Projection: Lawyer Who Served in Obama Admin Worries Trump Might Not Accept a 2020 Defeat
“Regardless of who runs in 2020, if Trump loses, will he leave the Oval Office peacefully?”
Joshua Geltzer is a lawyer who teaches at Georgetown and served in the Obama administration as an adviser on the National Security Council. He has written a column for CNN that defies parody.
Geltzer is concerned that Trump might not accept the results of the 2020 election if he loses. You know, like Democrats and the media with the 2016 election.
Geltzer writes:
What if Trump refuses to accept defeat in 2020?
President Donald Trump’s critics are increasingly focused on the question of which Democrat will challenge him for the presidency in 2020. It’s an important question, but another one might be even more important: Regardless of who runs in 2020, if Trump loses, will he leave the Oval Office peacefully?
Let’s start with why we need to ask this question: Trump is increasingly proving himself to be a President eager to overstep his authority. Just last week, Trump displayed his willingness to invoke unprecedented presidential power to declare a national emergency utterly without justification.
This week has brought a startling report from the New York Times that, for the past two years, Trump has tried to undermine the investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and other parts of the Justice Department in order to, in the words of the Times, “make the president’s many legal problems go away.” In light of these overreaching assertions of his own authority, it’s at least plausible that Trump might attempt to cling to power in ways previously unimaginable by an American president.
Thankfully, there are four steps that key actors across the American system of governance can take to get ahead of this possibility…
All told, there’s real reason to worry here. So, what can be done now to avoid a potential constitutional crisis and ensure that the 2020 election results — whatever they might be — are respected and that any transfer of power occurs peacefully?
One rarely gets to see such a stunning lack of self awareness.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been down this road. In October of 2016, right before the election, The Week did a cover story which worried about what would happen if Trump lost. Would his supporters accept it, or would they riot as the image suggests?
Here’s the latest cover of our magazine, featuring the potentially frightening consequences of Trump’s “rigged” election talk. pic.twitter.com/M5PP6HDMNn
— The Week (@TheWeek) October 20, 2016
Of course, we all know who did riot after losing the 2016 election, and it wasn’t Trump supporters.
Featured image via YouTube.
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Comments
Well, if he does then that’ll confirm that he was a Democrat all along.
Simple answer – we make sure Trump wins, then this worrying will be all for naught.
True.
Wait till they find out we’re going to repeal the amendment limiting presidents to two terms! LOL
Can these Obama admin ISIS Terrorists get any uglier?
Thread winner
This again? Surreal. Might we also expect some new FISA warrants? On the bright side, at least historically, repeating failed tactics ensures another loss. So keep at it.
OMG, that guy looks like something they keep hanging in the closet in a plastic bag with some formaldehyde fumes, ready to drag out in time of crisis . . . a crisis like the need to stay on the cutting edge of wackiness, just ahead of Alexandria Psycho-Chick. Oh, those wacky Dems . . .
I’m sure we’ll all go grab bleach, rope, hats, and start shouting this is MAGA country.
Look out, Chicago!
Don’t forget the mittens. Baby, it’s cold outside.
Geltzer’s article sounds more like laying cover for actions the Democrats who might well take, indeed, if not steal the 2020 election at least manipulate the electoral process in unprecedented ways.
I also recall that the Dems said if DJT lost the election it would be “un-American” for him to contest the results.
If the shoe fits, wear it.
One would think that a Law Prof at Georgetown might weigh in on a more timely topic… perhaps the attempted coup by the JD and FBI of a sitting president by invoking a Constitutional amendment that was never, ever intended for such purpose.
Oh, come on. Our educational system is COMPLERETLY corrupt, and exists solely as a brainwashing machine for communism.
Remember, Gidget Cortez has a degree in ecomonics! This fool Geltzer has a law degree, but what he learned about black letter law (versus the leftist tripe of ‘policy’ he was indoctrinated with) but while he’s probably 10 times smarter than Gidget Cortez, he has as little common sense.
“but while he’s probably 10 times smarter than Gidget Cortez”
There is no evidence to support this
I’m of the opinion a brick is twice as smart as both of them put together.
There is no one more insufferable in American society, than these ex-Obama lackeys. As nauseatingly witless, self-reverential, narcissistic, sanctimonious and self-congratulatory as their former boss.
