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YOUR PARANOID QUESTIONS
All Your Most Paranoid Transfer of Power Questions, Answered
What happens if Donald Trump refuses to accept the results of the election?
Can Donald Trump continue as president even if he loses the election in November? Trump’s refusal to say that he would accept the results of the election during an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News comes as the president continues to fearmonger about the use of vote by mail in the 2020 election and raise questions about its legitimacy.
This rhetoric is not new from Trump. He falsely claimed in 2016 that Ted Cruz “stole” the Iowa caucuses and refused to commit in advance to accepting the result of the general election against Hillary Clinton. Now that he’s in the White House, can Trump thwart the will of the American electorate if he loses in November? Let’s look at what’s actually possible — and what isn’t.
Can Trump do anything if it’s a Biden landslide?
No. In this case, only the most outlandish scenarios would be available to a president seeking to stay in office. Peter Feaver, a professor at Duke University who served on George W. Bush’s National Security Council, said Trump “would have to persuade many, many people who are currently in government, most of whom are civil servants, they have to go along” with any effort. Further, the constitutional process of transfer of power does not require any “pomp and circumstance”; if Trump loses, he is no longer president as of noon on January 20, 2021, regardless of where he remains physically. Even if he bunkers down in the White House and tweets orders at government officials, he will lack any legal power.
What if it’s a close election?
The constitutional procedures don’t change if it’s a close election, but there are more opportunities to weaponize them for political advantage. Even though Election Day is November 3, the presidential…
