Tuesday night, after 596 days of campaigning and nonstop news coverage, we’ll finally know the winner of the 2016 great race to the White House … or at least, here’s hoping.
But with great victory comes great loss. Enter the ever-entertaining round of concession speeches where the losing candidate, who has been mudslinging for months and promising to win, has to bow out and admit defeat.
Over the years we’ve watched the concession speech pendulum swing back and forth, from stubborn denial to over-the-top butt kissing. Very few candidates have walked the fine line of conceding graciously.
The question is, how will Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump choose to lose? Let’s take a walk down memory lane and let history be our guide.
Donald Trump
To take him at his word, Trump will cry “Rigged election!” if the returns are close. Which means no one should expect a concession speech anytime soon.
In 2000, it was Dec. 13 before Al Gore conceded.
Gore graced us with his typical lockbox voice and a smile no one believed was genuine. But he was gracious enough, even if a bit condescending.
If Trump loses and gives a concession speech Tuesday night, I doubt he’ll be gracious. He hasn’t set that precedent for himself. Instead, it’s likely Trump will channel then-former Vice President Richard Nixon.
In 1962, Nixon conceded the California governor’s race by giving his infamous “last press conference.” He lashed out at the media and his opponent in an entertaining and back-handed way.
“You’ve had an opportunity to attack me and I think I’ve given as good as I’ve taken,” Nixon said. “As I leave you, I want you to know: Just think how much you’re going to be missing. You don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”
Hillary Clinton
While humor is an option and can prove endearing, Clinton probably won’t employ it. That laugh is too much (please stop!), and her past jokes have fallen flat: Who can forget her response when asked if she wiped the server: “You mean with a cloth or something?” Uh … yeah.
But humor has worked for a lucky few, like Adlai Stevenson in 1952: “It hurts too much to laugh, but I’m too old to cry.”
Also, Bob Dole in 1996: “I was just thinking on the way downstairs, I was thinking on the way down in the elevator: Tomorrow will be the first time in my life I don’t have anything to do.”
Because Clinton has been a candidate, we can examine past performances to gauge her reaction this time around.
If her primary loss to President Obama is any indication, she might try to angle for something in return. She first refused to concede in the primary, but then quickly changed her tune to imply she was interested in being Obama’s running mate.
What can we expect Tuesday night, or for however many days it takes for someone to admit defeat? If we’ve learned anything in 2016, it’s to expect the unexpected. As has been the case for the past 595 days, nothing about 2016 has been predictable — heck, even the Chicago Cubs won the World Series! — so let’s not attach that label to the concession speeches either.
Beverly Hallberg is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is president of District Media Group. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
