WILL DONALD TRUMP BE RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?

Even before the General Presidential Election was held in November 2020, candidate Trump started to throw a monkey wrench into the election machinery by questioning the integrity of the election outcome. Something that had never been done before in the history of the U.S.A. He also refused to accept the results and exit the White House if defeated. His position in this regard caused much consternation within government circles.

Sept. 24, from the White House lawn

“We have to be very careful with the ballots,” Trump said, when asked whether the election results are legitimate only if he wins. “The ballots, that’s a whole big scam.”

“We want to make sure the election is honest, and I am not sure that it can be. I don’t know that it can be with this whole situation of unsolicited ballots.”

Sept. 23, during a White House press briefing

“We’re going to have to see what happens,” the president said, when asked whether he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power, “win, lose, or draw.” “You know, I’ve been complaining about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster.”

“And the ballots are out of control,” he continued. “You know it. And you know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats.”

“I think this scam that the Democrats are pulling, it’s a scam [and] this scam will be before the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said. “And I think having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation.”

Sept. 13, during a Nevada campaign rally

“The Democrats are trying to rig this election because that’s the only way they’re going to win,” he said.

Aug. 24, during his Republican National Convention acceptance speech

“The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election,” Trump said.

Aug. 2, in a televised interview with Axios journalist Jonathan Swan

“There is no way you can go through a mail-in vote without massive cheating,” Trump said, when asked what it would look like if a sitting president didn’t accept the election results.

It’s obvious that President Donald Trump carefully and painstakingly prepared his supporters not to accept the results of the 2020 Presidential Elections ahead of time. Accordingly, when the time came for the orderly power transfer, there had to be problems.

On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the election results from being certified. According to the House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours of the event, five people had died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. As of July 7, 2022, monetary damages caused by attackers exceed $2.7 million.

Called to action by Trump, thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 5 and 6 to support his false claim that the 2020 election had been “stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats” and to demand that Vice President Mike Pence and Congress reject Biden’s victory. Starting at noon on January 6, at a “Save America” rally on the Ellipse, Trump gave a speech in which he repeated false claims of election irregularities and said, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Thousands of attendees, some armed, walked to the Capitol, with hundreds breaching police perimeters as Congress was beginning the electoral vote count. Among the rioters were leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia groups, who conspired to use violence to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power. More than 2,000 rioters entered the building, many of whom vandalized and looted parts of the building, including the offices of then House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress. Rioters also assaulted Capitol Police officers and reporters, and attempted to locate lawmakers to capture and harm. A gallows was erected west of the Capitol, and some rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence” after he rejected false claims by Trump and others that the vice president could overturn the election results.

WHY WAS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?

The USA and many other countries (mostly in the third world) have long been gerrymandering election boundaries. To benefit either of the two political parties, depending on which one had the most political clout at the time of the election. Unfortunately, this is an imperfect system of managing and administering elections. Which is one of the most basic foundations of the democratic process.

The infamous term “gerrymandering” originates from an 1812 incident in Massachusetts where Governor Elbridge Gerry re-drew district lines to benefit his political party. The oddly-drawn district resembled the shape of a mythical salamander, which, combined with his last name was branded “Gerrymander.” Since then, gerrymandering has plagued the U.S. redistricting process at every turn. POPULATION EDUCATION BY PETE BAILEY | November 13, 2020

The obviously imperfect administration of elections in America has left many citizens bitter and sometimes disenfranchised after the election cycle is completed. However, this state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. A great democracy has to be buttressed by foundations and proven practices that only serve to bolster election integrity processes.

(TO BE CONTINUED)