Trump declines to state whether or not he will accept the results of election

[Baptist Believer]

Trump just wanted publicity of any kind. He is a showman and a tv star of sorts.

Yes, this is a reasonable analysis. It ties in with what he said about keeping us in suspense.

Do you think it is a helpful thing to say to the undecided/swing voters that he needs to win?

He should have said, in my opinion, that JFK cheated Nixon in Illinois in 1960 but Nixon set it aside for the good of the nation...

Yes. That takes courage and character. And even Al Gore - who did not always behave well during the fiasco following the vote in 2000 when there was a legitimate question about the vote - conceded the election after the matter was finally decided by the Supreme Court.

Do you think Trump hopes to somehow throw this out of the realm of the voters into the House or Supreme Court?

 

[Baptist Believer]

I forget why the Florida recount was in areas controlled totally by Dems?

They were statewide recounts, and then there were some areas where the votes were so close that some interpretation was required for votes cast that the automated system defined as "non votes." It came down to determining intent.

 

[Zaac]

It's not that simple. Supposing that was the only anomaly in the election and it was in a small county in California. Still going to reject the entire results of the US election based on one county in a deep, deep, blue state?

The unasked question is--what about Republican congressional candidates that win in states that Trump loses in? Are their results going to be questioned as well?

Exactly. If the system is rigged as he likes to say, then wouldn't that invalidate the wins of all of those Republican candidates too?

 

[Alcott]

What does "accept the results" even mean in practical terms? I'll probably never run for any public office, but I have thought about the prospect of running and losing, in which case I would not make one of those silly, hypocritical 'concession speeches,' but would more likely tell the opponent "Shove it up your ___." If that's what you mean, then to me it's a non-issue. If you mean taking the White House by force, that's like old Saturday morning cartoon material.

 

[evenifigoalone]

Pretty adamantly not in favor of Trump. I think it's less of a deal than people want it to be.

 

[Don]

Gore didn't challenge the results. The margin of victory was so small, less than 0.1%, that according to Florida state law it triggered a mandatory recount.

If it wasn't a "challenge," why did the Supreme Court have to be involved?

 

[InTheLight]

If it wasn't a "challenge," why did the Supreme Court have to be involved?

By Florida law the close vote triggered the automatic vote recount. Once the recount was happening both sides sued to try to gain the advantage. This is where the questions about counting votes with hanging chads, filled-in circles that were X'ed out, etc. should be counted or not. The Florida Supreme Court agreed to a statewide recount, not just in the questionable counties with hanging chads and other problems with improperly completed ballots. Bush appealed this decision to the Supreme Court and prevailed.

 

[Revmitchell]

Gore didn't challenge the results. The margin of victory was so small, less than 0.1%, that according to Florida state law it triggered a mandatory recount.

Trump didn't put any qualifier on his statement, i.e. "unless there are unusual circumstances or reports of voting irregularities, I will not contest the results." No, he said he would keep us in suspense.

Challenging election results with scant evidence of tampering is something third world strongmen do. Since Trump says the U.S. resembles a third world country and he admires dictators I guess we should not be surprised.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Sorry but he did challenge them which caused the numerous recounts which the state supreme court had to put a stop to.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Please everyone, let's keep the focus on what Trump actually said - in the context of his other statements about the election being "rigged" - and see if we can figure out what his comments actually mean and what they reveal about his intentions.

Church Mouse Guy brought up showmanship angle, which seems to be a likely possibility. Of course that undermines the objections from some of his supporters that the media is focusing on that statement at the expense of other elements of the debate, since a showman would actually want that attention brought to his statement.

I'm hoping Church Mouse Guy responds to my questions and gives me more insight.

Do any of his other supporters have any thoughts regarding my original series of questions?

 

[InTheLight]

Sorry but he did challenge them which caused the numerous recounts which the state supreme court had to put a stop to.

The Florida vote recount was the "challenge" to the election. The recount was to be a machine vote recount. Gore wanted the ballots in those four counties to be counted by hand. That was his "challenge".

