Donald Trump will be president only for another two weeks. He lost the election in November and Joe Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 as his successor. But even in his last days, Trump continues to display astonishing insolence, testing the resilience of American democracy and attempting to damage Biden’s presidency before it even gets started.
Last Saturday, the loser of the presidential election called Georgia’s secretary of state. He pressured him to change the November ballot box results in his favor, thereby once again tarnishing the reputation of the U.S. as a former beacon of democracy.
Two runoff Senate elections were held in that same state on Jan. 5; elections which largely determine how much political leeway Biden will have. If the Democrats win both seats, Biden will be able to bend the Senate to his will. If not, Republicans can block legislation for now.*
Trump’s phone call is just as shocking as the fact that Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor, proposed declaring a state of emergency to force new elections. All living former U.S. defense secretaries signed an op-ed column calling on U.S. Armed Forces to refrain from interfering in the election dispute, and underscoring the fact that the time to question the results is over.
Trump’s behavior is unprecedented, but it is consistent. He questioned the fairness of the election even before it took place. He did so while the votes were tallied. He continued to do so after the election by pressuring governors and challenging his loss in 60 court cases. And he has done so again now, the day before Congress is scheduled to certify the November ballot box results on Jan. 6.
It’s easy to dismiss Trump’s phone call as the last throes of a sore loser who is going to be playing golf in two weeks anyway. He not only lost the election, but also the lawsuits. In addition, Georgia’s secretary of state stood his ground undaunted. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The problem is not just Trump.
A few dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives, at least a dozen Republican senators and Vice President Mike Pence insist that there was election fraud and that the coming weeks should be used for further investigation. They will use Congress’ ceremonial process to fuel the lie that Biden stole the election.
While Trump and his cronies cannot stop Biden, it is a major handicap for the incoming president if a portion of the electorate believes that he did not win the election fairly. Last month, 40% of voters said they believe the election was not fair. Biden will have to answer to that mistrust. Republicans will have to determine who they want to be after Trump leaves: a lawful conservative party, or a Trumpian movement that gradually continues to destroy American democracy and which steers clear of any political compromise.
*Editor’s note: Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock won the election in Georgia on Jan. 5.
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