Staff Editorial
A peaceful transition of power is the bedrock of any democracy, and for over two hundred years no American president has ever attempted to remain in office after losing an election: until now. President Trump claims that he won the election and that President-elect Biden has benefited from millions of illegally cast ballots and widespread fraud. But to put it plainly, there is absolutely no proof to support this claim. The only supposed evidence that Trump points to is the fact that Biden’s vote total rapidly expanded in the days following November 3rd, overtaking the president’s initial lead. However, this occurred because, based on election data, Democrats voted disproportionately by mail. Those votes were counted later in states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Additionally, Rudy Guiliani, a Trump administration employee, claims Republicans were not able to oversee the counting of votes in places like Philadelphia, but this affirmation has also been debunked. Republican representatives were present in every vote counting facility throughout the country and states like Pennsylvania even livestreamed the counting process so that everyone could observe it.
So, Donald Trump’s refusal to concede is not about ensuring a legitimate election. Rather, it is a blatant effort to violate the will of the American people. And his allies in Congress who are spinelessly supporting his claims are threatening America’s most sacred values of democracy and integrity. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to acknowledge President-elect Biden’s victory, citing that “Any illegally-submitted ballots must not be counted.” This implies that there were illegal ballots cast. Representative Mike Johnson from Louisiana told the president to “Stay strong and keep fighting, sir!” And even our own senator from Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey, said that Americans needed assurance that the election was “conducted with integrity.”
Perhaps these men assume that Trump will eventually concede and that it is not necessary for them to risk the ire of his many supporters, but if there is one thing everyone knows about the current president it is that he is wildly unpredictable. If he has enough support around him, there is no telling what lengths he will go to in order to hold onto his power. In this sense, Republicans are playing with fire, risking a peaceful transition of power for a small personal gain.
And even if President Trump does eventually leave office, if Republican lawmakers continue to tacitly approve his claim that the election was “stolen,” nearly half of the country will lose faith in our democratic process. And without that faith there can be no democracy at all.