Electional Law Doesn't Care
"I guess we'll have to wait for November 8th to see if Trump decides to wipe his a&& with the Constitution!" exclaimed a fiery Stephen Colbert recently after Trump's promise to keep the country in suspense over whether he'd accept the results of the election. (Don't worry, he absolutely will*).
*assuming he wins.
Don't worry, though, there's no need for a concession speech by either candidate, legally. The Founders had a sneaking suspicion we'd get a few sore losers along the way, and made it not a problem.
Knowing what you now know about the actual laws, consider the campaign we've witnessed. Think about Trump and Clinton's respective fan bases and consider what they will feel about the results of the election. We can safely assume Clinton will win, so what do you think happens if Trump doesn't cede the election? What will his supporters do? Will we still have a country? Who showed me how to use the italics feature??
Why do bad things happen to good people?!
If Trump loses in a fair election (there is no substantiated evidence that the election will be "rigged"), he will not be able to win a legal challenge, but he can still try to convince his most loyal supporters that the election was stolen. Some Trump supporters will likely believe this, as some seem to believe all of what he says despite the majority of it being untrue. There could be protests. I hope no violence occurs, but anything is possible in this election. The majority of his supporters will likely accept the results, as they do not believe everything that he says, but just like his populist theme. If Clinton somehow loses, I think her supporters will be terrified. Trump's statements and policy positions indicate that he is perhaps the most authoritarian candidate to ever seek the presidency. His positions are so extreme and his statements so absurd that the thought of him in office terrifies most Americans. I cannot even imagine what would happen if he actually won, but I predict that there would be widespread protests and riots in cities. Race relations would get even worse.
ReplyDeleteIf Clinton wins as expected, there will likely be strong Republican opposition to her agenda unless Democrats win majorities in both houses. It will probably be similar to Obama's time in office, but I have read that some analysts think it will be easier for her to work with Congress than Obama. I truly hope more moderate GOP leaders find a way to force out Trumpists in their party so his disturbing ideology does not become the norm.
This article reminded me of a very scary tweet that came up under the little lightning bolt the other day. I honestly forget the name of the person who tweeted it, and I tried to search it, but didn't have any luck. I believe he was a former congressman?? Anyway, the tweet went as follows: "On November 8th, I am voting for Trump. On November 9th, if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my shotgun. Who's with me?"
ReplyDeleteSo what will Trump's supporters do in the event that he loses? Potentially, they will do just that. And that is absolutly terrifying. A fair amount of Trump's supporters are known for being less educated, as well as being supporters of there not being any restriction at all on gun purchasing, so if we factor those two things together, and keep in mind the angry rhetoric Trump supporters already use, it would seem that there will be at least some kind of trouble, although, of course, I hope not. Hopefully, after calling the election "rigged", Trump will just stop, as maybe that would calm his supporters. However, if Trump has a huge, negative reaction, will his supporters match that in their reactions? I don't know. What I do know is that this election has been taxing enough already, and we really don't need more violence, angry rhetoric, and threats to come out of it in the aftermath.
If Hillary wins this election I can guarantee she will rarely be able to fulfill her duties as President because she will be receiving constant backlash from Congress and from citizens. People thought Obama had a tough time getting things done because of Congress, but we have not seen the worst of it. Right when Clinton is elected, and even before she becomes our official President, I bet a huge amount of money that people will already be trying to impeach her. Many voters don’t feel comfortable with her email scandal and do not want Bill back in the White House. Conservatives from all walks of life will use all their efforts to kick her out as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Trump supporters, this will be yet another barrier Hillary, and the United States as a whole, must address. When I say “Trump supporters” in this context I don’t mean your average Republican who is just voting for his party or a person who believes Trump is the lesser of two evils. I’m talking about the supporters who display his signs, believe everything he says, wants Hillary in prison, and yearn for a wall. These people are a new strain of Republican that will cause issues in the party and will make Hillary’s term hell. If they don’t reform or relax after the election I think very little will get done and both Hillary and average Republicans will be frustrated.
I'm not so sure that if Trump were to lose, that a call to violence or such extreme measures would be his response. While I can easily see Trump stirring a fuss and making a few rowdy comments to refute Clinton's legitimacy, I don't see the advantage, short or long term for Trump to consider anything more extreme. As fitting as it would be for someone who has shown no problem making radical claims this campaign, going on afterwards to directly incite violence or block political action would only draw negative attention towards Trump, and could easily turn into a legal affair, which could have very costly results to Trump.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the same thing cannot be said for all of Trump's supporters. While I believe that most would settle down (unwillingly, but peacefully), I do worry about the more extreme branch of his supporters. The sorts of actions that these people might be willing to take could potentially destabilize political activity and threaten many people, which is exactly something that we don't need in an already unstable social landscape.
I agree with Macus. Trump would probably make a big deal about losing, but no one would really care. When Hillary wins, Trump's supporters will be upset and will spew those sentiments all over social media and tell everyone that it was "rigged". But just saying something doesn't make it true as we have learned time and time again this election season. I fear that some of the extremists might take physical action out of spite and anger, but overall I am not really concerned by the election at this point. Clinton will win, Trump will throw a hissy fit, his supporters will say it's rigged, and then we will move on (and hopefully get a new Supreme Court Justice!) by the end of 2016.
ReplyDeleteI believe Donald Trump will lose the presidential election (knocks on wooden table), and I've actually thought quite a bit. In my prediction, what will ensue is the expected temper tantrum of a 70 year old man who has to stop playing politician and return to the pitiful life of a billionaire.
