaches. Sure, I could go with: > DONALD J TRUMP > OFFICIAL PISSPOT > It just doesn’t have the right ring to it. We need some vivid slogans. How about: AMERICA’S NEW GLOBAL REPUTATION THANKS, TRUMP! ---
**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 11, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/97 "2020-03-11T16:17:00Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I assume he could include anything he wants. But the military are trained to not follow an illegal order. Remember a lot of Nazis tried to claim they were just following orders to kill Jews. Also remember that every Confederate soldier, from Robert E Lee down to Private Johnny Reb, was pardoned. Besides, as I like to joke: Why does the USA have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world 500 times over? Because 99.8% of the soldiers with “the keys” would probably ignore the order to launch. > [@RioRico](#): > > Why the orange terror will not leave the White House peacefully: Because he’ll spend the rest of his life in prison. One minute after Pres. Biden is inaugurated, agents of several states will step up with warrants. Let’s see, does he go to Sing-Sing or Folsom? Neither. San Quentin, in the heart of Deep Blue California. Literally about two miles away from where former Senator Boxer lived when she was in California. There’s a ferry that goes right by it every hour or so. > [@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. “Tax evasion”? Not revealing your taxes is not evidence of tax evasion. My guess as to why he didn’t reveal them is, he doesn’t want to reveal how much he claimed in capital losses each year. The last time I looked, you could carry over long-term capital losses past some limit ($3000?) from year to year. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/98 "2020-03-11T17:25:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > 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 From your own cite: > [@](#): > > The accounting office said similar pranks were reported in prior transitions, including the one from Mr. Bush’s father to Mr. Clinton in 1993. ‘‘We were unable to conclude,’’ it said, ‘‘whether the 2001 transition was worse than previous ones.’’ The GAO characterized it as “pranks” and said they were similar to past ones, including ones done by Bush Sr. staffers. So, it doesn’t really support the claim that the Clinton staffers did anything “out of spite.” Or that what was done was out of the ordinary. ---
**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 11, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/99 "2020-03-11T17:37:55Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > “Tax evasion”? Not revealing your taxes is not evidence of tax evasion. My guess as to why he didn’t reveal them is, he doesn’t want to reveal how much he claimed in capital losses each year. The last time I looked, you could carry over long-term capital losses past some limit ($3000?) from year to year. It’s not proof of tax evasion. (Which is the point of not revealing them. As long as they stay hidden, there’s no proof.) But the fact that somebody is refusing to reveal their tax information when it’s causing them inconvenience is evidence that revealing them would cause them greater inconvenience. Trump shows no sign of standing on principles. And he has no problem with making all kinds of personal things public. So the reasonable assumption is that if he’s keeping his tax information private, he’s doing it out of self-interest and the knowledge that revealing that information would cause him serious problems. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110/100 "2020-03-11T19:42:57Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Back in the Nixonian era, I was gifted with a pad of elegant stickers. > RICHARD M NIXON > MEMORIAL TOILET > I adorned public restrooms across the land. I felt empowered. Right. Reminds me of the graffiti that adorned the stalls during Nixon’s term: “Republicans: you can’t shit here…your asshole is in Washington.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-leave-office-peacefully-and-normally-if-he-loses-the-election/849110.md?page=6)