I had started writing this the weekend following the general election, in the subconscious hopefulness that my thoughts would age poorly, but this has not come to pass, even after nearly 3 weeks following the general election, much to my (and many other of my fellow Americans’) dismay.
What happens when the idealistic notions contained within our founding documents are put to the test? What happens when the rise of fascism once again comes to a popular head within the United States?
1935’s “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis and the more recent “The Plot Against America” on HBO are two of the most popular forms within the media in exploring exactly this question.
While many within the country are celebrating Biden’s victory, a particular thought experiment has been running through my own mind (as well as in the minds of many Americans):
- What happens if a sitting president refuses to concede an election, or even further, if that president refuses to step down?
Many of the answers that I’ve seen in my own many hours of research are answered idealistically, or they cite the ideals within our founding documents about the process should go.
It should be strongly noted that Mr. Trump is trying to attempt a coup of the electoral system of the United States.
And although Mr. Trump may not be successful in his attempts, in terms of assuming his direct goal is a second term through 2021–25, a secondary goal of destabilizing the American electoral system is a very real possibility; to case enough doubt that elections are viewed with suspicion, rather than confidence in terms of a collective participation in our democratic system.
Mr. Trump has primed his supporters for months, feeding them with notions that “the only way we’re going to lose this election is if this election is rigged”, He has spent months attacking the use of absentee/mail-in ballots (the terms are interchangeable)
In these cases, all of his assertions have been proven false. Mail-in voting has incredibly low rates of fraud, yet he has continually muddied the waters by continuing with his baseless claims.
Many commentators that I follow anticipated exactly what Trump did on election night — that is, the immediate results would be tabulated and show Trump in the lead in many states, with absentee ballots being counted in the following hours and days. On election night, he had a lead in many states, notably: Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. I watched in utter horror as he held a press conference preemptively calling the election for himself on election night, saying “frankly, we did win this election.”
And then, as many political commentators predicted, as more precincts were counted and as many absentee ballots were counted, those states flipped to a prospective victory for Biden. Trump (and his administration) immediately held on to their conviction that they had won on election night, and that this was proof of massive voter fraud, with the logic being that thousands upon thousands of ballots had appeared. The intentional attack with misinformation casts an undue amount of doubt on the electoral system of many states, and the United States as a whole. The simplistic reasoning that I surmise is as follows: that the process includes so many safeguards and composes so many steps that it looks like magic to those who don’t bother to do the research in terms of how results are tabulated in elections.
When asked about conceding and about a peaceful transition of power, the Trump administration has continued to either deny answering the question, or deflecting with statements such as “smooth transition to a second Trump administration”.
This comes after the Associated Press, one of the most well regarded journalistic institutions that we have, has already called the election for Biden.
However, upon official results being tabulated, the Trump administration immediately pushed for lawsuits in multiple states, citing voting fraud (without any proof as such), with the intent to throw out millions upon millions of valid votes.
- “A federal judge in Pennsylvania eviscerated President Donald Trump’s attempt to throw out millions of votes Saturday”
- “We’ve got to continue fighting this, and the federal courts are the path and, hopefully, up to the Supreme Court”
- “Mr Trump has attempted, without evidence, to sow doubt about the validity of ballots counted after election day and cast by mail”
All of the Trump administration’s claims are baseless, and again, the point is to intentionally muddy the waters to make it unclear about who is actually correct in terms of the election. The DHS had called this election the most secure in American history, and gave their full confidence in the integrity of American election security. A downside of our current political climate in the United States especially that I have observed is that if there are two dissenting views, both are held to be of equal weight, no matter if one of those views is, by all empirical and objective measures, false. This phenomena is given the title of “false balance” (second source for more information: here)
Mr. Trump and his administration has disturbingly already displayed tendencies of authoritarianism and fascism, no matter if he was able to get what he wanted, the intent was clearly there. Examples:
- Shooting immigrants as they attempt to cross the border
- Referring to immigrants/asylum seekers as “invaders”
- Retribution against those who dare speak out against trump; 1, 2
- Forced sterilization
- “Stand back and stand by” (not to mention the immediate deflection of right-wing violence to saying “the left is bad”)
- Ignoring existing federal bureaus’ concerns of the far-right in favor of demonizing protestors against the “establishment,” especially following the murder of George Floyd
- A press conference calling for the institution of “proper education” (read: indoctrination) on American History
The list can go on and on and on.
Perhaps one of the most terrifying observations is the lack of the Republican party speaking out against Trump and his election antics. Only three senators of the Republican Party, Senator Mitt Romney (UT), Senator Ben Sasse (NE), and Senator Susan Collins (ME) have outwardly voiced their opposition to Trump in the wake of the election, but their opposition is not surprising, as they have been vocal about their opposition in the past. I am gravely disappointed in the GOP for their absolute lack of stomach to stand up to Trump, especially when statements like this are made, directly from the Trump administration:
- “The entire election, frankly, in all the swing states should be overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump” Trump lawyer Sidney Powell
It shows that the Republicans who fall in line are perfectly willing to accept fascism, as long as they get their cut of the power. Up to now, they have shown tacit approval for his many authoritarian shenanigans, but now they are fully-fledged conspirators in his power grab.
Even if Trump fails to inspire an armed uprising with far-right agitators, which as even noted by elements within the government (e.g. FBI, DHS) pose a greater threat to the United States, events such as the “Million MAGA March” are highly concerning, because the premise of these events are doubting the results of a proven legitimate election.
Perhaps the most dangerous thing that Trump poses, assuming that his efforts are rebuffed, is what comes after Trump, when election misinformation is so clearly effective, in terms of relevancy to elections within the United States. Perhaps this concerning thing should be labeled as “What happens after Trump?” Trump, for all his authoritarian tendencies, is not at all very competent and although some of his fascist efforts have been successfully rebuffed, what guarantees this to be the case in a much younger, worse authoritarian?
What this election has shown everyone, and what everyone should be concerned about, is that I do not believe it is no longer a matter of “what if” but “when will it happen?” The last four years should show many Americans that, despite the history propaganda that we are fed throughout our younger years — the years upon years of education that the United States is held as this magnanimous beacon of impregnable liberty — the United States is not immune to authoritarian fascism.
I just pray that it does not, indeed, happen here.
