We need to prepare for the possibility of Trump rejecting election results..

[pbmus]

Since 2017, so many events in U.S. politics that were previously unthinkable have come to pass. Don’t believe me? A few days ago, the president of the United States baselessly accused a cable television host of murder and it barely made a blip in the news cycle. The shocking has become unsurprising — almost routine — under Donald Trump’s unhinged presidency.

We don’t know whether Trump will be reelected. But, as we head toward November, you have to ask yourself: If he loses, would it be more surprising if Trump graciously accepts defeat and congratulates his opponent or if he claimed to be the victim of a rigged election and a “deep state” plot?

The answer seems clear.

I’ve studied genuinely rigged elections across the globe. The tactics, context and strategies vary enormously from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe. But one trait they have in common is this: The winner doesn’t claim they were rigged.

Not so with Trump. In 2016, when he narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote by a historic margin, he claimed that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally. That is a lie. But it raised an obvious question: If Trump claimed that an election he won was rigged, what will he do with an election he loses?

Already, he has insinuated that Democratic victories are the result of rigged elections. It’s part of a deliberate strategy to discredit the legitimacy of his political opponents, but it also endangers the peaceful transfer of power, which is a cornerstone of democratic government.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/14/we-need-prepare-possibility-trump-rejecting-election-results/

[sop]

1. Possibility? He said as much in 2016. Would only accept the results if he won.

[Mike Nelson]

2. I think...

... his supporters and Republicans in Congress will agree with him, also.

[Doodley]

3. Possibility? Probability.

[PoliticAverse]

4. No we don't since we can simply ignore it.

(I realize they might be hard for the some here that appear to hang on his every tweet).

[FM123]

5. Good article.

The part that stood out and was the most disturbing was:

But with Trump, it’s dangerous. For years, Trump has pumped out a Twitter stream of endless victimhood complexes, bogus accusations against a mythical “deep state” lurking in the shadows and the mainstreaming of lunatic conspiracy theories. Those messages are aimed at a group of people that is also disproportionately armed.

[sarisataka]

11. Every time his armed supporters appear

They are derided as overweight, uneducated cowards.

How would such a motley group suddenly become effective enough to reverse the results of the election and keep him in office?

[Baked Potato]

17. I really don't buy the "disproportionately armed" argument in the article.

First, if you add in the firearms owned by “Independents”, Republicans don’t enjoy any kind of absolute dominance in firepower. Second, one would have to assume people would be willing to die for Trump. I don’t think many will sacrifice for Trump.

[sarisataka]

6. So he rejects the results...

Where in the Constitution or other law does it state the sitting President has a the smallest role in approving the election results?

Accept it or not, if he loses he is no longer President next January 20.

[jberryhill]

16. Yep

[stopdiggin]

18. Thanks.

the idea that the rest of the government (Supreme Court, Congress, States, Military) will fall in line in overriding an election .. is fanciful. Well, actually .. delusional.

[struggle4progress]

24. +

[JenniferJuniper]

7. Trump and all that he represents has

ushered in the very real possibility of civil war.

Let's face it; the last one never really ended. Whether Lincoln could have ended it, we'll never know. But it's still smoldering.

I don't know what form the violence will take, but at some point - perhaps not in my lifetime, but at some point - the Northeast and the West Coast may have to break away and forge something with Canada. Enough is enough.

[redstatebluegirl]

10. A few years ago I a thread on DU stating that I thought another civil war was possible.

Very few agreed with me, in fact a few called me an idiot for even thinking that way. I doubt they feel that way now.

[C_U_L8R]

8. It's not up to him.

We all know he's going to go kicking and screaming in denial.
The Biden team should be prepared to evict.

[Bleacher Creature]

9. If Biden wins the election, he will be sworn in on 1/20/21.

Trump can rant all he wants to, but at that point he won't be President. I'd be worried if I thought the military or secret service would support him, but they (at least their leadership) are probably as eager to see him go as we are.

Trump frightens me in so many ways, but this isn't one of them.

[Girard442]

14. Would be good to keep a weather eye out for Trumpies trying to recruit serious allies.

Unlikely, but good to be cautious.

[Bleacher Creature]

25. I absolutely, 100% agree. +1000

I honestly think he's too incompetent to execute any real takeover strategy, but I would NEVER put anything past him.

[Heartstrings]

12. Bill Maher has asked this question repeatedly.

“What if he simply won’t leave the WH?” Whose “job” is it to remove him?

[Girard442]

13. The Secret Service. The Capitol Police. U.S. Marshalls.

[stopdiggin]

19. they'd be turning away volunteers

great story line for a movie .. Secret Service melts away during the night ... Rats scuttling. Dawn breaks on an echoing West Wing ...
--- -- -- ---

[PoliticAverse]

22. Entertainers be playing to their audience. n/t

[Hoyt]

15. Not concerned about that. He'll whine and stomp, but he'll go.

[BadGimp]

20. I'm willing to bet right now that is exactly what he does.

The real question is what he does next and then what the GOP in the US Senate and the Federal Courts including SCOTUS do as a result.

My bet = $100.00 USD

[bigtree]

21. tough

[procon]

23. How would that work? All presidential power and

Authority automatically transfers to the new president on inauguration.

We can certainly look forward to Trump having an epic meltdown of historic proportions. He will rage, threaten, intimidate, curse and demand all kinds of special treatment. He'll call upon his minions to honk their horns, wave there metallic penises, and protest with the best misspelled signs they can make. He will brag and boast and declare that he has any number of unconstitutional powers, which will settle him firmly as a fascist dictator... If he still had a country to dominate.

Once Biden is sworn in, the locks are changed, the name on the mailbox is new, and all his stuff is arranged in the bedroom closet. After that Trump is a trespasser in the WH, an illegal squatter. There's no doubt that Wh police will politely, but firmly, help Trump to find suitable public transportation to his next gig.