A defiant Donald Trump addressed media from The White House slamming a "corrupt" mail-in voting system, media and the Democrat machine. Video / AP
ANALYSIS:
It was at the same time shocking and utterly to be expected.
As the nation held its collective breath and awaited the result of the 2020 US presidential election, President Donald Trump stepped to the podium in the White House today and made a full-frontal attempt to undermine theintegrity of the vote, which was leaning in the direction of Democrat Joe Biden.
The President had spent months laying the groundwork for such a moment. He had repeatedly questioned the validity of mail-in ballots. He had dismissed election officials from Democratic states and cities as political hacks. And he had demanded in advance that the results be known on Election Day, which is never a given.
All of this has circulated through the conservative echo chamber for months. And it belies the truth about how elections are conducted in America, where voter fraud is extremely rare.
But while Trump's diatribe was in line with his past mis-statements about US elections, it was still a watershed event to hear the President of the United States so thoroughly run down the conduct of an American election in real time, triggering fresh anxiety about prospects for a peaceful transition of power.
President Donald Trump leaves after speaking at the White House. Photo / AP
"On his darkest day, Richard Nixon would never have attacked democracy the way Donald Trump has now done," John Dean, who served as White House counsel for Nixon, told the AP. "At the potential of losing, Trump has shamed himself and soiled the American presidency. God save us when he actually loses."
And that was the real question going forward: How far will Trump take things if the election does end in his defeat?
And how many of the millions of Americans who voted for him will buy into his false narrative of a stolen election?
The President warned the nation in advance that it might not end well, telling reporters at midday on election day: "Losing is never easy, not for me it's not."
Historian Michael Beschloss framed this as a moment of truth not just for Trump but for other prominent officials, suggesting history would not look kindly on those who look the other way.
"One of the worst things any President could do is to lie and exacerbate deep national differences to advance his own selfish interest," Beschloss tweeted just after Trump completed his statement.
Supporters of President Donald Trump protest the Nevada vote in front of the Clark County Election Department in Las Vegas. Photo / AP
"Always remember who aided and abetted this abuse of Presidential power — and those who tried to stop it," he continued, highlighting Vice President Mike Pence's claim that he stands with the President and wants "every LEGAL vote" counted.
Democrats spoke out against Trump in full chorus, led by Biden, who tweeted flatly after the President's performance: "No one is going to take our democracy away from us. Not now, not ever."
A few of the usual suspects spoke out from the Republican side.
"There is no defence for the President's comments tonight undermining our democratic process," said Maryland GOP Governor Larry Hogan, a frequent Trump critic. "America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before."
Former GOP Senator Jeff Flake, of Arizona, another Trump detractor, put the onus on his fellow Republicans to follow suit.
"No Republican should be okay with the President's statements just now. Unacceptable. Period," he tweeted.
But there was notable silence from many in the President's party after his latest address, including from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
President Donald Trump speaks at the White House. Photo / AP
Whether that dynamic will continue if fuller election results deliver the presidency to Biden is another key unanswered question.
If Trump loses his grip on power, that could diminish the incentive for Republicans to continue their sometimes awkward embrace of a President whose provocative pronouncements have so often left them squirming.
Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University, said previous presidential candidates who had lost elections had accepted their fate with dignity and a respect for American democracy.
He pointed to Nixon's resignation after Republican colleagues told him he would be impeached and convicted. He said that Democrat Al Gore gave a courageous speech after the Supreme Court decided his long-in-limbo race would go to George W. Bush.
He called Nixon a "pragmatist" and Trump an "egotist".
