For Trump, maybe it’s better to reject the legitimacy of our democratic practices than to be branded with the greatest of insults: “loser.” For the rest of us, though, a defeated major party presidential candidate refusing to accept the election results would be unprecedented.
Just what sort of angry, unsettling address could Trump give on Nov. 8 if he loses and doesn’t concede? If his supporters reject the legitimacy of the election, it could perpetuate his self-aggrandizement as a political cause. And a little rioting in service to that end might be a comforting prospect to a repudiated narcissist. The following is an imagined transcript of his election night speech — a last appeal to his supporters’ anger — composed of lines from Trump’s past speeches, interviews and, of course, his tweets.
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