Donald Trump Vs. Joe Biden: WILL Trump LEAVE?! | Expose
Expose dives into the new political reality we face with a President refusing to concede against his opponent and fight on. In this video of Expose, with the election results called for President-Elect Joseph Biden in the battle of President Donald J. Trump Vs. Joe Biden Election 2020, I answer if he will leave the White House, effectively, conceding and using American political history as examples, or if he will fight and how he can stay in power using the machinations of Trump's 2020 campaign. Armed with Sidney Powell (formerly), and Rudy Giuliani, as well as Jenna Ellis, this has been one crazy historic event day after day in the electoral challenges to Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas and so many recounts your head will spin. Even hardcore Trump supporters like former advisor Kellyanne Conway have now parted ways, does Trump stand a chance or will he leave?
Inside The Machinations Of Trump
“Power doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt power.” – William Gaddis
America has stood as a beacon of the world early on since its inception in 1776. At the time of its founding, the idea of democracy and a government was still a relatively new idea and countries throughout the world still had monarchies with significant sway over their people they were charged to govern. Today the bedrock of America has stood strong with its commitment to a peaceful transfer of power, and America’s institutions. Our institutions are only as strong as the bulwark of the people charged to defend and uphold them. Now that our the 2020 Presidential Election has more or less been decided as Joseph Biden has had enough states certifying his victory and President Donald Trump has had his many days in court with everything so far being thrown out, we must ask the question, will Donald Trump leave? And what can the past tell us of those in office refusing to do so? What are the levers to protect against a President becoming a mad king? In this video we are going to answer those questions by first exploring America’s examples of anything close, talking of Trump’s norm abiding, and finally, looking into if he continues to resist followed by my final thoughts.
Chapter 1: America’s Only Examples
When we, in America, look at leadership and power in politics we believe we are exceptions to all the rules, yeah, coups happen in other countries like Sri Lanka and South Africa but not here. We tell ourselves it can’t happen here, and although no President yet has refused to concede and turn over the keys to the executive branch to the next newly minted President, that doesn’t mean other lower offices haven’t tried to disobey the will of the voters. Barbara McQuade, former U.S District Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan wrote earlier this year on three explicit examples. The first being in 1874 by Governor Edmund J. Davis the incumbent who lost to Richard Coke. The margin of victory by the Democratic challenger twice that of Governor Davis in 1873. Governor Davis claimed that the election was tainted with fraud and intimidation. It went as far as to the state supreme court who had all been installed by Governor Davis. They subsequently ruled the election unconstitutional and invalid. The Democrats urged the public to balk this decision and proceeded with Coke’s inauguration. On that day, Coke arrived with a squad of sheriffs. Davis locked himself downstairs in the basement with a group of state troopers. He reached out to President Ulysses S. Grant for federal officers to assist him, to which the President refused and three days later, Davis stepped down.
Another example shared by McQuade is in Georgia in 1946. The governor-elect of that election cycle died unexpectedly. A standoff of who should assume power occurred. Between the governor-elect’s son, the lieutenant governor-elect, and the outgoing governor. The state assembly voted to appoint the position to the deceased governor-elect’s son. The outgoing governor refused and for a moment in time both the outgoing governor and the governor-elect’s son were both occupying the governor’s office, until the governor-elect’s son had the locks changed, forcing the outgoing governor to relent. Ultimately, the state supreme court declared the position to be charged and executed by the lieutenant governor. Evidently, it appears nepotism did not prevail.
Finally, McQuade shares Franklin D. Roosevelt’s refusal to yield the presidency after two terms, having ran for a third and even a fourth term. George Washington had set the norm that a President should only serve two terms and until this point everyone before FDR had exercised this norm, but FDR did not. It wasn’t until 1951 that the 22nd amendment was enacted that barred a President from serving more than two terms. It was enacted due to the growing threat of a permanent executive a.k.a. something akin to a king.[i] What threads do all these stories share? A thread of a refusal to norms and practices. There appears to be a lot of gray area in believing morally, people will accept norms and practices on good faith, but these real examples of American history show that in order to make a norm something followed, you have to plan for an unscrupulous actor, you have to make it a law, just as the 22nd Amendment did.
