The Day After

President Donald Trump is using up a tremendous amount of fuel flying around on Air Force One lately. With no one to challenge him seriously in the Republican primaries, Mr. Trump is holding one campaign rally after another. The president is laying down the framework of his intentions to remain in office should he lose in the November election. At just about every rally, the president continues to talk about himself being in office well past a second term. With an acquittal following an impeachment trial(sham)in the rear view mirror, Mr. Trump is giving the voters and the world a glimpse of how an individual who shuns other systems of governments(except dictatorships), how to wield power. Trump has completely gone outside the “norms” of governing from past presidents to where the office that he holds in some ways seems to be that of a king, not a president. Kings reign for life, which is what Trump would like to do as president. He has said it many times, perhaps worded differently at various campaign events, but the message is loud/clear, the president wants to hang around after a second term. However, he has to be reelected first. That may/may not pose a sticky situation if things do not go the way as planned heading to November.

Suppose, just suppose Trump ends up losing. What could possibly happen the day after the election? Will the president show some grace and accept the results of the election? Will he go before the cameras and tell his supporters to rally behind the new president? Will he congratulate whomever the Democratic winner will be in the traditional phone call? Hope he doesn’t ask for a favor. Or will the seeds have been planted deep enough to take root where the president will have a sizable chunk of the electorate to mount a challenge to the results? If the election is anywhere in the ballpark of being close, not indisputable, but about 5% difference, look for the president to demand a recount/challenge even though a 5% difference usually means a win. Nevertheless, this is Donald Trump we’re talking about, not Al Gore. Gore lost the 2000 election way less than 5%, as it literally was “too close to call”. The Supreme Court had to settle the issue. Perhaps that is after everything else fails to change the results after countless investigations/challenges, Trump may look to the Court to somehow throw out the entire election. If may sound farfetched for some, but we have seen the president go out on a limb before to get what he wants if it means saving himself.

There are mechanisms in place for a peaceful transfer of power between the outgoing president and his successor. The Constitution stipulates that at noon January 20, the new president is sworn in, and the former executive cedes his power. WE know that the current Chief Executive wants to stay, as we should ask ourselves what would President Trump do in the remaining time before Inaugural Day. No one knows. We are still seeing just what the president has done/will do to those who simply followed the laws of the Constitution, or those who tried to get him to listen to sound advice. What if the president “gets desperate”, knowing that his time is short? What about the legal problems that he will probably face? Questions, but no answers. We are still in uncharted waters. The movie “The Day After Tomorrow” had a happy ending. We can only hope that the day after the election will also lead to a happy conclusion for the nation. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.