Donald Trump’s political lunacy made his election chances go up in smoke like a Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Trump is destroying the Republican Party and, judging by Wednesday’s Presidential debate, he has another target: American electoral democracy.
Trump’s final debate with Hillary Clinton on Wednesday was another flaming disaster and the final nail in his presidential coffin.
And it was Trump, not Clinton who delivered the knockout blow to himself. It all came down to one question. Chris Wallace asked Trump if he would accept the election results.
“I will look at it at the time,” Trump said. “I’ll keep you in suspense.”
Wallace couldn’t believe his ears. So he asked Trump again, if he would concede if he lost.
“I’ll tell you at the time,” Trump shot back. “I’ll keep you in suspense, OK?”
Wonderful.
For the first time in American history, a candidate for president says he won’t accept the results. In other words, American democracy doesn’t mean squat to Donald Trump.
Your vote, my vote mean nothing.
Why?
Because Donald says it’s rigged.
Trump’s refusal to abide by the will of the voters cuts deep to other Republicans, who spoke on television.
“It’s Donald Trump crushing and stomping Donald Trump’s road to the White House,” said Nicolle Wallace, a Republican who worked for George W. Bush.
“He should have said he would accept the results of the election,” tweeted Laura Ingraham, Republican commentator.
Steve Schmidt, who worked for John McCain and Sarah Palin, said Trump’s refusal to say he would accept the results were: “a disqualifying moment. It’s a clear and present danger to the Republic.”
Mike Pence, Trump’s vice presidential candidate, had previously said he would accept the election results. After the debate, Pence waffled.
Historian Michael Beschloss didn’t saying of Trump: “It’s radical. It’s revolutionary. This was a deliberate threat he made tonight. One of the few things we all agree on, going all the way back to George Washington, is that no matter how tough a campaign is, we all accept the results.
“Richard Nixon, in 1960, when he made a concession to John F. Kennedy, said: ‘One of the tenets of American democracy, is we unite behind the person who is elected.’”
Not Donald Trump.
He opened the door and Hillary Clinton pounced on Trump’s words.
“That’s horrifying. No one in history has claimed an election is rigged before it’s held. Everything is rigged to Donald.
“He lost the Iowa caucus. He lost the Wisconsin primary. He said the Republican primary was rigged against him. Then Trump University gets sued for fraud and racketeering; he claims the court system and the federal judge is rigged against him.
“There was even a time when he didn’t get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged against him. “Should have gotten it,” said an agitated Trump.
Clinton also hit the target on Trump’s treatment of women. Wallace asked Trump about the nearly dozen women who came forward accusing him of sexual assault.
Trump denied all charges and then said he “didn’t even apologize to my wife, who’s sitting right here, because I didn’t do anything.”
Trump called Hillary “a nasty woman.”
“Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger,” Clinton said.
Trump was in typical Trump form in this debate. He started strong, talking about the Supreme Court and challenging Hillary on foreign policy, immigration and the Second Amendment.
Then, as usual, after about 20 minutes, Trump lost his cool and energy. He rambled on, attacked Hillary and whined and growled, while making faces and interrupting his opponent.
One strange moment came when Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin “outsmarted” Clinton and has “no respect” for her.
“Well, that’s because he’d rather have a puppet for President of the United States,” Clinton responded.
Putin aside, a CNN Poll scored the debate this way: Clinton 52 percent, Trump 39.
It was further proof that this election is all but over except for Trump’s shouting.
Bring on Alec Baldwin.
Tony Violanti writes for Villages-News.com