[ad_1]
Was over? Is it finally over now that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has agreed that preparations are under way for the handover of office to Joe Biden? The answer is: No, it is far from over.
No one expected Trump to present himself as a decent and worthy loser. This is not only because he is little beyond decency and dignity, it is mostly because his damaged worldview does not allow him, Trump, to lose. Therefore, their complaints were predictable. Yet hardly anyone expected Trump to turn out to be a sore loser. That he is willing to shake the very foundations of American democracy in the course of his departure by creating the myth that the elections have been postponed and that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.
Trump added his approval of initiating the transfer to Biden that he would continue to try to change the outcome of the election. You almost certainly know by now that these efforts have no prospect of success. Some of his team’s claims are sharply dismissed by state courts. The stories do not change the results. The authorities subordinate to him assure that the election was safe. So what is this all about? Is Trump really only interested in his fragile ego? Are you organizing this circus just so you can tell yourself that you really are the winner? That would be the best read, devastating as it is.
Trump always managed to do a Houdini
Trump has often found himself in seemingly desperate situations over the course of his career as an entrepreneur. Debts piled up, lawsuits piled up, and he had to file for bankruptcy multiple times. But he always managed, as they say in American, to make a Houdini. In other words: like escapist Harry Houdini, he managed to break free.
The end of his presidency could once again be one of those seemingly hopeless situations. Legal difficulties threaten Trump. In particular, the efforts of the Manhattan Attorney’s Office to inspect his tax records could be dangerous to him. The question of whether he was guilty of obstruction of justice remains in the room, while special investigator Robert Mueller investigated the extent to which his campaign team worked with Russia in 2016. At the time, Mueller had refrained from serving the allegation, with the express reference to the immunity of the president. This expires on January 20. Trump is then a citizen like everyone else.
It is quite possible that he is currently scattering in the hopes of striking some kind of deal, or, as he would put it: a deal. If, after all the noise, you finally go and give yourself some peace: Couldn’t it be that your legal troubles weren’t quietly pursued? Didn’t Richard Nixon go unmolested after his presidency, even though there were good grounds for prosecution? It’s unclear who he should make that deal with, and the Manhattan prosecutor, in particular, is not suspicious of the games. But since you know how Trump thinks, that could be his calculation.
The United States remains a fragile entity
That is one thing. The other is that Trump is about to create the legend of leaving the White House even though he did not lose the election; if you like, he remained undefeated on the field. It’s hard to imagine what consequences this could have. Polls suggest that more than half of Republicans believe Trump’s election was stolen, and the other half at least have doubts about the legitimacy of the vote. This lays the foundation for undermining democracy.
That doesn’t mean the system will collapse anytime soon, but it does mean it’s at risk. Rarely in its history has the United States been so fragile, and the president attacks potential breaking points. Upon his departure, Trump presents himself once again as a force for disintegration. In his final days in office, he claimed that he was not only the worst president in American history, but also the most dangerous.
However, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic. The fact that the courts oppose Trump’s unfounded demands, that the election results are certified and that the handover to Biden begins shows that the system is being maintained. So far it has passed its greatest test of endurance with flying colors. That didn’t always seem safe, and it’s the best news in a long time.
