The Real Reason Trump is Still Refusing to Concede

He’s not letting go so he can come back even stronger.

The Trump campaign has lost its lawsuit in Pennsylvania. Allies are urging him to drop the charade. GOP lawmakers have refused to be party to his crimes against democracy. Using international chaos to his advantage isn’t an option anymore. Heads of States around the world have recognised Joe Biden as president-elect, and frankly, the world’s losing interest in America’s wannabe-Mussolini.

He’s caged himself in, and now he knows there’s nowhere to run.

That’s why he’s now agreed to move ahead with a transition to the Biden administration. But don’t get excited just yet. Despite moving ahead with the transition, he’s going to continue fighting the result. Now, I’m aware that saying that sounds bizarre is an understatement, but Trump is a man with a plan.

It all has to do with 2024. Because reports have been saying Trump has privately made up his mind to contest the next election. And it’s only to improve his chances of winning then is he refusing to let go of the office now. Again, I’m aware this sounds contradictory but bear with me.

The longer this drags out, the better his chances of painting himself as the martyr. You see, if he was “wronged,” if he didn’t cheat, then he needs to show his camp he’s fighting for the truth. He’s portrayed himself as a “strong man,” after all, and conceding when he’s supposed to is only going to come across as a sign of weakness.

And there’s a good reason why he wants to be the martyr. If he intends on running in 2024, that’s the only hope he has of winning. Why? Sympathy votes work. Politicians in the Third World have been known to have assassinated their own family members to win elections. And if they were killed by someone else, you could count on them to politicise that too. What Trump is doing is nowhere near that, but the basic premise is the same. At large, people feel they’ve been wronged by the “powers that be” in one form or another. Stand on a podium and show them you have been too, and you instantly become “a man of the people.” Combine that with the fact that we’re living in the age of post-truth, and you’ve got a winning combination on your hands.

And that's why, over the next four years, Trump is going to be hammering the message of how “the man of the people was ousted by the corrupt establishment.” And make no mistake — he’s going to be effective. Because Trump, if anything, has proved that he’s the man you go to if you need to radicalise, gaslight, or divide. Rallying his vote bank of 73 million against the state is right up his alley.

And this is going to have a spiral effect.

First, this is the point where Trump makes the job of the Biden administration that much more difficult. Forget “healing the soul of the nation” he’s going to have his work cut out just trying to hold it together. Trump is going to waste no opportunity in delegitimising the federal government. And if he gets a helping hand from his GOP friends in state leadership, the attack is going to be that much more potent.

And you know where all of that leads?

Political instability — the kind that stunts economic growth. And Trump will blame the government for whatever economic problems he’s had a massive part in creating. Take into account that the economy had seen significant growth during Trump’s term, and people will, once again, buy into the “only Trump can Make America Great Again” nonsense.

And if you think about it, it is arguably a move of political genius — if people don’t see right through you, that is. And that’s where this gets dangerous. I’ve seen this tactic being played out in my country before, and progress came crashing to a halt. It didn't work in the long term — primarily because we’re so used to these dirty tricks it doesn’t take longer than a second to see reality for what it truly is. But America? It hasn't seen this before — and there’s a good chance 73 million either aren’t going to see right through him or are simply going to choose to look the other way.

And that matters. Because come the next election, it’ll be all to play for again. Our world moves fast, and by the time 2024 rolls around, Americans will have largely forgotten about the evils of Trump, and the only thing that’ll be fresh in their minds is the failures of the Biden administration.

And by not conceding now, painting himself as the martyr and subsequently attempting to destabilise the country, Trump will come into the next round stronger than he is right now. Plus, if there’s one thing 2016 taught us, it’s that Trump is dangerous when he’s got everything to win and nothing to lose.

Whether or not he ends up wins is a different question. But here’s one thing I know — he’s going to have 73 million waiting. Trump is once in a generation kind of phenomenon, and that makes him hard to forget. To many Americans, he was their saviour. He embodied everything they thought America stood for. This is not an ordinary political support base. This is a movement — and they don’t lose steam so easily. Saying that it’s impossible that Trump has similar numbers turn out for him in 2024 because of everything he’s done is naive. Because by that logic, America should have voted him out with unanimity — not take it down to the wire.

So you can count on his base to come out for him no matter what. This is their version of America they’re fighting for, remember.

But even then, whether he wins isn’t down to them as much as it is down to you. Think about this for a second — it took Biden receiving the most votes for a presidential candidate in history to beat him. Would it be inconceivable to write this off as a one-time turnout? Ask yourself if you truly believe America can pull off something like that again.

Because it matters now. America has to. There is no alternative. This man will be working day and night to win back the presidency he feels he’s entitled to. No one goes to such lengths to kill the voice of 80 million if they don’t.

But does America understand that? Does it realise what it’s in for? Or is it conveniently believing it's over?

Because I know everyone is sick and tired of hearing about Trump, and that probably makes it easier to convince yourself that he’s behind you now. But that is only going to breed one thing America cannot afford — complacency. Because dictators can’t be written off that easily. They’re like leeches who hang on to power until the very country they’re hanging onto comes crashing down.

And that’s why this is going to be a slow-burn. America is going to have weed out Trump-ism. It will be long, arduous, and the country will be bitterly divided. Trump will keep throwing punches, and his base will be ever-ready to amplify their effect. They’ll try once — and then they’ll try again. Because there’s too much at stake for them, and the conditions too enticing for Trump and his clones not to. And that’s why I see the next two elections to be crucial for the survival of American democracy.

This is when Americans need to realise that the only thing that stands between them and another term of Trump is them. No one else is going to come to save their democracy. No one is going to magically stop Trump and Trump-ism. That is something only they can do. How? By using their democracy to save their democracy — by voting.

Whether complacency takes over or Americans rush to their democracy’s rescue, like they did this year, remains to be seen. But if one thing is for certain, not doing so will lay the foundations for an America where Trump-ism runs riot. It’ll give rise to an America where, even once Trump is gone, he’s replaced by someone just like him — or even worse. And at that point, even voting won’t make much of a difference — because all America will see on their ballots will be a choice between Trump A and Trump B.