Yesterday, the President of the United States told us that he will not guarantee a peaceful transfer of power. The statement rattled observers from both sides of the aisle but emboldened Trump supporters who are working feverishly to discredit the election before it even occurs. The president is trying to sow seeds of doubt about our electoral process in case the outcome is unfavorable to him. His statements are dangerous, destabilizing, and authoritarian. He is the first president in modern history who is seeking to win re-election by dividing the country instead of unifying it.

The lack of a response by elected Republicans to the President’s statement is almost as disturbing as the statements themselves. Few elected Republicans stood by our democracy. Mitt Romney issued a statement on Twitter saying, “Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.” Marco Rubio released a more nuance assertion that “As we have done for over two centuries we will have a legitimate & fair election. It may take longer than usual to know the outcome, but it will be a valid one.” Other than that, crickets.

The GOP has shown no willingness to rein in a president with authoritarian instincts. Instead, they have rationalized his behavior, accusing Democrats of overreacting and downplaying Trump’s most shocking comments. History has taught us differently. When would-be strong men tell us they are going to do something, believe them. Trump is telling us that he will delegitimize the elections and we should believe him. We should also prepare for people like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Thom Tillis to fall in line instead of upholding their oath to the constitution. They are more loyal to their party and president than to the country as a whole.

We are in a very dark place in our country’s history. We have a president who is threatening our democracy. We have a major party that will not hold him accountable. We have armed white nationalist thugs patrolling our streets unchecked. We have a justice system failing our minority citizens. We have a global pandemic with no national response and one side downplaying its impact despite 200,000 deaths and growing. We are a nation in trouble.

Thomas Mills

Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >