Sharp contrast between Gore in 2000 and Trump

Trump said that he “will look at it at the time”, when asked during Wednesday’s presidential debate whether he would concede if he loses. “I will keep you in suspense”. “What is it that has made this country unique and has stood the test of time for 240 years?’ I said you can trust in the democratic process, you can trust our elections and to have him question that.”, Cuban trailed off while shaking his head.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway did her best to quickly clean up the mess, reminding reporters that she, Ivanka Trump and vice presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) have all committed, on Trump’s behalf, to accepting the outcome.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump, who’s railed for months about a “rigged” political system, used the final presidential debate to defiantly say he won’t decide until the election ends whether he will accept its results. “I think he’s the puppet”, Cuban said, referring to Trump. And so they decided the sanctity of elections required graceful concessions. If the answers to those questions are “no”, and they damn well should be, then we need to stow this nonsense about refusing to accept election results.

I attended a Congressional Black Caucus hearing in the weeks after the election when one CBC member called the 2000 election a “coup d’etat”.

The Republican nominee, of course, loses more and more support from fellow politicians within his party on a daily basis.

Dr Kevin Yuill, Senior Lecturer in American History at the University of Sunderland, says Trump’s stance is “by no means unprecedented” on the world stage. Out of legal options, Gore had a choice: Continue to fight in the court of public opinion or concede.

Her very hopefulness betrayed that Conway knew only too well things wouldn’t be heading her way. It went all the way to the Supreme Court before Mr. Gore was defeated. The electors who are chosen on November 8 (remember, we vote for electors, not candidates) will cast their ballots in December, and that count will be read and certified in a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2017. “And that case was decided on December 12”.

While it pleases many of his supporters to hear him say that he would contest an election that does not name him the victor, could Trump reasonably mount a legal challenge to an election he loses?

The court gave the election to George W. Bush. That only began the long campaign to de-legitimize the presidency of the victor, George W. Bush. There is no record of her having said the same thing about Gore.

“Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it”, he added.

This was the first moment at which the 2000 election really got weird, as votes were counted and it became apparent that the result in a critically important state might be in flux. Results in other states hinted at a close race; Gore’s Florida win slotted a critically large chunk of electoral votes into his column. He alleged without evidence that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was trying to “rig” the election. State boards of election, departments of state and other organizations responsible for counting votes will publicly report their results.

One of the purposes of the Electoral Count Act of 1887 is to make this joint session a formality, but if there are lingering disputes arising out of states that did not meet the safe harbor deadline, it is up to Congress to settle them.

“What I am saying is I’ll tell you at the time”.

“Are you saying you’re not prepared to adhere to that principle?”

Hillary Clinton is now leading Trump nationally by 9 points, according to a poll conducted before the final debate. “I’m not looking at anything now”.