The results of the 2020 election shouldn't be doubted. It is indisputable that Joe Biden is the President-elect. To humor Trump's complaining would set a dangerous precedent. Questioning legitimate election results is not what happens in stable countries. Rather, it is what happens in third world countries where dictatorships masquerade as democracies.
It would be one thing if there were credible irregularities and evidence of fraud. But put simply, the facts do not support this.
The core of President Trump’s argument of voter fraud appears to be concerned with the flipping of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin during the night of Election Day. The President and his supporters have repeatedly called into question the legitimacy of so-called “ballot dumps” that were largely in favor of Biden.
The truth of the matter is that this should not have been a surprise to anyone. The legislatures of those states had passed laws that prevented mail-in and early votes from being counted until after in-person Election Day votes had been finished. Taking in this and the fact that the President spent the past nine months literally telling his supporters not to vote by mail and casting doubt on the whole mail-in process, America should not be surprised that once the mail-in votes were counted, they were predominantly for Biden.
However, that has not stopped the Trump campaign in its baseless accusations. A popular example seen across social media was the alleged report that there were more votes in a county than registered voters. This claim immediately spread across those who were touting election fraud. But what was the truth? It was a simple clerical error. The error was quickly caught and corrected a few minutes later.
Another “claim” that has been floated around is that there were no Republican observers in the poll centers during the counting. Once again, this is a baseless accusation with no center in reality. In addition to local officials saying their systems work, international observers have called this the most secure election in history.
In terms of evidence, this is largely what the Trump campaign has to show. However, that has not stopped its lawyers from filing numerous lawsuits in these states. Confusingly, the goal of the lawsuits varies depending on the states they were filed in. In Arizona, where it was claimed that Trump could potentially flip it back to his column, the lawsuit called for the ballots to be counted manually. But in Georgia, where Trump was initially ahead, the lawsuit called to cease the count.
And so far, these suits have fallen flat on all of their faces. Judges have taken one look at these cases and thrown them out in record time. The reason? Plain and simple lack of evidence on the part of the Trump campaign.
And it seems that its lawyers are finally backing down. However, it is not of their own conscience or good will. Rather, judges have reminded them that they can be disbarred for lying in court. But, in any case, the Trump campaign is withdrawing some of its lawsuits.
But despite the mountain of evidence, Trump has not officially conceded. And worse yet, high-ranking Republicans such as senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have vaguely supported the lawsuits. Additionally, the Trump administration, at the time of writing, has all but ignored any outreach for a peaceful transition for President-elect Biden.
Trump’s inability to accept the results of what all evidence points to being a free and fair election is dangerous to this country. Casting doubt on our electoral institutions is irresponsible and a terrible precedent to set, something he is currently doing, as no other candidate in history has refused to concede in a situation such as this.
If there were actual irregularities and evidence of fraud, then Trump would be justified. But as of now, he is simply a man desperately trying to hold on to power by damaging the trust America has in its electoral process. And to quote the president himself, “What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.” And with how he’s reacting to this current twist of fate, he is certainly not a winner.