by Lina Martinez

President of USA Donald Trump - Pixabay

A two-horse race, one might say, the 2020 US election was definitely one of the most beleaguering spectacles ever to grace the nation’s democratic system. Narrowly beating the current President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden has seemingly had the patience of Saint when dealing with this situation.

An embarrassing one-term President, Donald J. Trump has been no stranger to controversy. By grossly exploiting narrow-sided views and opinions, President Trump was able to marginally win the 2016 United States election. Since then, he has been a constant source of news for major reporting outlets.

During his first week, he banned Muslims from entering the United States, almost two years later he was impeached in a “quid pro quo” scandal involving Ukrainian investigation into his main political rival Joe Biden, and now he is all but refusing to leave the White House when the time comes.

President Trump has bemoaned Joe Biden in a frankly embarrassing smear campaign and cited voter fraud as the main reason for stalling the peaceful transfer of power. As part of the anti-democratic doctrine of the Trump White House, lawyers for the President filed several motions in court claiming that widespread corruption during the election was the cause of his loss and therefore Biden had not legally won.

This led to Trump also demanding recounts in several states including Georgia, Milwaukee and Wisconsin, where the President reportedly paid $3 million for the privilege. 

But with Trump refusing to cede control of the current administration, one wonders just what will happen come moving day. With just over three weeks until Biden’s inauguration, it is possible that Trump might have to be forcefully removed from the White House.

How this will happen is a delightful fantasy of pure speculation. Could it be something like a movie where the military, or indeed the Secret Service would have to manhandle the former President? Well, probably not.

In reality, should President Trump refuse to leave office following Joe Biden’s inauguration, he could be committing treason. As much fun as it might be to see Trump stamping his feet and being dragged out, the spectacle is more likely to be that of an office firing where he is simply asked to leave and must comply, maybe in the presence of Police Officers. We might just see him with a box of his office desk belongings and a sad look on his face.

President-elect Biden has so far, by order of Trump, been denied any access to briefings including national security and Pentagon papers. The months between the election and inauguration day are for this precise practice. The President-elect needs to be up-to-speed on exactly what he or she can expect when coming into office. Because of this, the Biden administration is sure to be playing catch up for months, posing not only a potentially embarrassing period but major security risks as well.

Given the drama and antics of the past few months and indeed the four years of Donald Trump’s majorly controversial Presidency, Mr. Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris are sure to inherit one of the most disorganized, corrupt, and deranged White Houses in modern history.

2020 has been a bad year for most. The United States has taken the brunt of the Covid-19 outbreak, civil unrest has plagued many African-American communities and now this. The President’s failure to act during two of the most destructive incidents in modern US history is what cost him this election and a more distinguished President might admit that to himself.

In the words of William Shakespare, “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool”.