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Of: TT
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Photo: Keith Birmingham / The Orange County Register via AP / TT
Supporters of outgoing United States President Donald Trump at a car rally in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day.
That Donald Trump persists until the end when he won the presidential election follows the pattern: He will never admit loss, according to Professor Dag Blanck.
Above all, the president forces his fellow party members to choose sides for the future, whether they are with him or against him.
On Saturday, in an hour-long phone conversation, Trump tried to pressure Georgia’s top election official, a Republican, to “find” as many votes as necessary for the outcome to be different.
It may have been the outgoing president’s last escape. Dag Blanck, professor of American studies at Uppsala University, points out that the US Constitution states that ultimately it is the states that formally elect their constituents. If they were to judge that the election was indeed corrupt, they could theoretically bypass the votes and make entirely different decisions.
– But the game is lost. The electors have already been appointed and the college voted. It’s a last-ditch attempt to make them change, Blanck says.
Continuous influence
Trump has been running a systematic campaign to question the outcome since Election Day and the phone call is just the latest example, says the Uppsala professor.
He sees at least two reasons why Donald Trump continues, despite several new calculations, he has been tried in court and insufficient evidence has been presented.
– One is that he continues to have a strong position within the Republican Party and will continue to play a political role even as a former president, Blanck says.
– Most former presidents retire, take a break, start writing their memoirs, give lectures, and start foundations. They do not get involved in current politics and refrain from reviewing their successors. Trump will not assume that role, he will remain very active. So this is one way to prepare the ground for an ongoing political role.
Public votes
In a final formal step, Congress is expected to approve the electorate and thus Joe Biden’s electoral victory on Wednesday. A group of Republican senators joined forces, sided with the president, and questioned the election results.
In practice, this will delay the formal process for several hours. In the long run, you can determine whether or not they have Trump’s blessing.
– There is a large group in the middle that does not dare to take a position and can be punished. If forced to vote, each member must cast a public vote. Those who say the election was conducted correctly will be punished by Trump, who will keep a close eye on who they are, says Dag Blanck.
“I don’t want to be a loser”
The second explanation, as Blanck sees it, is more personal.
– Losing is the worst in your world, being a “loser”. You cannot admit that you are a “loser”, it is not possible. It is a psychological interpretation of everything.
He also recalls that Trump claimed that the electoral system had been rigged against him for a long time, even before his own election victory in 2016.
It is not yet clear whether the pressure from Trump could have legal consequences. Professor Blanck points out that the president will become an ordinary private on January 20, which in any case increases the chances of legal proceedings.
It is the day that Joe Biden will be sworn in as Trump’s successor in the White House.
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