“Trump promised for months that this is exactly how he’d react if he lost, and now he’s doing it and shredding American democracy in the process,” said Late Night host Seth Meyers on Wednesday. “If anything, this might be the first time he’s delivering on what he promised.”
The U.S. presidential election was called for President-elect Joe Biden days ago, and President-eject Donald Trump continues to shut his eyes, block his ears, and scream “voter fraud” at the top of his lungs. There’s still no evidence of widespread election fraud yet Republicans are still pushing this story, Meyers noting that this willfully ignorant bullishness bears strikingly similarities to narratives we’ve heard before.
“There’s a common through-line from birtherism to lies about voter fraud: Republicans don’t see their opponents as legitimate, and they don’t accept the outcomes of democratic elections,” said Meyers.
“They believe they are the only ones entitled to wield power regardless of what voters actually want. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure we can have a functioning democracy if one side refuses to accept the results whenever they lose.”
It’s still unclear how everything will shake out. Even so, as Meyers observed, it’s deeply disturbing that the U.S. has reached this stage at all.
“Even if this ridiculous coup attempt fails it doesn’t bode well for the future,” said Meyers. “Which is why we need bold, systemic reforms to empower everyone to vote and honor what the majority of voters actually want, like abolishing the Electoral College and fixing the Voting Rights Act, among other things. These should be no-brainers.”