“As nauseatingly witless, self-reverential, narcissistic, sanctimonious and self-congratulatory as their former boss….”
We can say that about Odumbo, towards his former bosses. And The Manchurian President had them – and still does.
The Obamas’ Book Deals Spark $65 Million Mystery:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/72949-the-obamas-book-deals-spark-65-million-mystery.html
I notice that the magazine cover artist did throw in one dark face, presumably for “Diversity’s” sake.
That was probably just a really well done blackface.
This is all part and parcel’s of totalitarian Leftists’ nauseating narcissism, hypocrisy, lack of self-awareness and total projection — vilifying millions of Americans who have the temerity to support POTUS and to reject Leftist orthodoxies, with a stereotypical and sweeping brush, while cloaking themselves in the vain and egotistical shroud of self-perceived moral and intellectual superiority.
Laying the groundwork for genocide.
Better understand that.
Soy boy douchebag.
Am I being judgmental?
You would think the left would wait longer to air a re-run…..
This is democrats laying groundwork. They don’t have a candidate that can defeat Trump.
Great comments. I had to give the entire class thumbs up. Wow, these D’Rats are totally deranged – they actually believe this stuff, you know. Can you imagine them totally exploding in the middle of Trump’s second term? We will need the bleach just to keep disinfecting the messes they will make.
Nah, they don’t believe it. They’re corrupted, weak narcissists, and they’re rationalizing their corruption, in the hopes of gaining position in the ruling fascist elite they fancy will help sweep into power.
Seems like I have heard this story before. It would have never been an issue if Chris Wallace of Fox News hadn’t mentioned it at the start of the last debate, just before the election. They should be asking that question of the loser DemocRAT candidate, instead of Donald Trump.
Interestingly, I remember MANY posters here at LI swearing that Obama would not allow a peaceful transition if a GOP president-elect were in play.
They aren’t dumb… they play the long game as we see now. How many Dems NOW would look back and wish they hadn’t held the fort? They are playing psych warfare with FUD their main tactic since so far the Deep Blues have only made a simple foundation and no real advances..yet.
“I remember MANY posters here at LI swearing that Obama would not allow a peaceful transition if a GOP president-elect were in play…”
So? Obama and everyone below him (and let’s face it – above him) was lawless and ruthless and unscruplous, if not downright treasonous.
Unlike the current situation.
Here, once again, the left telegraphs their own intentions by blaming others for exactly what they intend to do if in power.
Remember those here who predicted that Barracula would not even ALLOW the next election for POTUS?
I do. Now you can lie some more.
I was one of those who was concerned that Mr. Obama might find a pretext to delay the election. Apparently he thought it was in the bag for Hillary and decided he was good with that.
Now then, suppose you went back in time to mid/late 2015 and whispered in his ear what was going to happen (it would hurt you to do that, of course, given your own opinion of Mr. Trump, which is why you’d be the perfect messenger). What would Mr. Obama do than?
what a stupid proposition, laden with so many implicit lies! And so devoid of any rational support!
Rags-Rump, Obama was a pieces of crap, not in just one area, rather across the board. I don’t dislike Obama because he is half black, I dislike him because if his sleazy character. I think Obama was treasonous in nature, based on his conduct. I have an innate dislike for con artists. I wish he could be tried for a multitude of things he did.
Here’s rags again, with his one word vocabulary.
“Here, once again, the left telegraphs their own intentions by blaming others for exactly what they intend to do if in power.”
Yes, I expect that if they take back the oval office they will not willingly relinquish it again. Having gotten away with their spying and coup attempting (so far) against Trump, the next Republican to succeed a Democrat can expect the same and more.
He didn’t! He had the DOJ/FBI trying to end the Trump presidency before it began.
MAYBE you are bright enough to distinguish between the two propositions, even given that one is true.
MAYBE…
“MAYBE you are bright enough”
Maybe you are NOT bright enough?
Yep
So Rags, what part of still contesting the election over two years later is peaceful?
Obama DIDN’T ALLOW A PEACEFUL TRANSITION.
He arranged for spying on Trump, spreading around the names of those in the reports from the wiretaps, and helped set in motion Trump’s inability to exercise his lawful and constitutional executive power.
