In the two weeks since Election Day, we have learned two things. One is that Hillary Clinton clearly won the popular vote. The other is that Donald Trump has proven beyond any doubt that he is not fit to be president. And yet, in the face of both of these facts, Trump is poised to be formally elected as president when the Electoral College convenes next month.
Ordinarily, the electoral vote is more or less a coronation. However, there are a number of reasons for why this should not be the case in this cycle. So if you will indulge me for a moment, I will reach back to my high school Lincoln-Douglas debate days to demonstrate why the Electoral College should not hand the White House to Trump, and instead default to Hillary as the winner of the popular vote.
Contention 1: Trump has proven that he does not intend to do what it takes to reunite the country.
When a president wins the Electoral College while losing the popular vote, it is particularly incumbent upon that president to show that he can unite the country. However, Trump has proven not just beyond reasonable doubt, but beyond ALL doubt, that he does not intend to do so.
We learned that when he announced that his campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, would serve as his chief strategist and senior adviser. This is a man with clear ties to some of the worst people in the world–white nationalists, white supremacists, and far-right elements both at home and abroad. Moreover, he has not shied away from promoting these elements as chairman of Breitbart News. This is a man who also believes that darkness and evil are actually good traits, and compared himself to the devil. Indeed, his past is so sordid that there is some doubt whether he would be able to get the security clearance needed for him to do his job under normal circumstances.
If Trump were serious about healing the deep divide exposed in this campaign, there would be no place for such a man in the White House. But Trump either doesn’t know, doesn’t understand, or refuses to understand this. While Trump disavowed the racists and peckerwoods whom Bannon has promoted, he didn’t go as far as to unload Bannon.
If Bannon’s appointment wasn’t enough, Trump is still considering whether to implement a database for Muslim immigrants. In a time when we need to demonstrate that we are a truly united and welcoming nation, the last thing we need is to send a message that people with a certain religious preference will be put under the microscope. Such a mentality would be dangerously un-American and undemocratic from any president, and particularly so from a president who did not win the popular vote.
In short, Trump has shown that he will not even begin to fulfill the most basic task of the president–to bring the country together. If I were an elector pledged to Trump, I would have to ask myself–would the potential opprobrium–and in 29 states and the District of Columbia, a fine–for breaking my pledge be worth voting in a man who has shown he cannot or will not unite the country?
In the absence of something I haven’t heard or seen by the time the Electoral College convenes, I would decide that the risk of putting an unqualified candidate in office was greater than the risk of breaking my pledge, and I would not vote for Trump. And that would be the case if the situation were reversed and a Democrat who won the Electoral College while losing the popular vote behaved in a similar manner.
Contention 2: Trump intends to use the presidency for personal gain.
In any self-respecting democracy, we should not have to ask whether our leaders will put the nation’s interest first and their financial interests second. However, we’ve had to ask that question about Trump far too often for comfort. It is now clear that Trump will not even begin to separate himself from his real estate empire, and in fact intends to use the presidency to put a giant thumb on the scale for his business interests.
Trump has stated that he will turn over control of the Trump Organization to a trust helmed by his children. However, those same children serve on the transition team as well. On no fewer than two occasions, his daughter, Ivanka, has actually been on hand when Trump has held discussions with his future opposite numbers. She came on the line when Argentine president Mauricio Macri called to congratulate her father, and sat in when her father met with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. The message to both leaders, and the world, was obvious–if you cross the Trump Organization, you cross the president of the United States.
Moreover, we also know that a number of diplomats have gotten the hint that if they stay at Trump’s luxury hotel just a few blocks from the White House, it will be easier to gain access to him. These and other Trump deals could potentially violate a constitutional ban on federal officials accepting gifts from foreign officials. Indeed, according to a number of legal scholars, Trump’s conflicts of interest would almost certainly be impeachable offenses.
Simply put, these are some of the most stratospheric conflicts of interest on record for a president-elect. And yet, Trump doesn’t really care how serious this is. He said as much through his vice president-elect, Mike Pence, on Sunday, and doubled down on this himself on Tuesday.
Trump on his businesses/conflict q's: "The law's totally on my side, the president can't have a conflict of interest."
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 22, 2016
If I were an elector pledged to Trump and I heard him openly declare that conflicts of interest don’t apply to him, I would take that as prima facie evidence that he cannot honestly take the oath of office. On that basis, I would consider my duty to my country would be more important than any pledge, and not vote for Trump. And that would be the case if the situation were reversed and a Democrat showed similar disregard for the Constitution and basic democratic norms.
Contention 3: Hillary was the clear winner of the popular vote.
A number of Electoral College proponents have claimed that the Electoral College forces a presidential candidate to appeal to a broad range of the country, and not simply run it up in big states and big cities. However, at last report, Hillary has a 1.7 million vote lead over Trump in the popular vote, and is presently on pace to win the popular vote by over 2.5 million votes. Such a margin is well beyond what even the most rabid defender of the Electoral College can credibly dismiss as the product of wasting votes in permablue areas. Simply put, there is no doubt–Hillary was the choice of those who went to the polls.
On paper, this would be the most obvious reason for the Electoral College not to support Trump. After all, how do you explain voting in a candidate who is likely to lose by between 2 million and 2.5 million votes? The prestige of both the nation and the presidency is presently at risk for severe damage if Trump takes office despite having clearly lost in terms of actual votes.
However, even if Hillary’s margin wasn’t as large, Trump has clearly disqualified himself from serving as president. Not only does he not intend to unite the country, but he cannot honestly take the oath of office.
This is the very situation that Alexander Hamilton intended to prevent in Federalist Paper 68–a candidate with “talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity” from ascending to the White House. That is especially true when the other candidate is the clear choice of the people. For these reasons, the electors should put their country ahead of their states, and make Hillary Clinton president.
(featured image: screenshot via WLUK-TV)
