Trump Breaks with Presidential Tradition
By: Mary Anna Mancuso
Tags: Presidential History, President Trump, Election 2020, Election 2020 Results, American History

Doug Mills / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

Formal presidential concession speeches were not always a thing, and date back to the election of 1896, when Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan. Until that time, presidents who lost their reelection left the White House quietly. When William Jennings Bryan learned, his loss was certain, he sent a telegram to McKinley congratulating him, “We have submitted the issue to the American people and their will is law.” Ever since, the public concession by a president has played a key role in the peaceful transfer of power. Even after the most divisive elections — from the Civil War to Bush v. Gore — the American people’s vote has been respected and democracy upheld.

Until now.

With each passing day that Trump refuses to accept the election outcome, America is finding itself in uncharted waters. There has never been a president in American history that has refused to concede after losing their election. And with less than 50 days to go until Biden’s inauguration questions are swirling around, what happens if Trump doesn’t formally concede?

Under the 20th Amendment, a president’s term expires at noon on January 20th. While formal concessions have been precedent since 1896, there are no legal ramifications should Trump refuse to concede. It is also important to note Trump’s refusal to concede does not leave the 2020 election up in the air in perpetuity.

Since the election, Trump has tweeting incessantly about the election being rigged, deployed his legal team to file spurious lawsuits, and lined his pockets with donations from supporters under the guise of contesting the election. And he is showing now signs of slowing down in his attempts to overturn the election and undermine democracy.

By Trump withholding a concession speech and declining to acknowledge Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, he is breaking with tradition and refusing closure for his supporters, the Republican party, and those who need it most, the American people.

Trump knows what he is doing, and he is holding American democracy hostage by playing these games at the detriment of our electoral system. The election was not stolen, rigged, or in any way fraudulent. Instead, the election was free, fair, and without foreign interference.

During a pandemic, America executed the most secure presidential election in our nation’s history, and while, the outcome was not what Trump and his supporters had hoped, the least he could do to make America great on his way out is observe presidential norms and concede. But that would require Trump to put his country above everything else, including himself.

At this moment, Trump has the opportunity to decide how history will remember him. Will he join ranks with other one-term presidents, or will he be remembered as the one who broke with tradition and refused to concede? It remains to be seen how Trump will proceed as his days in the White House dwindle. Soon American democracy will untangle itself from Trump’s grip and move forward (with or without his concession speech) turning the page to a new chapter with a new president.