President Trump’s pre- and post-election comments and the stance he has taken following his electoral defeat are not an attempted coup as many feared. Rather, they are the result of a failure to grow up.
Donald Trump told Tony Schwartz, the ghost writer of "The Art of the Deal," that he had not changed since the eighth grade. That, of course, is years before a teen’s cerebral cortex, critical for reasoning, is fully developed. That is why teens often act like children rather than young adults. It’s why they often make stupid decisions. Eighth-graders are not too old to throw tantrums, as the parent of any teenage daughter will attest. Like an eighth-grader, Donald Trump continues not to act as an adult. Like a child, he continues to throw tantrums. His latest tantrum could have disastrous results for the United States.
First off, they serve to delegitimize our democratic process. Convincing his supporters, well before the election, that if he lost it would be the result of massive fraud — in spite of the fact that not once did he achieve even a 50% approval rating — was merely the start of another Trump tantrum. He continued to claim, on election night and over the weeks that have followed, that he actually won by a landslide; that millions of votes were mysteriously “found,” and they were all cast for his opponent. Such votes were never “found,” for Trump knew all along where they were. They were mail-in votes and early voting, which in states such as Pennsylvania were not to be counted until after all Election Day votes were in. Trump, as well as all but the most cautious political analysts, was aware that any lead he had could easily evaporate once all the ballots were counted. Hence, his demand to stop the count. (Except, of course, in Arizona, where he was behind and his supporters chanted “count the votes.”)
Trump has only himself to blame. He pleaded with GOP voters not to vote by mail, and most did not. Only a con artist and horribly uninformed people could claim millions of illegal votes were cast.
Until now, no political party stood silent as its leader cast aspersions on our democratic process. But never before in our history has a presidential candidate acted in such a childish, self-centered manner. None has ever questioned our electoral process. Not that this could not be predicted. Even upon winning in the Electoral College in the 2016, he declared the process a “sham” and claimed, as usual, with no evidence, that millions of illegal ballots were cast against him. How else, assumed a megalomaniacal mind, could one lose the popular vote by over 3 million votes? Losing by 5 million is even more unrealistic in such a childish, wholly self-absorbed mind.
A responsible hand-off to the next president of the United States is not only customary, it is vital. It ensures a nation remains prepared for any threat, external or internal. Thus, another potentially damaging result of the Trump tantrum is the possibility of an America unprepared for an emergency because this administration refused to legally cooperate with the incoming administration’s transition. The 9/11 Commission noted that the delay in transitional preparedness following the late determination of a winner in 2000 left the nation unprepared for the tragedy that followed. It need not be another terrorist attack. There are countless scenarios, most of which can be found in daily presidential briefings and cabinet department reports, that the incoming administration needs to know before Jan. 20, 2021. Please Mr. President, it is time to grow up.
Michael Adkins formerly was chair of the Hancock County Democratic Party.
