Let’s move on, President Trump, for the good of the country

By now, the presidential election should be old news. After all, 46 days have passed since voting concluded; 42 days have passed since Joe Biden declared victory. And the Electoral College met earlier last week, awarding Biden 306 votes — more than the 270 needed to elect a president — with 232 votes for President Donald Trump.

Biden has gotten the hang of winning.

Still, Trump continues to try to overthrow the election, declaring himself the rightful victor. Over the last six weeks, he has taken to social media to build his case. “No way we lost this election,” Trump has proclaimed, repeatedly.

Polls suggest that 77 percent of Trump’s supporters agree — and they are willing to fight on his behalf. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, filed a lawsuit alleging rampant fraud in four swing states. He requested that the Supreme Court overturn Presidentelect Biden’s victory. Ten days ago, the court dismissed the request, saying that Texas lacked the standing to challenge election results in other states.

Yet, Trump is undeterred. He has pledged to go forward, claiming that judges — including the Supreme Court justices — lack the courage to hear his case.

This all sounds familiar. Trump’s refusal to concede parallels the actions of Mexico’s current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who refused to accept adverse results in consecutive presidential elections. In 2006, he lost by some 244,000 votes (less than 1 percent of the total) to Felipe Calderón. After exhausting all legal options, López Obrador named himself Mexico’s “legitimate president,” complete with a mock swearing-in and shadow Cabinet. He denied Calderón’s authority for six years.

Mexican journalist León Krauze saw this coming with Trump. Back in 2016, Krauze wrote in The Washington Post: “Other candidates have fought tooth and nail over perceived electoral injustices, but nothing could have prepared the country for that most unamerican of figures: the institutional saboteur. Alas, we Mexicans know better.”

López Obrador’s actions caused Mexico to sink into political paralysis, according to Krauze. The sabotage weakened some of the country’s institutions and dampened public discourse.

In a similar vein, there are ominous signs for Biden, who’s been left in the dark and without critical intelligence reports regarding

COVID-19 and national security issues. Despite this backdrop, his transition team has pledged to be ready on day one — Jan. 20, 2021, Inauguration Day.

Meanwhile, distrust between leaders and citizens continues to deepen. In 1958, about three-quarters of adults said they trusted government in Washington, D.C., to do what’s right. Today, that figure has fallen, precipitously, to just 17 percent, according to a March 2019 study by Pew Research Center.

We’ve seen distrust in action. Last week, thousands of people gathered in Washington and in state capitals across the country, fearful that hopes of overturning the election are fading. This same anger was unleashed on local election officials and even poll workers, whose lives and families have been threatened because of the outcome.

Still, the physical health of the nation is worsening. We witnessed a record high of 3,611 people killed by COVID-19 in a single day, surpassing the death toll on Sept. 11, 2001. Trump has rightfully cheered the launch of the biggest vaccination campaign in U.S. history, but otherwise, has said little about the pandemic.

The leadership void that’s on display is causing me to worry about the example being set for our children and grandchildren. Certainly, candidates for public office have a right to challenge election results, especially in situations when the outcome is close.

But Biden beat Trump by about 4.45 percentage points, according to Pew, receiving 7 million more votes. In a civil society, losers know how to lose, finding ways to overcome the inevitable sting. We teach our children how to lose with grace, knowing it’s a skill they need to develop in order to deal with life’s highs and lows. I think of the (PRE-COVID) ritual that occurred at the end of my kids’ sporting events, when winners and losers lined up on the field, shook hands and said to each other, “Good game.”

So, if Trump is looking for a last-minute gift idea to the nation he was privileged to lead for four years, I have a suggestion: He could finally admit that he lost the election and pledge support for President-elect Biden.

It’s how you show you’re a good loser — and a good American.

Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’S programming, visit ncrconline.com