Election Post Mortem

When Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election—winning the popular vote but losing the electoral college—like most in the country, I was stunned by the results. This was partly because it was a shocking upset that defied the polls. But ultimately I never questioned the votes or legitimacy of the outcome. Unhappy as I might be by the election and the process, these were the system and rules by which our country elected its leaders and that we, as a nation, abided by.

So it is shocking the extent to which the current incumbent president has fought to delegitimize and overturn the 2020 results. This is despite the fact he lost the election by a resounding margin (more than 7 million votes), and ironically by the identical Electoral College count he won by in 2016 — 306 to 232 — a margin he described as a “landslide” at the time despite losing the popular vote.

But, perhaps, I shouldn’t be shocked. As the past four years (and even prior earlier) have proven, the sitting president has shown no shame, let alone any respect for democracy, or for American values or basic human decency. Nor does he understand the importance of public service and the peaceful transfer of power, let alone good sportsmanship and fair play. (After all, this is the same person who’s called people who have served in the military “suckers and losers,” genuinely not understanding why people may choose to serve their country — this, from a man who wished to serve as President!) Easily the most unfit and sociopathological person to have ever been elected to the White House in modern times, Donald J. Trump has shown throughout his career and life—starting with childhood—that he is a narcissist to the nth degree, who sees everything in purely transactional terms, interested only in how any decision will ultimately benefit and bring glory to himself, the rest of the country be damned.

If the stakes weren’t so high, he would be a laughable buffoon.

But what makes him dangerous and most troubling, is that, for some inexplicable reason, he has a base of rabid followers—perhaps as much as 40 to 45 percent of this country—who do not question even the most ridiculous and specious of his claims.

Trump, of course, is the basest of populists, explicitly pandering to only his base and never throughout his presidency did he ever try to broaden his appeal, let alone try to represent “all” Americans. I’m firmly convinced that the people who idolize him do so purely because if they were in his position and could similarly screw others and the system over and get away with it as he does, they would—and they admire him for it. It is the most selfish and greediest of motives, having nothing to do with values—American, Christian or otherwise.

I’m also firmly convinced that this election—where Trump still did better than expected—exposed the complete lack of knowledge or education in basic American civics or democracy. Authoritarianism thrives in exploiting the uninformed and ignorant with lies and fear, and they have found willing rubes in American society.

 

Art by Garry Trudeau

There is some comfort to be drawn from the fact that the 2020 election served as a stress test on America’s democratic institutions and they held — but barely. On the one hand, we can actually take some comfort in knowing that this was a bit of a stress test and our institutions and courts held against this assault on the democratic process (though many in the GOP were enablers). On the other, as many have note, if the election had been closer and Biden hadn’t won relatively overwhelmingly (more than 7 million now), it could have resulted in a battle that could have been truly destructive to the country and its democracy.

Nevertheless, it should be deeply concerning that Trump found success in casting doubt on the credibility of the election and made serious attempts to overturn the will of the people and negate votes, essentially an attempt at an authoritarian coup. I have no doubt that this presidency will go down as one of the worst—and perhaps one of the most chaotic—in the nation’s history. In the waning days of his presidency, Trump has only affirmed how unfitting he was for office. Uncaring and tired of the COVID-19 pandemic that probably cost him the presidency because of his incompetence, rather than take a “victory lap” he could have hogged credit for (and briefly tried to), he’s instead descended into self-pity and sulking over an election that he tried to steal and overturn, despite it being declared one of the most secure in history.

More from CNN: The Real Reason Trump is Failing to Overturn the Election:

This is not to overlook the damage done to democracy on Trump's watch. Among other things, Trump and his Republican enablers have normalized corruption and nepotism, degraded public discourse, invited foreign involvement in US elections, abused presidential pardons, deepened racial divides and politicized the bureaucracy in ways rarely seen in American history. Trump's refusal to concede after a clear loss is sweet music for autocrats across the globe and a stain on American's reputation.