Lorcan Nyhan: Donald Trump’s dangerous rhetoric shows he has no intention to go quietly if he loses
Originally published in the Irish Independent.
Only one prediction is easy to make: regardless of the result, chaos and confusion will reign supreme in the US this week.
Only two eventualities are now possible, and neither leads to a coherent or unified America.
Either Donald Trump wins the election and is free to enact his agenda, or Trump loses to Kamala Harris and just pretends he won.
In doing so, he would incite mass delusion and destruction between now and the first week in January.
The idea of a peaceful acceptance of a Harris victory is a naive pipe dream. Trump has spent the final week of the campaign poisoning the well of American discourse by spreading misinformation (lies) about potential voter fraud, particularly in the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
He has claimed, without evidence, that: “Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before.”
And: “We caught them CHEATING BIG in Pennsylvania. Must announce and PROSECUTE, NOW!”
Read Lorcan Nyhan's full article on how Donald Trump's dangerous rhetoric shows he has no intention to go quietly if he loses here