Donald Trump's dictator-style challenge to US democracy is a warning to Scotland – Angus Robertson

Electoral fairness and democratic legitimacy can easily taken for granted if you live in a country which has transparent systems and safeguards, and a political culture that respects the results.
Donald Trump seems to be struggling to come to terms with the fact that he was the 'loser' in the US presidental elections (Picture: Getty Images)Donald Trump seems to be struggling to come to terms with the fact that he was the 'loser' in the US presidental elections (Picture: Getty Images)
Donald Trump seems to be struggling to come to terms with the fact that he was the 'loser' in the US presidental elections (Picture: Getty Images)

Recent developments in the United States underline how precious that is.

Since losing the popular vote and the all-important electoral college majority, President Donald Trump has refused to respect the results.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Instead, like a petulant tin-pot dictator, he has come up with a wide range of incredible and madcap explanations for coming behind Joe Biden.

Read More
Donald Trump: When I worked for him, he threatened not to pay me, then cowered i...

Being a loser must be painful for Trump, especially as ‘loser’ is his preferred insult for others.

That does not justify claims that the election was: rigged, a fraud, corrupt, scandalous, hacked or the responsibility of allies of Hugo Chavez, Nicholas Maduro, George Soros, Cuba and China.

Watching the unhinged rantings of Trump’s lawyer Rudi Giuliani, who literally melted together with his hair-dye during a recent news conference, was surreal.

Now a prominent Trump ally has urged the losing President to drop his efforts to overturn his loss.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has called Trump’s legal team a “national embarrassment”. Devastating court judgements against “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations” are heaping the pressure on The Donald to accept the inevitable.

It can easily forgotten that we in Scotland have had circumstances that might have been challenged in the same way.

In 2007, the SNP won its first-ever Scottish Parliament election by one seat, with one constituency having a majority of only 48. It’s worth reminding ourselves not to take democracy for granted.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.