ReplyDeleteThen, broadcast live for the world to see on the news, a Dean Martin-style Roast will begin as Trump picks on Hillary, her husband, her supporters, Republicans that didn't support him, the corrupt media, and of course Rosie O'Donnell, the spawn of all evil.
Though he tried to hold back the tears, the orange mascara is slowly dripping down his face. Then, from the top of Trump towers with three thousand gallons of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, Trump would go to Twitter in an attempt to rally up his supporters before eating himself into a "chunky monkey" comma.
Unless this latest email controversy changes anything, it seems that Hillary Clinton will win. How is Donald Trump going to take this? I'm sure he will log onto Twitter, bash Hillary, the government, and whoever else he is in the mood to. While he may rally some of his most loyal supporters, over time he will become just another voice in the crowd, if the media stops giving him so much attention. I don't think he would call for any violent actions, as it wouldn't make sense for any foreseeable benefits. Yet again though, that is Donald Trumps bread and butter.
ReplyDeleteAssuming Hillary wins, I think Trump will eventually accept his defeat. However, he will try his hardest to get her impeached by bringing up whatever he can such as the emails and FBI investigation. Imagine Trump back in 2008 asking for Obama's birth certificate but 100x worse. That is what it will be like after he loses.
ReplyDeleteHis supporters will be very upset as well and will probably riot or hold rallies against Hillary, but it should die down within the month. On the other hand, I don't think the Republican party will ever truly recover from this, and there may be a spilt between the Trump supporters and the non-Trump supports.
After Trump loses the election, I don't think he'll be that relevant (in politics). He will probably try to get some last minute attention and remain relevant for as long as he can, but eventually people will get tired of him and forget about him. Trump will most likely say controversial things on social media about Hillary and the general way the election played out, to which Hillary probably won't respond. At the start some of his supporters wil stay with him, but eventually his political presence will fade away and people will try to pretend like this never happened.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope riots won't ensue if Trump loses, but I can't imagine people are going to sit idly by. Some people feel very passionate about Trump, and Trump himself is very passionate about beating Hillary. He won't, however, be able to do anything about it, so he will likely take to Twitter and whine and complain about how it must've been rigged or that there must be a recount. As much as I wish this could just be a peaceful transition, I know many people (and Trump) will sling insults at whoever wins on Twitter and other social media. But, there really isn't much he can actually do, and as Anurag said, he will hopefully just fade into the background as America gets on with its metaphorical life. I just hope nobody riots when the election results come out, regardless of who wins.
ReplyDeleteNothing. Nothing will happen. If Hillary wins and Trump doesn't want to accept the results, phooey on him. I'm sure there will be plenty of higher ups from both parties telling him to accept everything and move on. If he goes to social media to release another string of childish complaints and insults, it really won't be surprising or earth shattering. There will undoubtedly be an extreme group that hangs on with him to the very end but the rest of his supporters will move on even if they aren't pleased.
ReplyDeleteBefore this election, I'd say that whether Trump ceded or not, his more extreme supporters would be very likely to take action in not so positive ways. Assuming Trump lost, of course. Since he won, however, I have had time to debate what the effects of this are on us as a nation, vs if Clinton had won. No matter who won, there would be a majority of this country disappointed in the results. However, with Trump winning, there's a lot more fear among citizens (see: crashing Canadian Immigration Website). I feel like this election as a whole has torn our country at it's already frayed seams, though. No offense to the bipartisan system, but it doesn't leave much room for compromise at this point. I'm worried, to say the least, to see where exactly this country will go socially after this. Trump has been compared to many historical villians, such as Putin and Hitler. Seeing this man become our next President, I have to wonder if this will increase the amount of hatred our nation has, with the excuse of "oh, it's just locker room talk!"
ReplyDeleteI fear for what children and adults will do, full of disriminatory remarks against women and minorities. What acts will they commit, what things will they say, followed by the words, "Well, our president is doing it, why can't we?"
Previously, I would've assumed Trump would've ceded the election regardless. However, if he didn't cede the election, nothing would've happened. Hillary Clinton would've won. The votes would've been recounted most likely, but she would've won. However, I cannot say his followers would've supported Hillary. Considering the backlash I have witnessed from what I thought to be the more level-headed of the bases (I cannot deny that I have been a part of that backlash), I can safely say that an even bigger backlash would've occurred from the Trump people. The anger would've been unbelievable, and the "Hillary for Prison" chants would've been deafening. However, since this didn't happen, we can discuss the political discourse that is happening currently. It is insane how much has been posted for #notmypresident and how many people are protesting. I can only hope our country becomes unified, but under such a disgusting man, I cannot see that happening fully. I believe, however, that most of us will be able to unify and move past this and wait for the next election to vote him out of office (just as I suspect Trump supporters would be anticipating).
ReplyDeleteIf Trump had lost the election and decided to dispute the results, he wouldn't have been able to have any tangible effect on the process. He definitely could have instigated further cultural tensions between his followers and those of Clinton, but at that point he couldn't have done anything to meaningfully protest the results. With that said, the scenario we're presented with is quite different. With Trump slated to be the 45th president of the United States, Hillary has been the one who's had to more gracefully accept the result. However, it's the American public that isn't necessarily ready yet. Beyond people just angry (and rightfully so) with the outcome, I've seen some question if the electoral college electors should vote against Trump in the states he carried. While Clinton won the popular vote, I believe doing this and going against the electoral college's normal outcome would create a dangerous divide in our nation, and set an unhealthy and irresponsible precedent for future elections if groups were unhappy with the result.
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