Start of a neverending election

IT seemed so shocking, a sitting president attacking the entire American electoral process with a series of unsubstantiated claims over 17 long minutes from a White House lectern.

And yet, it wasn’ t really surprising at all. Donald Trump has been laying the groundwork for an “I was robbed” defence of this election for months, if not years.

On the campaign trail, he continually said mail-in voting was subject to fraud. His strategy now is to talk about the massive leads he held in states such as Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, that he claims were “magically whittled away” by mail-in votes — and to convince Americans that those votes are bogus.

US elections are about perception as much as policy and the playbook for how to challenge a verdict was set back in 2000. Democrat candidate Al Gore erred by conceding early to Republican George W Bush, before the race tightened so much he contested the verdict. America was paralysed for 37 days as legal challenges reached the Supreme Court and a Florida recount finally gave the Republican the White House.

Gore lost the election but he also lost the PR war, never really regaining the momentum he had handed over so early on electionnight.

That’ s why both Trump and Biden both announced they were winners in the hours after thepollsclosed.

Trump likely won’t leave willingly.

If Joe Biden is declared the winner, he must now find a way to encourage the president to step aside in a somewhat gracious manner for the goodofAmerica.

That scenario doesn’t seem likely given the discord that has been brewing across this divided country for the past fouryears.

This may be starting to feel like a never-ending election, but there’ s every indication the battle’s just beginning.