On Monday night, I tuned in the news to hear details of President-Elect Biden’s economic recovery plan. Given the announcement of Moderna’s apparently effective virus vaccine, Monday was a day to celebrate. Moderna’s vaccine, added to the previously announced one from Pfizer, is a light at the end of the tunnel. With a strong economic recovery plan, this country might have a solid 2021.
Instead of details on the Biden plan, news outlets offered only more election news. Isn’t the 2020 election supposed to be over?
I still expect the new administration to get off to a strong start in addressing the crisis, but based on what I saw on TV Monday evening, caution is required. All I heard about on Monday night was more outrage over President Trump’s failure to concede, conflicting allegations relating to the pending Georgia recount of votes, and forceful condemnation of Trump for delaying the transition. I also learned that the Wisconsin recount alone is estimated to cost $7.9 million and that millions of dollars are being spent in the two Georgia special elections scheduled for January 5.
Donald Trump is single-handedly undermining the Presidential transition. Will this result in hundreds of thousands of more people dying? Only time will tell. Is it responsible for President Trump to take the risk that it won’t? No.
What I am seeing is wasted time. The country is in a serious crisis—one getting worse every day. Cities are reimposing shutdowns. Schools are closing. More small businesses are realizing that they won’t survive another six months. Emergency room mental health admissions are spiking.
Is President Trump wrong to refuse to concede the election? Call me a radical, congenital Trump hater, but yes. Look at the current electoral vote count. Look at the popular vote. Then ask yourself whether you expect the election results as currently called by major networks, including Fox, to be reversed by having hundreds of thousands of votes thrown out.
It is depressing that the Biden transition cannot proceed with the full cooperation of the outgoing administration. Given that the nation is in a battle for its future, it is disgusting—or treasonous—for the outgoing administration not to give their full cooperation and support to making sure that the war on the coronavirus can be fought without an artificial handicap.
And what about that rally in Washington, D.C., intended to demonstrate that huge parts of the electorate still believe Trump won? Reports suggest the crowds were well below the million attendees advertised by the Trump campaign and apparently confirmed by the long-nosed White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
Why can’t the Trump base just admit their guy lost and start thinking about what might be best for the country? Come to think of it, many have. How many of those 72 million Trump voters do you think still believe Trump won? Enquiring minds want to know. The Washington Post reported last week that 8 in 10 Trump voters believe Biden’s win to be illegitimate. Really? My guess is that the real number is closer to 10 percent of them. The Trump voters may be unhappy that Trump lost, but given the evidence, most of them must be coming around.
I wish I could get my mind off of the fact that precious time—time that should be spent on a Manhattan Project-like effort to address the pandemic—is being wasted talking about an election that is clearly over.
What should I do? If I lived, at least for the time being, in Washington, D.C., and owned a golf course in nearby Virginia, perhaps I would pack up my clubs and play a few rounds. That is what Trump has done. Trump, however, is president and I’m not. Does Trump’s recent behavior sound to you like a president who has come to terms with reality? Or who, confident that he won the election, is devoting his full time and energy to preventing more infections and deaths from the virus? No. I didn’t think so.
President Trump is not only wasting his own time as he continues golfing, tweeting, and deluding himself that the election is not over. He is wasting our collective national time. With each additional minute that we ignore the pandemic and the attendant economic crisis, we are wasting time.
It’s time for Trump to go. As Lee Iacocca said,” lead, follow, or get out of the way.” In Trump’s case, I recommend he get out of the way.
J.E. Dean of Oxford is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. For more than 30 years, he advised clients on federal education and social service policy.
Deirdre LaMotte says
It is mind blowing. However, did anyone expect an ounce of grace from that man? He’s a corrupt scam artist who is too
insecure to “lose” so he is milking every penny from his cult. Very interesting that they are inspired by Joseph Goebbel’s
Big Lie; if one keeps repeating the lie people will believe it. Stalin used the same tactic.
Evil comes in many forms and it
is not likely to have horns and a wicked laugh.
Joseph Fick says
You Trump haters never give up.
Networks don’t certify elections, state legislatures and Congress do. And until that happens, Biden is NOT the President-elect no matter what the networks pronounce.
President Trump and his administration have every right to investigate and challenge vote counts where there is evidence of fraud and there are apparently plenty of those.
If the situation was reversed there would be riots in the streets and Hillary screaming to “never concede”!
And as for the “get out of the way” comment, he is THE President until at least January 20, 2021.
The Democrats spent 4 plus years trying anything and everything to delegitimize and remove him from office without success. Maybe he can beat election fraud also.
John Dean says
Clearly, we are on different pages, but thanks for reading the piece.
I won’t attempt to address your various points individually but will say that the number of Republicans still supporting Trump’s claim of fraud is dwindling. I feel strongly a smooth transition to the new administration would help the effort to respond to the pandemic and get the economy restarted.
Gretchen F Stroh says
There has been little to no evidence of voter fraud, which is why the courts have turned down Trump’s attempts to sue. They have no evidence. You can’t whine to the court that there is fraud, and expect the court to find it. That’s not how law works. We have been very lucky to have honest courts and judges who are throwing out these lawsuits for lack of evidence
Joseph Fick says
More Hate speech from the left
Howard McCoy says
It must be very dark in that place you inhabit, Joe.
Howard McCoy says
Thank you, Mr. Dean,
Trump never has been one to come to terms with reality. He excels in wasting time. Not just his own but (especially!!!) our time. This a very sick individual who needs professional help… Which makes one wonder about all his supporters, especially those partners in crime, McConnell & Co.
As Bob Dylan sang many, many years ago…
“Come senators, congressman
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he that has stalled
The battle outside rain’
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’
John Dean says
Thanks for a great comment, particularly the quote from Bob Dylan.