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“Congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden. I will pray for you and your success. Now is the time to heal deep wounds. Many count on you as a pioneer. “
Jeb Bush, Republican son of former President George HW Bush, wrote these lines on Twitter on Saturday afternoon Eastern Time, shortly after the US media declared Democrats Biden the winner of the presidential election.
It is an expression of the American tradition: there are fierce struggles in politics. But when the decision is made, the losing side extends a hand to the winner. And congratulate.
But the man who, according to this convention, should have picked up the phone this morning at the latest and called Biden, doesn’t even think about it. Donald Trump is on the golf course. One can assume that he is foaming with anger. In the morning he tweeted “I WON THIS CHOICE, BY DISTANCE”, in his usual capital letters. In a statement, he announced that he did not recognize Biden’s electoral victory.
Donald Trump on his return to the White House shortly after the US media announced Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.
Source: AFP
So far, every defeated American presidential candidate in recent history has shown inferiority. The “concession call” is the call from the loser to the winner, usually followed by a speech. Only then does the president-elect speak to his followers.
2020 could be the year Trump breaks this tradition. Biden has announced his speech for 8pm local time (2am CET, live on welt.de). The chances of Trump admitting defeat beforehand are nil. It may never recognize Biden as the rightful president. His strategy is a mixture of denial and attack.
Trump’s reaction is no surprise. Even in the run-up to the elections, he had repeatedly emphasized that he would only accept the election result if it was a winner.
He accused Democrats of widespread voter fraud, especially in Pennsylvania. Over and over again he claims, ironically, that he has to protect the integrity of the election and that the Democrats “steal” the outcome of the election. Several times he has refused to promise a peaceful transfer of power and sees himself as the rightful winner.
Trump’s campaign team has launched a series of legal attacks, not only in Pennsylvania, but also in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and Georgia. The goal: to force re-counts, to invalidate some of the mail-in ballots, most of which are votes for Biden.
On Monday, the president announced in his statement, his team will begin taking the case to court. Experts rate Trump’s lawsuits as bleak. Because there is no evidence of alleged electoral fraud.
The question already arises of what happens if Trump refuses to leave and just stays. In the president’s logic, that’s a real possibility. He would have to be removed from office under duress. The Secret Service would escort him out of the White House.
The danger is in the power of your words
Trump remains the president of the United States until January 20, but on the day of the next president’s inauguration, his power suddenly falls away. Then he is no longer the commander-in-chief of the American troops. From then on, his security guards followed someone else’s orders: Biden.
Joe Biden in portrait
It seems to work on the third try: the American media declares that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Where his political career began and what blows of fate Biden had to face in his life: a portrait.
Source: WELT / Thomas Laeber
So the will of the American people will be carried out, and Trump can’t change that either. The real danger is not in your actions. It is in the power of your words.
Because Trump supporters believe their president when he talks about electoral fraud. They believe him when he whispers that Biden is a puppet of the radical left. For traditional media they are inaccessible, because CNN, the “New York Times” and company are “fake news” in their eyes.
The police had to protect the polling stations
A look at the president’s fan pages gives insight into the thoughts of his followers. “The president is being ousted for fraud, and we just sit back and watch,” was one of the comments on a relevant Instagram page. “Sooner or later we have to get up and fight for our thing.”
Even before Election Day Tuesday, there was great concern that armed supporters would show up in front of polling stations. Many stores in cities like Philadelphia and Washington had their windows barricaded with plywood.
In Arizona, people gathered with firearms to demand that the counting of votes be stopped. The police had to protect the electoral college. It is true that there was no greater violence. But the incident shows that there are those who are willing to take up arms for Trump.
Now it will depend on how radically the president speaks and how the rest of the Republican Party behaves. If it is clear that elected representatives in Congress do not support Trump’s undemocratic behavior, the president is largely alone. So all that’s left for him is to give up, or plan his return for the next presidential election in 2024.
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