On this day, November 10, 2016, when Donald Trump had been declared President-elect, the-Vice President Joe Biden and incoming Vice President Mike Pence met in the White House.
Also on this day 4 years ago, President Obama welcomed President-elect Trump to the White House, where they met in the Oval Office for 90-minutes.
On this November 10th, after Joe Biden has been declared President-elect, President Trump continues to hide out in the White House as he refuses to concede the election and is blocking the tradition of allowing the new president-elect’s transition team access to the White House and cabinet offices. In addition, Emily Murphy, the Trump-appointed General Services Administration head, has not yet approved the transition.
For those who would argue that the election results have not yet been certified and legal challenges continue, the transition process has not historically begun only after the election was certified.
As for the legal challenges to the election results, lawsuits have already been dismissed in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin. U.S. Attorney General William Barr has instructed prosecutors to investigate voter fraud, even though there is no evidence that widespread voter fraud occurred.
Republicans, including Louisiana’s top Republican politicians - John Kennedy, Steve Scalise, and Bill Cassidy - remain silent, and the silence can only be interrupted as support for Trump’s desperate attempt to remain in the White House for a second term. The argument can be made that there are many prominent Republicans who are afraid to challenge President Trump even in these days when he appears to be a lame-duck president.
President Trump’s tweet that there is “plenty of proof” that Democrats cheated and he is really the winner will not hold up in court. At some point, actual evidence will have to be presented instead of the current insistence that evidence exists.
For a man who erroneously bashed Joe Biden for “hiding in his basement,” Trump is hiding in the White House.
Donald Trump is President of the United States until January 20, 2021. How he behaves between now and then will define his legacy and may determine once and for all if Donald Trump really does care about America.
