There’s no denying Democrats are still upset about Donald Trump's defeat of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. But some have taken things to a new low, coming up with scenarios under which Clinton could still become commander in chief—scenarios that will never come to fruition.
Take for example an article that ran in Newsweek Monday titled “How Hillary Clinton Still Can, and Should, Become President After the Trump-Russia Investigation.”
The author puts forward an argument made by a Harvard University professor that includes House Speaker Paul Ryan “handing the White House keys to Clinton.”
Here’s the argument:
If number 1: If Trump is definitively found to have colluded directly with Russia, he would be forced to resign or be impeached.
If number 2: If Trump is removed, Vice President Mike Pence would become president.
If number 3: If Pence becomes president, he should resign too, given that he benefited from the same help from Mother Russia.
If number 4: If Pence resigns before appointing a vice president, Ryan would become president.
If number 5: If Ryan becomes president, he should do the right thing and choose Clinton for vice president. Then he should resign. (Newsweek)
"The answer seems unavoidable: He should nominate the person defeated by the treason of his own party, and then step aside and let her become the president," the Harvard professor argues. "Without doubt, if Ryan did the right thing, that would be the most extraordinary event in the history of America since the Confederate Army fired on Fort Sumter. But unlike that, this event would build the union, not divide it."
The only saving grace is that the author starts out the article basically acknowledging the argument is nothing but a pipe dream.
“Sure, it's been more than 340 days since Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton, but there's still one very narrow, highly unlikely and entirely unprecedented way that Clinton could become president.”
As ridiculous as these types of stories are, it’s not quite as bad as the website that lets visitors imagine what it’d be like if Clinton had won.