On Friday morning, Michael Moore made a stunning prediction–he didn’t think Donald Trump would not last a full term in the White House. He also offered a bold plan to ensure that if and when he leaves before 2020, it will be via impeachment.
Well, the next day, the liberal filmmaker and activist, as he is usually wont to do, put his words into action. He joined a protest outside Trump Tower before going into the belly of the beast to deliver a message to the Donald–stand down as president-elect, because you did not win the popular vote.
Just before 1 pm. Eastern on Saturday, Moore took to Facebook to announce that he was going to pay the Donald a visit. Watch here, via a port to YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPyd7zBOMV8
After meeting with several protesters, Moore ventured into Trump Tower in hopes of riding its now-famous escalator to a meeting with Trump himself. He got as far as the fourth floor before Secret Service agents told him he could go no farther–not even on an elevator. He asked the agents to give Trump a note.
I was able to get into Trump Tower & deliver him a message: "You lost. Step aside." SS took the note I wrote up & went 2 give it to him.
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) November 12, 2016
Moore explained his reasoning once he came out of the building. He told reporters, “I’m opposed to this man who did not win the popular vote taking office.” As of Sunday night, Hillary Clinton has a 668,000-vote lead over Trump–small, but enough that it will likely hold when all votes are in. He vowed to work to “figure out what we can do, legally, nonviolently,” to keep Trump out of the presidency.
As it stands now, there is still a prospect that Trump’s current 290-232 electoral vote lead could be overturned. According to University of Florida political science professor and elections expert Michael McDonald, it’s not entirely certain that Trump carried Arizona and Wisconsin. Over 620,000 ballots haven’t been counted in Arizona–enough that Hillary could theoretically overcome Trump’s 85,000-vote lead there. In Wisconsin, Trump leads by just over 27,000 votes–but there are enough provisional ballots outstanding that when they are added to the total, it could force a recount. Additionally, counting is still underway in Michigan.
If I were Moore, I would press for every vote in those states to be counted. Granted, the best-case scenario in this case would be a 269-269 tie. But given that Hillary is all but certain to win the popular vote, there is likely to be a lot of pressure on the House to respect that vote–and Moore is just the man to apply it.
Moore may also want to keep a close eye on the Trump University fraud case. On Saturday, Trump’s lawyers asked Judge Gonzalo Curiel to postpone the trial until after Trump’s inauguration. Trump has claimed the case is bogus. Well, if it is, why seek a postponement? One can only wonder if the plaintiffs have evidence that could potentially destroy Trump politically. Indeed, Trump’s top lawyer hinted that he is willing to discuss the prospect of a settlement with his client. Again, why even talk about it unless there’s a bombshell lurking in the case?
Even if Moore doesn’t ultimately succeed in keeping Trump out of office, at the very least he will be able to deliver an important message to Trump–he has no mandate, and will get no honeymoon.
(featured image courtesy Nicholas Genin, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
