CNN opinion writer Joshua Geltzer is concerned that there's a good chance President Trump will refuse to leave the Oval Office should he be defeated in 2020. That's because, according to Geltzer, Trump is "increasingly proving himself to be a president eager to overstep his authority." He reminds readers how in 2016, for example, Trump was the only presidential candidate not to promise to honor the election results.
Remember, when Trump was merely a private citizen running for President in 2016, he became the first presidential candidate in recent memory to refuse to commit that he'd honor the results of the election if he lost. Now, he occupies the Oval Office. He's the commander in chief of the most powerful military on Earth. If he even hints at contesting the election result in 2020, as he suggested he might in 2016, he'd be doing so not as an outsider but as a leader with the vast resources of the US government potentially at his disposal.
The CNN author also notes Trump's attacks on the media and intelligence community, as well as his willingness to push through his agenda via national emergencies. He has also "woefully" failed to address foreign interference in our elections.
But there's hope. Geltzer goes on to note that four groups have a crucial role to play in the event Trump does ever refuse to concede his power. Those include the Electoral College, Congress, the 39 governors who won't be up for reelection, and the Defense Department. He seemed somewhat confident that these parties would meet their responsibilities if and when the time came.
It was an interesting scenario from Mr. Geltzer. Yet, The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway had a counter question for him and all the folks at CNN. Others took the opportunity to turn the tables on the network.
Regardless of who runs in 2020, if President Trump wins, will you peddle an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory for 2+ years that he's a traitor who stole his election?
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 24, 2019
Funny you ask that since it’s been two years and the entire left ( media included ) still hasn’t come to terms that Trump even won. You’ve been trying for two years to find a reason to get rid of him but cannot. My guess would be it is CNN that would not let him exit peacefully!
— xx_snakebite_xx (@xxsnakebitexx1) February 23, 2019
CNN always loses and never leaves peacefully.
— shan_phil (@shan_phil) February 24, 2019
Others didn't bother clapping back at CNN or their integrity. Instead they calmly noted that there's no need to worry because Trump is going to be re-elected.