There's no constitutional requirement for any candidate to concede, all it shows is what a graceless arsehole Trump is
No, there's no constitutional requirement. Yet there is a very, very good reason that all previous presidents going back 150 years have done so. It's important. It matters. The reason it matters is because the heat of a campaign revs people up for a fight, sets them against one another. So candidates have made a practice of conceding graciously, congratulating their opponent, expressing support for democracy and the decision of the people at least, and very often expressing admiration of their opponent personally. And perhaps most importantly, they call for the people to come together, telling their supporters that it's time to end the battle and reunite with their countrymen on the other side.
They do this because it matters. Even with it, tensions inevitably remain, but they're softened, gentled, as we're reminded that we prize democracy over party ideology, and nation over party. What Trump is doing is much worse than just exhibiting gracelessness, and even more than failing to ameliorate the conflict. He's pumping it up. His decision is going to cause deaths, and it's going to make it harder for the next administration to do the important work of governing. It could push us toward civil war, though I think that's very unlikely. But some hotheads will try, just watch.
Trump isn't doing this because he wants war, of any sort. He doesn't care. He just wants to not be a loser, because his fragile, narcissistic ego can't take it. But it's doing and will continue doing real damage for quite some time, especially since he's not going to fade quietly away. He's going to continue pumping the bellows after he leaves the White House.
Nobody cares if Trump concedes (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Nobody cares if Trump concedes (Score:5, Insightful)
There's no constitutional requirement for any candidate to concede, all it shows is what a graceless arsehole Trump is
No, there's no constitutional requirement. Yet there is a very, very good reason that all previous presidents going back 150 years have done so. It's important. It matters. The reason it matters is because the heat of a campaign revs people up for a fight, sets them against one another. So candidates have made a practice of conceding graciously, congratulating their opponent, expressing support for democracy and the decision of the people at least, and very often expressing admiration of their opponent personally. And perhaps most importantly, they call for the people to come together, telling their supporters that it's time to end the battle and reunite with their countrymen on the other side.
They do this because it matters. Even with it, tensions inevitably remain, but they're softened, gentled, as we're reminded that we prize democracy over party ideology, and nation over party. What Trump is doing is much worse than just exhibiting gracelessness, and even more than failing to ameliorate the conflict. He's pumping it up. His decision is going to cause deaths, and it's going to make it harder for the next administration to do the important work of governing. It could push us toward civil war, though I think that's very unlikely. But some hotheads will try, just watch.
Trump isn't doing this because he wants war, of any sort. He doesn't care. He just wants to not be a loser, because his fragile, narcissistic ego can't take it. But it's doing and will continue doing real damage for quite some time, especially since he's not going to fade quietly away. He's going to continue pumping the bellows after he leaves the White House.