Trump’s Attempt To Steal the Election Is Dangerous

By making accusations of election fraud, Donald Trump is risking street riots and undermining American democracy. Poor America!

Donald Trump stepped onto the White House stage to the sound of “Hail to the Chief” at 2:20 a.m. But despite the location and the circumstances, it was a polarizing candidate who spoke, not a president.

In his usual fashion, the Republican president began by complaining about the media. This time, his discontent was directed at the decision by Fox News to declare Democratic candidate Joe Biden the winner in Arizona.

He was not concerned about principles, however, as Trump quickly announced that he was the winner in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, despite the fact that those states were still counting votes.

This led Trump to conclude that he had won the election, and he could not celebrate the victory because of an attempt to commit “fraud on the American public.” This is the point where Trump promised to immediately stop any further vote counting.

After four years with Trump, it is easy to become numb. The president has already gone beyond so many boundaries, broken so many taboos, displaced so many norms. During the election campaign alone, he demanded that the U.S. Justice Department prosecute Joe Biden, advised the violent right-wing extremist group Proud Boys to “Stand back, and stand by,” and refused to say whether he would accept a potential election defeat.

But American society and the world cannot forsake its ability to respond. Trump’s election night speech is perhaps the most dangerous speech in America in modern history. At its very core, his speech is a threat to the democratic system.

The sign of working democracies is not that people get to vote, but that changes in power can happen in a peaceful and orderly way. For more than 100 years, American elections have in practice been settled when the loser concedes. For example, Al Gore abandoned the lengthy battle with George W. Bush in 2000 for the good of the nation and avoided undermining the legitimacy of the presidency.

It is hard to imagine such a civilized ending to the battle this time, even if there is an historic regulatory framework for removing reluctant losers from the White House.

Even if Biden is eventually declared the winner, many Republicans will not recognize him as the president. Trump has already declared that anything other than a victory for him would be fraudulent. The polarization will only get worse.

The question is also about what will happen during the lengthy vote count and the many legal procedures that await. Despite fears to the contrary, Election Day turned out to be a peaceful and democratic display. But with his remarks, Trump, who himself has refused to renounce white supremacy groups, put violent forces in motion.

The prestigious International Crisis Group warned that the election would be an acid test for U.S. democratic institutions. Unfortunately, the outcome of that test is still uncertain.

The sun is setting on Trump’s America.