Trump’s claim of fraud is the most corrupt of the election so far – count the votes

OPINION: The declaration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in the early hours of Wednesday (local time) that the elections were being stolen and his demand for intervention by the Supreme Court were, like many of his outbursts, irresponsible, but all the more here because they continue their abominable campaign to undermine the faith of Americans in the electoral process.

Trump yelled “fraud” because several swing states were still counting votes cast legally before the polls closed. Those votes must be counted within the parameters of established law, not the president’s imagination. That should be obvious to reasonable minds, even among those who support the president.

In fact, the issue of the reliability of the electoral process could be more important in this cycle than the final result of the contest. This nation has survived bad presidencies, and up to four more years of Trump could widen the painful divisions in our polarized society, the nation cannot tolerate such a blatant attack on the foundations of our democratic system.

Here’s what the president said after ticking off a list of states where he was leading with undercounts, which doesn’t mean much without knowing the context in which those votes were counted:

READ MORE:
* US Elections Live: Election still undecided as Trump unfoundedly alleges election fraud by Biden’s leadership in key states
* A battle for the threadbare soul of the United States.
* US Elections 2020: Trump Says He Will Fight Supreme Court Elections

“This is a fraud against the American public. It is an embarrassment to our country. We were preparing to win this election, frankly we won this election. We won this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity of the good of this nation, This is a great time. This is a great fraud in our nation. We want the law to be used in the proper way.

“So we’re going to the United States Supreme Court. We want the voting to stop. We don’t want them to find ballots at 4 in the morning and add them to the list. Okay? It’s a very sad situation, it’s a Very sad moment. For me, this is a very sad moment, and we will win it, and as far as I am concerned, we already won it. “

Yes, it is a very sad moment. The President of the United States of America deliberately tried to subvert public faith in the electoral process. And it’s sad because that tactic was no surprise. The president has been grooming his supporters to believe that if he loses, it could only be fraud. Remember, you claimed fraud four years ago, in a race you had won.

We hope the president’s ploy here is just a momentary bump in the cycle. It was encouraging to see some prominent Republicans, such as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, speak out against Trump’s absurd claims. But it’s disheartening that Republicans with more significant influence – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for example, who won reelection in Kentucky – have not publicly told the president to back off.

But then McConnell led the Senate Republican Party’s collective shrug of Trump’s efforts to get the Ukrainian government to interfere in the election, so by staying silent he is living up to the reputation he had already built.

Despite Trump’s demands, vote counting continues Wednesday in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (and even in states that Trump seemed to have lost, like Arizona and Nevada). How it will play out remains uncertain, but the path to an affirmed victory looks better for Democrat Joe Biden right now than it does for Trump.

Which, of course, the president could read in the letters dealt Tuesday night, which is why he went on the attack. If you think you are losing the game, attack the game itself.

However, if choosing a president is a game, it is one with the highest possible stakes. And at this point in our history, following the rules is more important than the results they produce.

– Los Angeles Times