This week at the third and final Presidential Debate, Donald Trump did not say whether or not he would accept the results of the election. He said this despite saying at the first debate that he would “Absolutely support Hillary” if she won. The last fifteen months have been an endless barrage of outlandish things that have been said by the Republican nominee, however this may be the most dangerous.
For centuries American democracy has prided itself on a peaceful transition of power despite candidates running against each other with drastically different ideals. Conceding the election gracefully following a loss has been the cornerstone of basic political decency dating back to the foundation of our country. So it makes sense that the man who has consistently taken the rules of the election and thrown them out the window is now saying he’ll “keep us in suspense”. Trump has cried “rigged system” for months, as a way to explain why he lost certain primaries, why the media gave him such bad coverage, and now why he will probably lose the general election. Granted, the democrats and Hillary Clinton have not helped their cause by refusing to acknowledge DNC emails released showing how many high ranking democrats plotted against Bernie Sanders in primary season. However despite this corruption, Donald Trump is setting the stage for a violent rebellion on November 9th.
As it stands right now, polls indicate that in two short weeks Hillary Clinton will win the election by a fair margin. However with Donald Trump running around at all of his rallies telling his supporters that he leads in every poll, and that the crooked media is not to be trusted because they will do anything to get Hillary into the White House, how do we expect his supporters to respond the morning after election day when everything they were warned about has come to fruition?
In the eyes of millions, Donald Trump has been sabotaged by a corrupt Hillary Clinton, armed with the power of media corporations and the unanimous support of her party which she has wielded to bury Bernie Sanders and put herself on the fast track to the White House scandals be damned. All that stands in her way, is Donald Trump. The anti-hero, the man who embodies the opposite of everything most people hate about politics. A man with a boisterous personality who “tells it like it is.” He is their hero, and he is about to meet his demise. If Donald Trump gracefully concedes and gives his full support to Hillary Clinton for the sake of trying to unite the country, then perhaps his supporters would follow suit. However if he decides not to accept the results, and instead continue his cries of a rigged system, I could only expect riots in the streets from a substantial amount of his supporters.
It is important to acknowledge the fact that the democrats have done just as much if not more damage to create this possibility by conspiring against Bernie Sanders and by having their corruption exposed at every turn. However, they will still probably be the ones tasked with leading the country next January whether you like it or not. This leaves us with two choices: 1. we could come together and unite in the interest of compromise and prosperity as a nation for all. Or 2. We could fight the results, rise against the power and refuse to accept a government that is corrupt. The latter will most likely put the country in the same position it has been for a decade. That position is one where the government refuses to cooperate or compromise good of the people be damned. Neither choice is a good one, just like this election. One thing is for sure though, if Donald Trump doesn’t concede this election when he loses, for better or worse, that revolution is coming.
