This is a serious plea to President Trump, even though it’s a plea Trump almost certainly will not heed:
Mr. President, for the sake of the nation you claim to serve, please, please concede the election and publicly congratulate your successor, Joe Biden.
Yeah, we get it. We know you have convinced yourself that you were defrauded from reelection. We know you think Republican elected officials and Republican-appointed judges all deny your theory not because they lack evidence on your behalf but because they are weak. We know you think that validating a “stolen” election undermines the Constitution as you understand it. We know you also think it gives legitimacy and political tail winds to politicians pushing leftist policies with which you disagree.
If you truly are a public servant, though, none of that should matter as much as the stability of this constitutional system and the faith of the public in that system. None of your concerns are more important than the safety of our citizens — a safety obviously at risk, considering the massive security measures that every capital in the nation is being forced to take.
It also is deeply, profoundly bad for the image and security of the United States, for its diplomatic standing and its moral authority, when the world sees Washington, D.C., look like a war zone in preparation for what always had been a peaceful transfer of presidential power. You always say you want the U.S. to look tough, but the present tensions and threats make it look weak, weak, weak.
And yes, you did, finally, make a mostly good video address on Jan. 13 in which you renounced violence, paid homage to law and order, and urged calm. Although it was grossly belated, it was mostly the right message.
Still, the threats continue. The main reason they continue is that you continue to make clear you believe, and encourage others to believe, that the transfer of power is illegitimate. When extremists believe this, the situation becomes dangerous, even if you read a teleprompter plea for calm.
One of the glories of this nation is its tradition of a peaceful and respectful transfer of power. To that end, you have a duty to call Biden and congratulate him and then announce that you have done so. You should say, in public, something like this:
“Dear fellow citizens: Not only do we have a system of laws for voting for president, but we also have a system of laws governing how our elections are adjudicated and recognized. According to those laws, the courts and Congress have decided Joe Biden has won the election as president. It doesn’t matter if we disagree with those decisions. Those decisions were made by following the constitutional system in place. That Constitution is sacred in our civic realm. I, therefore, respect it and will abide by it. Today, I called Mr. Biden and conceded. I congratulated him for his victory according to our system. I urge everybody to give him the support he will merit as head of state, even as you work politically against any of his policy choices with which you disagree. And I ask all of you not to protest, not even peacefully, on Inauguration Day. It should be a day to celebrate the majesty of our system and a day to join together in hope, not a day to air grievances. So, please, stay home. Save your fight for the political system, at the ballot box, in future elections. Thank you very much.”
There. That should do it.
