Former President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and Sen. J.D. Vance’s (R–Ohio) signaling that he’d have gone along with Trump’s efforts to reverse the outcome are both reprehensible and undemocratic. Democrats have rightfully used that behavior to make the case that Trump and Vance ought not to be trusted with the awesome powers of the executive branch.
But you know what doesn’t help to make that argument stick? Democrats also refusing to give clear answers about whether they would accept the results of an election.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D–Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Axios that he would accept the results of the election if Trump “won a free, fair, and honest” race—then added that he “definitely” doesn’t assume an apparent Trump victory would meet that standard.
Other Democrats have offered similarly waffling responses, though they have stopped short of openly suggesting that a Trump victory could be subject to objections during the certification process, as Axios notes.
In the same vein, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) made headlines earlier this week for saying that the Electoral College “needs to go” and that the national popular vote should determine the outcome of a presidential election. Walz has since walked back those remarks.
Anyone, including vice presidential candidates, has a right to express their opinions about the basic structure of America’s elections, of course. But Walz’s criticism of the proper constitutional mechanism for selecting a president sits awkwardly alongside the Democratic Party’s attempt to portray this election as a stand against Trump’s and Vance’s disregard for that same constitutional process.
That’s not to suggest an equivalence here. Trump’s behavior (and that of his allies) in the wake of the 2020 election goes well beyond anything that Democrats have said or done within this same space—and that includes other indefensible behavior like Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abram’s unwillingness to accept her defeat in 2018. It is truly remarkable and telling that a question as simple as “Who won the 2020 election?” is regarded as a “gotcha” question by leading Republicans like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R–La.).
As an aside: Has Vice President Kamala Harris said whether she would accept the results of the election? She is the sitting vice president, which means she would step into the role Mike Pence played after the 2020 election and would oversee the certification process that confirms a possible Trump win. Her views on that seem kind of important. Polling shows that most Americans believe she would accept the results, but I cannot find an example of her being asked directly about that possibility.
Regardless, this shouldn’t be difficult for Democrats! If someone asks, “Will you accept the results of this election?” the answer is simple: “Yes.”
That’s how it works. If you don’t accept the possibility of losing, don’t play the game—and make room for better candidates and officials who will respect the Constitution.
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