Nothing conclusive as of yet, we’re still stuck on a variety of results. The BBC says it’s 253 – 214, CNN 253 – 213 and both The Guardian and Fox News 264 – 214. Why they vary I’m unsure but I assume it comes down to whether a challenge or recount is expected, with the latter two happy to count votes despite the inevitable recount. This delay is no surprise though as we’ve been warned for days prior to the election that it was unlikely to be resolved at the usual speed. None of it is actually a surprise, we knew in states that were close they were always going to be recounted if possible and Trump has always gone on about the prospect of voter fraud that we knew his tactics in advance. It shows how much faith he had in winning that his back up plan was shouted louder than his main one. In the end the polls were not quite accurate and he gained more support than expected but with polls so far off the previous time this was also expected.
It is remarkable to think though that he is ready to sue because of supposed fraud and throw into doubt the legitimacy of a political system the entire country is established upon. In moments like this we need to try and understand what his end game is, and that is something less clear. Clearly he won’t win the election by the votes cast. If he can contest it enough maybe he intends to drag it to the Supreme Court and hopes they’re willing to delegitimise themselves by favouring him on some call we would normally expect of a kangaroo court. If this happens the entire system and the pretence of legitimacy it is built upon will likely come crashing down. The country is so polarised already that something like this could be generationally defining.
Failing all of that we enter other conjectural territory. Is he hoping he can convince his supporters enough of the existence of some heinous injustice that they’ll stand with him in his next move. To suggest he’ll lead a violent uprising, while not impossible, is a little excitable and in reality highly unlikely. He is and always will be an establishment figure despite his lies and protestations. That isn’t to say some of his hardcore support won’t act on his dangerously irresponsible words and commit something unforgivable. Maybe he’s planning on running again in 2024 or on using this supposed wrong in the hope it’ll propel his son Donald Duck Jr or someone else in his inner circle he holds influence over.
It’s all a little excitable I admit but I’m trying to look at this rationally and what ever it is he hopes to achieve by calling fraud on events, beyond salvation in the Supreme Court, is unclear. Maybe he doesn’t expect anything after that or maybe he plans to let future Donald worry about it it when he gets to that point. Expecting a highly irrational man to think rationally is itself slightly irrational. We can assume then he’s just a big baby who can’t accept defeat and is willing to throw the almightiest of tantrums before he’s forced out. If you thought his Twitter was entertaining already, I suspect we’ve only seen the calm before the storm. And one thing is clear, there’s likely a hell of a lot of ‘You’re Fired’ memes in production right now.
Observations and Misunderstandings 