What Happens if Trump loses and Refuses to Concede? (1 Viewer)

[Saintamaniac]

VP Biden has been making the case and voicing his opinion that his biggest fear is Trump trying to steal the election or losing and refusing to concede. Corey Booker just the other day stated the same and went so far as to say:

"I would sooner die. And I mean that very seriously, I would sooner die than to see my nation's constitutional tradition of peaceful transfers of power to be vacated by a demagogue who won't humble himself,"

Biden's biggest fear: 'This president is going to try to steal this election'

Trump's Democratic rival spoke in an interview on "The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah.

www.nbcnews.com

What do you think would happen?

 

[Kiln]

lol this thread is stupid

 

[Saintamaniac]

lol this thread is stupid

Then why did you respond? If you don't have any constructive contribution, simply ignore it and move on. If you find it so stupid, it's kinda stupid to join in, no?

 

[FullMonte]

Here's the question I've always had....

What happens if a candidate concedes the election, but then when the votes are finally counted, it turns out that candidate won. I would assume that regardless of concession, the result of the vote is what matters.

 

[Richard]

Addressing the scenario, I can see a situation where Trump challenges the results in states where the totals are close, but only if the election would swing his way if those states went to him. Trump has always been very litigious, so I would think that he would try to have the results of swing states reversed. However, if it wouldn’t change the ultimate result of the election and he still wouldn’t have enough electoral college votes, he would reluctantly accept his fate. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t leave without questioning the validity of the results no matter how large his defeat.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Trump will never admit he lost. He'll be on Russian TV, in jail, wherever talking about how things were rigged against him and he should be declared the winner.

 

[brandon]

I’ve been banging this drum for years.

You left off an option: Trump refuses to concede and Republicans in Congress, the Supreme Court, and the military actively support him.

 

[JRad]

I’m not convinced he’d get away with it, if he even had it in him to try. While I do believe you’re going to hear about a fixed election, I’m not sure he has enough interest to do anything beyond go through the motions of resisting.

Despite his current support, I don’t think that stays strong enough for any real resistance.

What does concern me is a small part (I want to emphasize small part here) of his base wouldn’t hesitate to act out

The transition, whenever it comes, is going to be awful though. He’s not the person you want to be handed off a project from.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

Trump will never admit he lost. He'll be on Russian TV, in jail, wherever talking about how things were rigged against him and he should be declared the winner.

And far too many people will believe 100% of it.

 

[Kiln]

Then why did you respond? If you don't have any constructive contribution, simply ignore it and move on. If you find it so stupid, it's kinda stupid to join in, no?

its to stupid to add anything constructive. I cared just enough to call it what it is, stupid. I also thought it was stupid when the other side said the same thing about Barry, stupid.

 

[Maxp]

its to stupid to add anything constructive. I cared just enough to call it what it is, stupid. I also thought it was stupid when the other side said the same thing about Barry, stupid.

I don't know, Trump already claimed his 2016 victory was illegitimate.

 

[Incumbent]

Something to keep an eye on are the fights over mail-in voting amid COVID-19 fears. In Texas, this has led the state supreme court to render a decision that has been described as a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to mail-in voting qualifications. Voters are supposed to meet a hardship requirement to qualify. A concern is that some people will vote by mail, fearing risk of infection, something that then could become contested post-election, and serve as grounds for litigation. It could also potentially expose voters to charges of fraud, asserting a misrepresentation of circumstances to secure a mail-in ballot that didn't fit the narrow list of requirements.

Here's some background.

Editorial: How did ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ become rule for Texans requesting mail-in ballots?

The confusion won’t end in the debate over letting more Texans vote by mail during the...

www.houstonchronicle.com

 

[superchuck500]

Anti-Obama people used to engage in fantasy about Obama refusing to leave or instituting martial law to avoid the ending of his term. I thought those hypotheticals were pretty silly - and I think the same about similar questions about Trump.

I think its possible that Trump may attempt legal challenges if he were to lose the election, but I think the matter would be resolved by the Supreme Court prior to January 20, the constitutional date at which the presidential term ends. If Trump loses that legal challenge, the new president will be sworn in and Trump will no longer have the constitutional legal authority to act as president and commander-in-chief.