He obstructed Trump all that he could, without actually having men with guns go into the Oval Office and drag Trump out.
I’m pretty sure that we can classify the FBI coup attempt against Trump, led by Obama acolytes, as non-peaceful. Hasn’t resulted in actual violence yet. Thought Qanon believers think there have been actual assassination attempts on Trump that have been blocked.
Uh, you do keep abreast of current event, don’t you?
So, we have the Obama Administration spying on the Trump campaign and transition before and after the election with Operation Crossfire Hurricane. We had an investigation as well as illegal leaks, before Obama left office. We saw violent demonstrations and rioting by Democrat operatives. We have seen two years of a political witch hunt, from within the government, which has targeted Trump, his associates and senior advisors. We have seen continual public harassment of administration members. I would say that we are still waiting for a PEACEFUL transfer of power following the 2016 election. And, I have yet to see Obama step up and take charge of his party and put a stop to the sour grapes nonsense.
Classic straw man argument. “If Trump does so-and-so then it will be a terrible thing”.
You need to look up “straw man fallacy”. You don’t understand it.
Apparently, you don’t:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
If only us common folk were as gifted and intelligent as ragspierre.
As a “common folk”, I have the right to denote bullshit when it is obvious. It takes no special “intellect” to note when someone misuses logic.
Rags-Rump has done a good job of surrounding himself with and in bullshit.
How about we call it a “rags man argument”? OK with you?
I can’t stop you from uttering a stupid lie. Go right ahead. Don’t expect me to allow it, however.
The piece in question, however specious, is simply a “thought question”. It can, and should be, opposed by reason. Not by stupid name-calling.
I am wondering is Rags is a paid leftist stooge.
I’m pretty sure he’s not.
It’s totally possible to be a leftist stooge without being paid.
“I’m pretty sure he’s not.”
Paid? Possibly.
Leftist Hack? Absolutely. On every thread he is on their side.
It would be good to keep reminding Rags that Trump is the man, smarter, wealthier and more powerful than Rags is capable of being.
You have zip to support your first stupid assertion.
I didn’t have a daddy who handed me a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio. So Duh Donald has pretty much always been wealthier that me. He’s done a lot of evil, corrupt stuff to enhance his wealth. I didn’t. I can’t see that he has an advantage over me.
Duh Donald is more powerful than 99.9999% of people on earth. Including your stupid, lying self.
You will always lie without stint. It’s just who you have chosen to be.
Rags is 100% correct. “If Trump does so-and-so then it will be a terrible thing” is not a straw man argument. It’s a simply hypothetical. One may disagree with it, and argue that it would not be terrible for Trump to do so-and-so. Or one may agree that it would be terrible, but opine that it’s very unlikely to happen.
A straw man argument is not a hypothetical. It’s when one mischaracterizes ones opponent’s position in order to refute it. A common example on this forum is when certain commenters routinely claim Rags preferred a Clinton win to a Trump one, and proceed to show how terrible that would have been. Since Rags never expressed any such preference, no demonstration of how terrible it would have been can possibly refute him. That is a straw man.
He’s not totally deranged — at least he takes for granted that there will be an election in 2020. That’s better than I’m used to hearing for the past 16 years or so, for deranged people on whichever side is not currently in the White House, confidently predicting that the president would cancel the next election. I first heard that from my lefty friends around 2003, then again around 2007, then from equally nutty right-wingers (including commenters right here on LI) in 2011 and 2015. Bush/0bama would cancel the election. Of course there was never any possibility of that happening on any of those occasions, nor is it possible now, so it’s relatively relieving to hear that this guy isn’t as crazy as that.
As for what would happen if a sitting president refused to vacate his position, the answer is simple: at noon on Jan 20th the position would no longer be his, and the police and armed forces would stop taking his orders and start taking those of his lawful successor. It really is as simple as that. It’s what would have happened had 0bama not gone gracefully in 2017, and it’s what will happen if Trump won’t go in 2021 or 2025, depending on how the 2020 election goes.
“…It really is as simple as that. It’s what would have happened had 0bama not gone gracefully in 2017…”
Right. Just like hillary clinton and the gang rode into the sunset after she blew her rigged election.