And you've got it exactly wrong regarding the state supreme court. They authorized a manual recount, which was proceeding, when the US Supreme Court intervened and stopped the recount.

 

[Baptist Believer]

What does "accept the results" even mean in practical terms? I'll probably never run for any public office, but I have thought about the prospect of running and losing, in which case I would not make one of those silly, hypocritical 'concession speeches,' but would more likely tell the opponent "Shove it up your ___."

And that's exactly the kind of thing we don't need from our nation's leaders. If you are a person who respects the rule of law, orderly and fair elections, and representative democracy over your personal desires, then concession speeches are not hypocritical - they are a demonstration of humility and acknowledgement of our nation's core values.

 

[Revmitchell]

The Florida vote recount was the "challenge" to the election. The recount was to be a machine vote recount. Gore wanted the ballots in those four counties to be counted by hand. That was his "challenge".

You do know that I live in florida right? Let me assure you it was challened by Gore and there were three recounts and he pushed for a fourth till the SC stopped it.

 

[InTheLight]

You do know that I live in florida right? Let me assure you it was challened by Gore and there were three recounts and he pushed for a fourth till the SC stopped it.

Well, naturally, if you live in Florida, you can't be wrong about this...

 

[Revmitchell]

And that's exactly the kind of thing we don't need from our nation's leaders. If you are a person who respects the rule of law, orderly and fair elections, and representative democracy over your personal desires, then concession speeches are not hypocritical - they are a demonstration of humility and acknowledgement of our nation's core values.

The whole thing is just a bunch of bunk this is all about putting pressure on Trump to not challenge a very likely weak outcome. Libs do not like to be challenged. They are trying to head that off with public pressure by making this out to be more than what it is. This question has never been asked of candidates before during debate. This is nothing but a political tactic and you are doing nothing but repeating propaganda.

 

[Baptist Believer]

The whole thing is just a bunch of bunk this is all about putting pressure on Trump to not challenge a very likely weak outcome. Libs do not like to be challenged. They are trying to head that off with public pressure by making this out to be more than what it is. This question has never been asked of candidates before during debate.

We have never had a candidate who - for months now - has claimed that the election is rigged and may be stolen from him.

This is nothing but a political tactic and you are doing nothing but repeating propaganda.

Trump started the "propaganda" by claiming the election would likely be invalid. A natural question that the American public wants to know, is "Will Donald Trump accept the results of the election?"

I've been asking it on Facebook and discussing it with friends for weeks as it has become clear that he is going to lose. Trump started this line of questioning. He needs to man up and answer.

 

[Revmitchell]

We have never had a candidate who - for months now - has claimed that the election is rigged and may be stolen from him.


Trump started the "propaganda" by claiming the election would likely be invalid. A natural question that the American public wants to know, is "Will Donald Trump accept the results of the election?"

I've been asking it on Facebook and discussing it with friends for weeks as it has become clear that he is going to lose. Trump started this line of questioning. He needs to man up and answer.

He has claimed several things were rigged and he was proven right a couple different times. On the other hand Hillary has been caught lying like a Kerr dog on Sunday morning.

 

[Alcott]

And that's exactly the kind of thing we don't need from our nation's leaders. If you are a person who respects the rule of law, orderly and fair elections, and representative democracy over your personal desires, then concession speeches are not hypocritical - they are a demonstration of humility and acknowledgement of our nation's core values.

Is that so? Every losing candidate who has made a 'concession speech' was sincere? They may be less baloney than debates are, but they're still a big hunk of it.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Is that so? Every losing candidate who has made a 'concession speech' was sincere? They may be less baloney than debates are, but they're still a big hunk of it.

I make no claims that everyone is sincere. Obviously, we've had good leaders and we've had extremely poor leaders. However, a candidate who won't even attempt to heal the nation is a candidate who is unfit for office.

 

[carpro]

Well, naturally, if you live in Florida, you can't be wrong about this...

He could be wrong, but he's not. You are.

 

[InTheLight]

He could be wrong, but he's not. You are.

Prove it. Show me where the Florida state supreme court stopped the recounts instead of the US Supreme Court.