On Sunday, President Donald Trump almost conceded that Joe Biden is President-elect when he tweeted “He won.”
Trouble is, he followed those two words with more accusations that the election was rigged.
That the final tally of Electoral College votes is 306-232, the same distribution that Mr. Trump won over Hillary Clinton in 2016 and which he dubbed “a landslide,” would appear to leave the president no out. Of the dozens of lawsuits he has filed to dispute the results, all have served only to affirm the election was officiated fair and square.
Biden is on track to win the popular vote by almost 6 million.
Even so, the president continues to say his chance at a second term has been “stolen” from him.
Republican leaders owe it to the American public to call out the president’s accusations for what they are — an assault on our democracy. Instead they let the lies fester and incite violence.
A pro-Trump rally on Saturday in Washington, D.C. featured various extremist factions eager to fan the flames of corruption, including the Proud Boys, a self-styled militia group, the far-right Three Percenters, and the anti-government Oath Keepers.
On his way for another day of golfing, Mr. Trump’s ride passed by the crowds, estimated at 5,000 — not 1 million as purported by Trump staff — who indulged him with chants of “Stop the steal.”
This is more than theater. If a swath of our electorate truly believes Mr. Trump was robbed of re-election, then every presidential election forthwith will be cast in doubt.
NO PRESIDENT in U.S. history has taken so long to concede an election he has obviously lost.
Most, in fact, use their concession speeches to mend fences often wrought during a contentious election.
In his 2008 concession speech, the late Sen. John McCain hushed boos from the crowd as he congratulated Barack Obama “on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.”
“The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly,” McCain said. “I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will, and earnest effort to find ways to come together.”
Mr. Trump could go a long way in healing the rifts that divide this nation if he took a page out of McCain’s book and chose to exhibit some strength of character.
But if it’s not in his DNA, we’ll take what we can get.
— Susan Lynn
