According to President-elect Joe Biden, President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede was “embarrassing and would reflect poorly on his legacy.” Indeed, a leader is measured and remembered by his or her last act in office. And Trump, since he lost the election on November 3, has manifested a strange behavior that makes him look like a sore loser. And as the days went by, he demonstrated a character on the brink of insecurity and insanity. Insecure, because of his refusal to face an uncertain future when he leaves office and the possibility of being dragged to court and a multitude of criminal and civil cases. Insanity, because he couldn’t see himself being the subject of ridicule. It would drive him crazy.
Just before the election, Trump told reporters, “Winning is easy. Losing is never easy – not for me.” Now that he is more than six million votes behind Biden in the yet-to-be-finished electoral count –74 million to Biden’s 80 million votes –Trump is still fighting the vote-counting, saying that he would leave the White House on January 20 if the Electoral College declares Biden the winner of the election. However, he indicated that he was not prepared to concede defeat. But he insisted that if Biden won the election, the Electoral College made a mistake. “It’s going to be a very hard thing to concede.”
A day later, Trump tweeted implying he wouldn’t leave the White House or let President-elect Biden “enter” unless Biden can prove that his ridiculous “80,000,000 votes” were not fraudulently or illegally obtained.
Should it come to this, Biden’s only recourse would be to direct the military to remove Trump from the White House after Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
“I promise you,” he told reporters, “I’m absolutely convinced they [the military] will escort him from the White House with great dispatch.”
Changing of the guard
By that time Trump will no longer have the authority of the President of the United States. And for the first time in the past four years, Trump will revert back to civilian life without the perks that go with the office. And if he chooses to attend Biden’s inauguration, President Joe and First Lady Jill Biden will escort ex-President Donald and former First Lady Melania Trump from the White House to the waiting Marine One helicopter. They would then board Marine One on their way to Andrews Air Force Base to board a charter plane to bring them home to Mar-A-Lago, Florida. Thus, would end the tumultuous Trump presidency.
The question is: Would Trump attend Biden’s inauguration? Speculation is ripe that Trump would not attend the inauguration. Imagine the jeers and boos that would happen once they made their entrance. Trump would be humiliated. And what is he going to do, walk back or stand erect and suffer the indignity?
And this brings to mind why people showed their disdain and hatred for Trump. Was it his bluntness in dealing with the nation’s problems? Was it his way of dealing with world leaders, which appeared to be too harsh and only widened the division between the U.S. and its allies? Was it his cruel treatment of the poor and disadvantaged Americans? Was it his inability to stop the pandemic, which questions his leadership? Or was it his calling U.S. servicemen who lost their lives in war “losers” and “suckers”? Or was it his mocking attitude in treating people with disabilities? Or was it his misogynistic treatment of women? Or was it his narcissistic and egocentric character? Or was it all of the above?
Indeed, never in the history of the U.S. has there been a president as hated as Trump. Biden’s 80 million voters says it all. But on the other hand, Trump garnered 74 million votes, which makes one wonder, what has driven his supporters to worship him as a cult leader. But one has to remember that for three and a half years of his presidency wasn’t that bad at all. Actually, Trump has promoted his tenure to be the best in presidential history. He claims that he presided over an economic boom, which he had repeatedly mentioned at every turn in his “I’m the greatest president ever,” moments, so much so that Americans believe it as the gospel truth. Which reminds me of Hitler’s propaganda minister who said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” And like Goebbels, Trump has kept repeating his own “Big Lie” over and over again until he convinced 74 million Americans that he brought prosperity to their lives during Trump’s presidency.
But the truth of the matter is it was his predecessor Barack Obama who got the U.S. out of the Great Recession under former president George W. Bush. The Trump presidency was merely an extension of the Obama economic revival. What the people didn’t realize was that it was Trump who dragged the economy to where it is today: on the brink of another depression, which could be worse than the 1929 Great Depression.
Stimulus packages
The question is: Could Trump have prevented the plummeting of the economy during the pandemic? The answer is “Yes.” The Trump administration passed three stimulus packages, the last one being $2.2 trillion, for a total of more than $3 trillion over three separate stimulus bills. But when the Democrats passed another $3 trillion under the CARES Act, the Republican-controlled Senate balked and didn’t act on the bill.
Honestly, the CARES Act would have made a big difference since most of the previous stimulus bills were enacted to help businesses stay afloat. However, it didn’t help the American people much other than a one-time $1,200 paid to individuals, which didn’t help much.
Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled Senate had stalled another relief bill calling it too costly. And as Americans wait for the politicians to stop haggling over the relief bill, they’re running out of funds to feed their families and pay their mortgages. And the lame duck Trump presidency isn’t doing anything to alleviate the suffering of the American people.
When Trump leaves the White House at noon on January 20, the American people will have a sigh of relief, knowing that their long suffering would soon come to an end.
And as the presidency is passed to president-elect Joe Biden, Trump’s legacy of a string of bad decisions, mismanagement, and recklessness would linger in the people’s mind. Never again will they make the mistake of electing someone who wasn’t fit for the job because of lack of leadership, compassion, and common sense.