Trump trying to lie, cheat and steal his way to election win
It has long been evident that Donald Trump has concluded that if the upcoming election is honest, he is going to lose. That is why he has sought a number of means to perpetuate his reign through sleight of hand. He floated the ridiculous notion of postponing the election. He sought to disable the Postal Service by appointing an unqualified stooge to head the organization. He has asserted that the only way he is going to lose is if the election is rigged, seeking to cement in the minds of his supporters a lack of confidence in the balloting process. He has complained without evidence that mail-in voting, which is availed of mainly by Democrats, is rife with fraud. The administration has gone to court to stop states from enacting measures which would make it easier for ballots to be cast. He demands a result on Election Night, knowing that with more time to count mail-in ballots, Joe Biden’s numbers will surely increase.
Now, Trump frighteningly refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses, uttering his oft-used, stupid expression, “We’ll have to see what happens”. Of course he will not commit to a peaceful transfer of power which has distinguished our nation from dictatorships over its two and a half centuries of existence. Can anyone envision Trump calling Joe Biden to concede, congratulating him on a great victory, and pledging to work with him on behalf of the American people? Can anyone envision him attending Biden’s inauguration as Barack Obama attended his? He would sooner die than be branded a loser.
With a potential loss in mind, Trump is pushing for the installation of an arch-consevative Supreme Court Justice with record speed, someone who will almost certainly be approved by the narrowest of margins: a vote of 51-49 in our split nation. He has in mind that this individual will be in place by November 3rd: able to hand him the presidency if a dispute over who the winner is should reach the Court as we saw in its partisan 5-4 decision in the Bush versus Gore case of 2000.
In 2016, Trump suggested that there would be riots if he did not win, doing nothing to discourage such a result. I expect him to suggest the same this year. Trump has expressed contempt for those who have infiltrated peaceful protests to riot, burn, and loot, but he will surely welcome with open arms those who riot in his name.
Voting is more critical this year than it has ever been. It will be harder for Trump to try to cling to power if a significant margin of victory is provided to Joe Biden, though he will no doubt try. It helps to have a corrupt sycophant Attorney General heading the “Justice” Department.
The survival of our democracy is on the ballot this year. If it is to be preserved, a Joe Biden victory and a president who refuses to concede or leave the White House must trigger the result which such a system demands: Trump must be removed from the White House by federal marshals. Let us hope that he does not stoop to making this unseemly spectacle necessary, but there is every reason to believe that he will.
Oren Spiegler
Peters Township