UPDATE, SEPT 26:
I also spoke with Austria’s Radio FM4 on Friday about the likelihood of Donald Trump’s defiance of an election victory by Democratic nominee Joe Biden, and the “co-dependency” of Trump and Republican legislators.
Listen at 12:16
As Donald Trump threatens to ignore the outcome of the November 3 US elections, I spoke with Monocle 24’s Georgina Godwin about the possibility, amid the Coronavirus pandemic and renewed protests over police violence and social issue.
After an update on the marches following no indictments against Louisville, Kentucky police officer who killed Breonna Taylor, we consider the relationship between Trump and Republican legislators — including Senate Majority Mitch McConnell — who pushed backed on Wednesday with a commitment to an “orderly transition of power”.
Will the GOP politicians finally break their co-dependent relationship with Trump, or will they give way — with their own political agendas — to Trump’s falsehoods about a “hoax election”?
America Unfiltered Podcast: The Most Important Election Ever?
TrumpWatch, Day 1,344: GOP Legislators Slap Down Trump’s “Hoax Election” Plan
Listen from 2:38:
How can Trump think he’ll prevail even if, at this point, some Republicans say, “You shouldn’t do this”?
On Trump-Russia, Trump prevailed despite the US system. On Trump-Ukraine he won, despite the system.
He thinks — despite 203,000 Americans dead from Coronavirus, despite the historic economic downturh — he can still win. When it has come to the crunch, senior Republicans have buckled, primarily because of Senator Majority Leader McConnell who has enabled Trump.
See EA on Times Radio: Trump-McConnell Try to Undo Ginsburg Legacy — Will They Succeed?
Trump may well win fairly because:
1. Incumbents tend to be given the benefit of the doubt by the people who overlook shortcomings.
2. He is perceived as strong on the economy and national security.
3. He has forged an enthusiastic coalition of white nationalists, evangelicals, economic populists, and fiscal conservatives.
4. He is not from the political class in Washington and is seen as an anti-establishment outsider.
5. He commands a lot of support from German-Americans in the mid-west.
Unlike in most countries, including Iran, the president of the United States is not directly elected by the people. Rather,. he/she is elected by an electoral college. These electors are normally themselves elected by the electorate of the individual 50 states, but they could also be elected by state legislatures (as happened historically). In some states he is projected to lose in, like Arizona, he still commands the support of the GOP in the state legislature.