As foolish as this may sound, last week there were some far-right voices suggesting that Democratic officials would take steps to prevent Donald Trump from coming to power even if he won the election. It dovetailed with the related buzz about angry liberals and their Antifa allies responding to a Republican victory with violence and social unrest.
The GOP nominee made matters worse. After weeks of pushing baseless conspiracy theories about rogue Democrats planning to cheat in the election, the Republican claimed he was aware of actual voter fraud that existed only in his imagination, laying the groundwork for a future challenge.
Around noon on Election Day, Trump published an item on his social media platform that read: “There is a lot of talk about massive cheating in Philadelphia. Law enforcement is coming!!!”
As is usually the case, he was selling baseless nonsense. There was no cheating. Law enforcement was not on the way. Trump’s delusions weren’t real.
They weren’t necessary either. He won. There was no need to preemptively delegitimize the presidential race.
The morning after Election Day, Kamala Harris called Trump to concede the race and congratulate him on his victory. Hours later, as NBC News reported, the incumbent Democratic vice president delivered concession speeches at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, DC.
[S]he emphasized that Democrats had to accept the outcome of the election to preserve democracy. Harris admitted defeat on Wednesday. Trump never did that when he lost to Joe Biden and Harris in 2020. “Earlier today I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will assist him and his team in their transition and that we will achieve a peaceful transfer of power,” she said, to cheers from the crowd.
“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the outcome,” she added in a gracious speech. “And anyone who seeks public trust must respect that.”
Around the same time, President Joe Biden called Trump, not only to congratulate him, but also to invite him to the White House for a post-election meeting. The outgoing Democrat also assured his predecessor (and successor) that there would be a smooth and peaceful transfer of power.
Democratic congressional leaders also made statements praising the voters’ verdict. Sure, they were subdued in their comments, but they still reluctantly accepted the outcome.
Normally, none of this would be remarkable. During my career in journalism, I have covered, in one capacity or another, seven presidential campaigns, and I cannot recall ever being tempted to write a piece detailing these common and routine steps during a presidential transition process are described.
In fact, it seems almost foolish to applaud the Democrats for doing exactly what they were supposed to do, when they were supposed to do it, and how they were supposed to do it, taking the same steps that others in their position have taken for generations.
But the context is important.
The 2024 and 2020 presidential elections were almost mirror images of each other. In both elections, absentee challengers won by more than 300 electoral votes. In both contests, the winning candidates won (or appeared to be on their way to winning) the popular vote. In both matches, the winner captured almost all of the battleground states. In both contests, the winning candidates saw their party regain a majority in the Senate.
There is of course one big difference.
This year, Americans did not see Harris declare victory in the middle of the night based on mere wishful thinking. They didn’t see Democrats claiming before or after the race that the political system was “rigged.” They have no plans to use ‘fake voters’. There will be no fundraiser asking Democratic donors to contribute to an “Election Protection Fund” that doesn’t exist.
Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries will not attempt to ask the Supreme Court to reject electoral votes that Democrats don’t like. Biden will not pressure Harris to return the election to state lawmakers. Neither Democrat will summon armed far-left radicals to Washington DC, fill them with lies, demand that they “fight like crazy” and then deploy them to attack the US Capitol.
Instead, Biden, Harris and their party will continue to do what patriots do – what patriots have always done – which is the opposite of what Trump and the Republicans did four years ago, and what the Republican Party and its candidate were prepared to do again doing. this year.
My point is not to spout some lazy “Democrats are good, Republicans are bad” statement. Rather, my point is that it is worth recognizing that when it comes to democracy, the two parties play by very different rules.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