So Trump, or any sitting president for that matter, doesn't really get to control whether they remain president. They could try to physically remain in the White House but that doesn't really do much apart from raising an issue with a trespasser in the White House. And he could attempt some kind of constitutional coup with loyalists, but I think, at the end of the day, few will meaningful ability to carry out such a coup would actually agree to it.

 

[insidejob]

And he could attempt some kind of constitutional coup with loyalists, but I think, at the end of the day, few will meaningful ability to carry out such a coup would actually agree to it.

IDK, the Klan and hosts of White Nationalist groups that have come out of the shadows since his election are probably foaming at the mouth to militarize themselves and defend their Dear Leader because they'll have been convinced the election was rigged. He'll start ramping up that rhetoric just like he did last time as the election gets much closer.

Regardless, this will not be a peaceful transfer of power, IMO (among the citizens). His base will probably take to the streets on election night if he loses - and they'll probably be armed too. Combine that with scores of people who take to the streets to celebrate his ouster, and things could get ugly - fast. Add police in riot gear to the mix and I don't even want to think about how ugly it could end up being.

 

[FullMonte]

I personally think the bigger concern than what Trump will do (re: not leaving) is whether or not the administration will make a good faith effort to aid the incoming administration.

We've all heard the stories of the manuals that the Obama administration officials wrote and supplied to their replacements (that were apparently never even opened). WIll the Trump officials make the same effort?

 

[Saintamaniac]

Anti-Obama people used to engage in fantasy about Obama refusing to leave or instituting martial law to avoid the ending of his term. I thought those hypotheticals were pretty silly - and I think the same about similar questions about Trump.

There are several differences between what was being said about Obama about what has been demonstrated by Trump. Trump has more than demonstrated that there is very little that he won't do to save himself. Trump is guilty of everything that the Anti-Obama crowd ever accused him Obama of being. Trump has already been named an unindicted conspirator in an actual crime. This wasn't true of Obama. Trump has attempted to use the military against peaceful demonstrators. Obama never did that. Trump has shown clear tendencies for a total disregard for the rule of law. Obama never did that. Trump has been rebuked by former military leaders and intelligence officers. That has never happened to Obama.

Every baseless conspiracy theory that the Anti-Obama crowd came up with was simply pipe dream. Trump is a desperate man who faces the real prospect of prison if he does not win reelection and there is nothing he won't do or nothing he is not capable of doing to save himself. So respectfully, I reject the comparisons to the Anti-Obama crowd and disagree that this question is silly. Trump's actions show that there is a real concern with how the outcome of this election will play out.

 

[JimEverett]

Anti-Obama people used to engage in fantasy about Obama refusing to leave or instituting martial law to avoid the ending of his term. I thought those hypotheticals were pretty silly - and I think the same about similar questions about Trump.

I think its possible that Trump may attempt legal challenges if he were to lose the election, but I think the matter would be resolved by the Supreme Court prior to January 20, the constitutional date at which the presidential term ends. If Trump loses that legal challenge, the new president will be sworn in and Trump will no longer have the constitutional legal authority to act as president and commander-in-chief.

So Trump, or any sitting president for that matter, doesn't really get to control whether they remain president. They could try to physically remain in the White House but that doesn't really do much apart from raising an issue with a trespasser in the White House. And he could attempt some kind of constitutional coup with loyalists, but I think, at the end of the day, few will meaningful ability to carry out such a coup would actually agree to it.

Yeah - and there is no indication that he would even be willing to fight the judiciary on the issue. The Trump Administration has lost several high profile court cases, to my knowledge they have followed the law as ultimately interpreted.
If anything, I am more concerned about the response if Trump ends up winning.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

I personally think the bigger concern than what Trump will do (re: not leaving) is whether or not the administration will make a good faith effort to aid the incoming administration.

We've all heard the stories of the manuals that the Obama administration officials wrote and supplied to their replacements (that were apparently never even opened). WIll the Trump officials make the same effort?

To make it as simple of an answer as possible... no.