Summary:
Donald Trump used the high-profile setting of the final presidential debate here Wednesday night to amplify one of the most explosive charges of his candidacy: that if he loses the election, he might consider the results illegitimate because the process is rigged. “I will look at it at the time,” Trump said when asked whether he would accept the results. When debate moderator Chris Wallace pressed him on the issue, he said, “I’ll keep you in suspense.”“If you look at your voter rolls, you will see millions of people who are registered to vote” who shouldn’t be registered, Trump said. He added that not only was there widespread corruption, but that Clinton “should not be allowed to run.” Clinton brought up that when the FBI said there was no case, Trump said the FBI was rigged. When he lost the Iowa caucus, he said that was rigged. When he lost the Wisconsin primary, he said that was rigged, too. When he got sued over fraud for Trump University, the court system was rigged. However, these elections are governed by states and local governments. Both parties have election watchers to point out and contest irregularities. Voting machines are tested in public with witnesses from both parties watching. There are backstops in place to check election results long after polls have closed.
Questions:
Why does Donald Trump believe the election is "rigged?"
Why are Democratic scholars extremely offended when Trump refused to say he would accept the election’s outcome?
In what way is Trump being compared to a other non Democratic leaders?
What message is Trump sending out to people about the election process? Why is this a bad
The message Trump is sending out, is that he neither respects nor believes the voting system is democratic, or that it is easily manipulated. This is not a good message because the US takes great pride in its democratic ways, and someone who wishes to run for president needs to understand that. Trump needs and respect the system, or at least what the system is supposed to achieve. Also, Trump is not claiming the system needs reform, he is simply calling it "rigged" which implies that someone or a group of people have purposely corrupted this election in particular, which is insulting to those he may choose to blame.
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump believes the election is rigged because he couldn't accept the fact that he is currently losing. Instead of accepting his defeat, his immaturity is conveyed through his blame on the American Democratic System. Trump criticizes the Democratic System that has been established and developed for centuries solely because he his votes are falling behind Hillary. This would definitely offend the scholars because it portrays Trump as someone who does not respect the country's government.
ReplyDeleteDonald trump believes the election is rigged because he is losing and has never lost before. He does not believe that there is any logical and fair way that he could lose. Therefore, he is blaming it on the American democratic system because he can not blame himself and accept his deficit.
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump threatened to reject the election results because he did not want to believe that he would lose, especially to someone he considered to be a "crook." This belief illustrates Trump's lack of respect for the American democracy, and it sends a message to Americans that as President, he will not respect the work that the framers put in to make America a land of the people. This clearly offends Democratic scholars because they whole-heartedly believe in the democracy, and to hear a presidential candidate disrespect the system is disgraceful in their eyes.
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump believed the election was rigged because all the polls said he was going to lose. I think he truly believed he wasn't going to win and for publicity he said he wasn't going to accept the results when in reality, he knew "not accepting the results" wasn't going to change anything. He looks to me like a sore loser but unfortunately we didn't get to see his tantrum :(.
ReplyDeleteI think he believed it was rigged to move the blame away from himself and to place the blame on the American democratic system. I think he was just saying it because the polls were in favor of Hillary and thus for his supporters he didn't want to admit that if he did not win the election in was because he was incapable of being a good president. However, Trump did win the election and so it seems that the "election is not rigged".
ReplyDeleteI think this position of Trump’s is one of his most dangerous. The fact that he attributes any loss of his to the process being rigged is extremely childish, and frankly an entirely embarrassing attitude for our future president. His claim that there are millions of registered voters who should not be registered is completely false, and, in the light of his victory, something completely ironic. Our democratic and free elections are the foundation of American democracy, and I believe it to be a complete disgrace that our next president even considered denouncing them. I’m not sure if any reporters have pressed him on this issue yet, but I really hope that somebody asks him to explain his statement now that he’s won.
ReplyDeleteDemocratic scholars are extremely offended by Trump refusing to accept the election outcome unless he wins because that is not how the Founders planned for elections to happen. In the American Democratic System, there is a convention that the election will be won by one candidate, and the other gets nothing, so the fact that Trump stated he wouldn't have followed that convention (as almost every runner-up has for 200+ years) is scary and offensive.
ReplyDeleteTrump believes that this election is rigged because all of the poles showed that he was loosing to Hillary. He couldn't accept the fact that he wasn't doing well and thought the best way to show that was to accuse them of being rigged. I do believe that hearing someone disrespect the democracy that democratic voters fully support if offending to them.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Donald Trump believe the election is "rigged?" Donald Trump believes the election is rigged is because of the fact that he is losing in the polls, and the primary caucus in Iowa. He says this to not discourage his voters from going out in the presidential election and voting for him.
ReplyDeleteThe message Donald Trump is sending out about the election is that you can't trust the process. You can't trust these elite people in power who are rigging the election to keep the working class down. This message is one of Trump's main appeal to many people in the working class. This is a bad message to be spreading. Creating an idea that everytime you lose something, the system is "rigged", really starts to seem like difficulty in accepting defeat. The larger effect of this message is that many people believe Trump, creating distrust in the government. Many of these accusations Trump make are unfounded and can be categorized as false information, which is something that shouldn't be spread to the masses.
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump believes the election is rigged for many reasons. First of all Washington is know for being corrupt, and as Trump has previously dealt with politicians he has a sense of how unfair the process can be. In addition the way in which the president is elected has been faulty for quite some time. Even if Trump does have supporters, their opinions can be drowned out by the winner takes all system. Finally, part of Trumps reasoning is just his distaste for losing. He can think and act irrationally if things don't go as planned.
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