Chapter 2: Will Trump Abide By The Norms?
President Donald Trump has been anything but an average typical President in every facet of his tenure. And I could make – as thousands already have – a whole video exploring his nature, hell, maybe I will in the future, make sure to subscribe. However, whether you love him or hate him we can admit that his persona is very unique to the White House. President Trump has had multiple challenges in court regarding this election, but many of these cases have been thrown out and dismissed. Sam Norman of Fox News reported the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out the election observers challenge.[ii] Thomas Barrabi also of Fox News reported on another Pennsylvania court case being thrown out trying to dismiss absentee voters with missing information.[iii] And there have been countless others not just from conservative sources. It appears now however, Trump will abide by the norms and leave office as he is considering running again in 2024 according to rumors reported by NPR’s Tamara Keith.[iv] Additionally, according to The Guardian’s reporting during a press briefing the President was asked if he will leave. Here is that video in full.[v]
Expose will always put the facts first whether they suit the narrative or not so that you are fully informed and I have to be that information warden to let everyone know that President Donald J. Trump’s insistent hypothesis that this election was full of fraud and illegal voting to this day has not been proven with any evidence and is opinion based, anecdotal, and false based on all evidence available. Former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Industry Director Chrisopher Krebs stated “ICYMI: On allegations that election systems were manipulated, 59 election security experts all agree, ‘in every case of which we are aware, these claims either have been unsubstantiated or are technically incoherent.’ #Protect2020”[vi]
Former Director Krebs job was to ensure that this election was secure just as a final thought.
Chapter 3: Pulling a 360
What if at the midnight hour or within the next month and a half President Donald Trump pulls an about face and reneges on his promise to leave office if the electors choose President-elect Joseph Biden on December 14th may be a question you are asking. Well according to the U.S Constitution’s 20th Amendment Section 1 it states the following:
The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.[vii]
So in the event that the electors do choose President-elect Joseph Biden on the 14th of December, which by all accounts looks to be extremely likely, whether he likes it or not he won’t have any power at noon on January 20th. This is one example where there is no gray. It is cut and dry. His power evaporates. He could theoretically order anything and any form of protection to him that day, but after noon he loses all power. And personally, I don’t see Trump as the type to lock himself in the basement. A basement? That is a shithole, when he has literal palaces to return to.
Conclusion: Final Thoughts?
In conclusion today we explored how important norms are to be codified in law and a review of how our institutions are only as strong as we believe and accept them to be. We provided three examples in American history that highlighted how they can be eroded by people. We then looked at Trump’s options and what could happen if he tried to go the route of the three examples. Remember, if you want to make your voice heard whether you’re conservative or liberal, you need to speak up. You need to be involved and you can’t expect your elected officials will have your best interest if you’re not showing them you will vote them out if they don’t listen to you and aren’t getting involved. Stay informed and stay involved.
[i] McQuade, Barbara. “What Would Happen If Trump Refused to Leave Office?”. The Atlantic. February 22, 2020. Accessed December 4, 2020.
[ii] Norman, Sam. “Trump campaign loses Pennsylvania Supreme Court challenge to Philadelphia election observers” Fox News Corporation. November 17, 2020. Accessed December 4, 2020.
[iii] Barrabi, Thomas. “PA Supreme Court rejects Trump challenge to absentee ballots in Allegheny County”. Fox News Corporation. November 17, 2020. Accessed December 4, 2020.
[iv] Keith, Tamara. “President Trump Seriously Considering 2024 Run As He Continues False 2020 Claims” NPR. December 2, 2020. Accessed December 4, 2020.
[v] The Guardian YouTube. “Trump says he will leave White House before attacking reporters for asking him questions”. The Guardian. November 26, 2020. Accessed December 4, 2020.
[vi] Krebs, Chris. “Tweet”. November 17, 2020. Accessed December 5, 2020
[vii] U.S Constitution 20th Amendment. “20th Amendment; Section 1” Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933. Accessed December 4, 2020.
Expose dives into the political uncertainty of this election, even with results clear, we face a new dichtomy and I explore what are the President’s options at this stage in the game with the facts and sources here for you to read or watch the video above!
