The whining never stops, but the counting will

Here is the President of the United States, defeated soundly in an election almost four weeks ago, still complaining about supposed fraud, evidence for which his lawyers have been unable to produce in court. He is still hoping to get a case in front of the Supreme Court, where he figures his three appointees will back him, but that is now unlikely. Trump is finished as President, which is why he feels the need to remind the reporter that he still occupies the position.

He continues to insist falsely that the election results are due to fraud for several reasons:

1. It helps him to raise money, including in ways that will enable him eventually to pocket the funds.
2. It signals his racist followers that he remains one of them, as his fraud complaints focus on cities with large black populations.
3. It keeps his base loyal and the Republican Party under his control.
4. It enables him to capture media attention that would otherwise drift to Biden.
5. He hopes to convince the President-elect to cut a deal that will prevent future prosecution of himself, his family, and his loyalists.

That isn’t likely, but in the meanwhile Trump also intends to exercise as much power as possible before January 20. Yesterday it was leasing Arctic land for oil and gas drilling and killing a leading Iranian nuclear scientist. He apparently intends to pursue every bad idea he and his cabinet can generate, in a desperate effort to prevent President-elect Biden from reversing course. The one idea of his own he appears not to want to pursue is a Covid-19 relief bill. The Senate Republicans don’t want him doing that as they gear up for returning to opposition to all Democratic spending proposals.

Meanwhile, the counting, recounting, and auditing of votes is proceeding. No significant irregularities or miscounting has been discovered. Michigan has certified its election results in favor of Biden with a small increase to Biden in Milwaukee. Wisconsin has completed its recount with a slight increase to Biden. Georgia and Pennsylvania are close to the finish line. There is no real possibility of any change in the result and Trump knows it. The Electoral College outcome December 14 is clear: 306/232, precisely the same as Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton that he has often described as a landslide. It wasn’t, nor is it now, but it is definitive.

Trump will leave the White House January 20. But I imagine he won’t attend the inauguration. No one needs him there, and he can likely attract more media attention by holding his own anti-inauguration elsewhere. The whining never stops, but the counting will.