“Over the past few weeks, there’s been a growing rumble of the sort that was manifested in 2016: What if Trump declines to concede? The threat is more dangerous now, because Trump has the power of the presidency itself at his disposal. What if the scenarios outlined by journalist Barton Gellman for the Atlantic play out, and Trump pulls every available lever to subvert popular will should it become apparent that he might lose? How close is this country to seeing its experiment collapse? During a press briefing, Trump was asked to assuage those concerns.”

“‘Mr. President, real quickly, win, lose or draw in this election, will you commit here today for a peaceful transfer of power after the election?’ a reporter asked. He noted various incidents of violence that have occurred in recent weeks, apparently to demonstrate the elevated national temperature. ‘Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transferral of power after the election?’ Trump’s answer was not reassuring. ‘Well,’ he began, ‘we’re going to have to see what happens.’ It’s a sharply atypical response for a president, certainly. George W. Bush or Barack Obama, for example, would probably have said something like, while I’m confident I’ll win, of course I will cede my position should that be what voters want. But they weren’t asked similar questions, to my knowledge, because they didn’t need to articulate those obvious answers” – Philip Bump.