Loretta Lynch was the attorney general. Corrupt scum like john brennan infested other highest ranks of government.
You’re living in another time.
Um, it’s exactly what happened. At noon on Jan 20 2017 the police and army stopped taking 0bama’s orders, and started taking Trump’s, not Clinton’s.
Milhouse, you clearly paid attention in civics class. Good. Your answer is the correct one.
Unless, of course, the top officials at FBI, DOJ, the intelligence agencies, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, etc., are all in the bag for the current president whose term is expiring. Then it gets … interesting.
Would such a thing happen? I’d like to think not. But the weak point is just what you point at — the police and armed forces stop taking the old president’s orders at noon on January 20th. That assumes that the police (by extension the FBI and DOJ) and armed forces (by extension, the intel agencies) do their duty. Because if they’re beholden to the old president, and if they’ve talked themselves into believing that the new president threatens their rice bowl, then you have a problem.
Witness the behavior of certain DOJ, FBI and intel officials the last couple of years, and you’ll understand why a cynic like me would be suspicious.
What you suggest isn’t possible. Even if all of the Joint Chiefs decided not to take the new president’s orders, the officers under their command would not go along with them. The new president would relieve them of command, and their officers would back him/her up.
You can chalk it up to my usual paranoia, but I don’t think they have any intention of letting it get that far. They thought they’d cheated hard enough to put 2016 in the bag, and they got careless. I don’t think they’ll make the same mistake in 2020.
There’s nothing they can to to stop it. The election will be held, and someone will win it.
The fact that they didn’t cheat hard enough the last time doesn’t mean that they won’t the next.
There is no amount of cheating that will enable them to cancel the election.
Just steal it, Milhouse, just steal it.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/7/voter-fraud-alert-over-5000-new-hampshire-presiden/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDc8PVCvfKs
We’re not discussing stealing elections. We’re discussing only two possibilities: an election being canceled, or a defeated incumbent refusing to relinquish power. Neither of these things is possible.
Neither of these things is possible.
There are very few obstacles which can’t be overcome by a suitable emanation of a penumbra.
And Obama kept his Evil word – not peaceful.
To think this delusional fool is teaching law.
And no wonder the counter terrorism offices of the USA were focused on Trump rather than actual terrorism.
Geltzer is another Jew committing suicide by plotting with those who will do him in after they gain power.
Don’t care much about Geltzer himself, but he’s signed on to take down the rest of us with him.
Interpretation: We on the left are going to continue our collective tantrum and hissy fit when Trump is reelected.
The message I got is that the Democrats will say anything to win . The message won’t resonate with anyone who’s paid attention to how the Democrats have behaved after losing in 2016. They are desperate. They had the support of 90% of the Media, Academia and the Entertainment Industry and still lost.
It reminds me of the old PSA, “I learned it by watching you!”
https://youtu.be/KUXb7do9C-w
Outgoing administrations who use extra-legal/illegal means to interfere with elections teach incoming administrations how to do it.
One bad thing that Trump’s election has caused is it brought attention to the Electoral College, and the nasty fact that all the Dems have to do to win the next Presidential election is to force a win in one or two more states than they won the last time. This can be by vote suppression, advertising, or just plain rigging the vote by cheating just as hard as they can. States like California are lost to us, and the Dems will just use them as a money well, but the close states can expect massive attacks on all fronts, legal and illegal.
There is precedent… in progress, now in its ninth trimester.
He should talk with Hillary first.
@Mike LaChance: “One rarely gets to see such a stunning lack of self awareness.”
Do you even read your own posts? We see such stunning lack of self awareness almost daily where the Dems/Left/Libs/Socialists are concerned.
Opening salvo for the election fraud that is coming.
This won’t be 2016 where the ordained winner, Hillary, couldn’t possibly lose.
Total corruption will be unleashed
100% correct. Every state, every precinct, will see Dem voter fraud, much of of it blatant, on the theory that the authorities and the Republicans can never unravel it all in time to prevent the Electoral College vote a month after the election. This time the Deep State will be ready to roll. and will overwhelm the honest vote with fraud the world has never seen before.
Plus, the Republicans won’t have the balls to do anything about the fraud.
Yet another lightweight no-nothing leftie spews.