View RSS Feed

Memories of the 28th Century

Non-Concession

Rate this Entry
I don’t understand why some people are upset that Trump has not conceded defeat in the presidential election. A concession in an election is simply a polite way of showing that one is a mature adult, and we have known for decades that Trump is a mature adult. A concession speech doesn’t even mean that one has lost, only that one has decent manners. Rather than giving examples of why we shouldn’t expect such manners from Trump, we should just remember how he has acted in the past.

On the other hand, the election for president has not yet been held, so there has been no defeat for Trump to concede. The votes will be cast on December 14. After that, the results from each state will be sent to the National Archives by December 23, and they will be presented in a joint session of Congress on January 6. Many of the electors were chosen on November 3, but those elections are not final; that is, the states have not certified the results, and in some states the will be recounts. The preliminary totals are such that it is possible that some may go to Trump.

By coincidence, I just ran into a piece by the Associated Press explaining why the press state their guesses as to who won. There isn’t much to the article, but some people might find it interesting. It’s mostly that the papers want to get a scoop, so they call the election far before it even happens.
https://apnews.com/article/why-does-...48ea74b1c2f4dc

Earlier today, I saw an excerpt from The Art of the Deal, in which Trump describes how to avoid losing when he loses; he doesn’t admit the loss and claims that the winner cheated, and he never admits defeat. That may be effective in some circumstances, but on the national political scene it makes no sense, because everything is judged by others.

I don't know whether Trump is feeling sorry for himself or trying to find a way to win, but his lawyers seem to be a bit more rational. One in Pennsylvania admitted that there were no signs of fraud. I don't know how others are acting, but that sort of attitude may be contagious.

Since the Trump side has taken that step, and Pompeo even cracked a joke about the second Trump term, people who oppose Trump should lighten up and let him play his game until the actual election day arrives and the electors cast their votes. In the future, it would be nice, if the newsies avoided saying that someone won an election at least until the election takes place.

Comments