RIDGE POLITICAL REVIEW
  • Home
  • Domestic
  • International
  • Opinions
  • Economics
  • Local
  • About
  • Contact
  • All Articles

All Articles

Concede or Bleed: Why Concession Speeches Exist

1/1/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

By Sarah Ouyang

Chivalry is dead, the old lady in the subway laments when a stout man steals the last seat in the car. Chivalry is dead, the gentleman complains when a woman rushes by, ignoring him as he holds the café door open for her. And as you turn on the news, preparing yourself for another round of grim Election 2020 headlines, you silently agree: Chivalry is dead.

For the weeks following this year’s presidential elections, incumbent President Donald Trump has remained steadfast in his conviction not to concede to President-elect Joe Biden. If the pattern continues, he will not be allowing Biden his inauguration, much less congratulating him for it. This has greater consequences than inconvenience and confusion for the White House staff as they prepare for the transition. A century-old tradition will be placed in peril.

In 1896, two days after election results were unveiled, Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan sent a telegram to Republican victor William McKinley, expressing his congratulations. Thus began the gallant, unspoken convention that has culminated in what is now known as the presidential concession speech. Even before Bryan’s public declaration, the defeated candidate sent private letters to the newly elected president, offering well wishes and congratulations. Just four years ago, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton delivered her concession speech the day after losing the 2016 presidential election to Trump, exhibiting expected disappointment but courteous congratulations as well.

The tradition has not been broken in over a century, but Donald Trump is nothing if not unpredictable.

Trump has, instead, decided to throw himself into an onslaught of issues arising from the pandemic, the suffering economy, and the national state of social unrest. He surprised members of both parties on Tuesday, December 22nd, when he delivered a brutal criticism of the newly Senate-approved second stimulus package, which promises direct payments of $600. In his message, Trump called the package a “disgrace” and demanded that each direct payment be raised to $2000. Surprising, of course, but not entirely unwelcome for Democrats, who eagerly and unanimously accepted the proposed amendments.

Republicans in the Senate, however, were not pleased with this turn of events. This disagreement has two serious implications for the government: a shutdown may occur if Trump does not sign the bill, and the Senate race in Georgia could be majorly disrupted by the stimulus package battle.

What does this mean for Joe Biden? He may very well be handed a government, or even a nation, in chaos and conflict. Even as some rummage for hope in Trump’s new seemingly Democrat-favored policies, it appears his decision could have drastic consequences for what should have been a peaceful transfer of executive power. This conflict will exacerbate the problem that began with the question of a concession speech from Trump — or rather, a lack thereof.

A concession speech may be purely allegorical and contain no legal importance, but it has had dramatic impacts on American presidential transitions. Ron Elving, a Senior Editor and Correspondent at NPR News, explains the benefits of a concession speech: “It ends the suspense. It mellows the mood. And it means the country can begin moving on.”

The absence of a concession speech could thus be especially detrimental this year. While public focus has been widely drawn to COVID-19 or election news, there can be no surprise in referring to the other, more socially-geared issues of 2020. The frenzy of the Black Lives Matter movement seemed to die down after the summer as people shifted their attention to other current events, but their goals and fighters remain strong and unhappy with the country. During this period of political polarization and social unrest, a stubborn silence from the incumbent president will be widely heard.

In the 2020 movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, Abbie Hoffman (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) sits at the stand with a poignant smile on his lips as Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) asks him: “So how do you overthrow or dismember, as you say, your government peacefully?” Without missing a beat, Hoffman replies, “In this country, we do it every four years.”

Let’s hope that is still true.

​
0 Comments

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    Aadhavaarasan Raviarasan
    Adam Smith
    Albert Wu
    Alex Liao
    Alex Timoney
    Alicia Jen
    Alison Shim
    Andrea Lan
    Andrew Falduto
    Anvi Mahagaokar
    Atreya Misra
    Ayla D'Silva
    Bardia Vaseghi
    Benny Sun
    Bharat Sanka
    Brandon Lu
    Brian Wen
    Brinda Gurumoorthy
    Caitlin Schiffer
    Camille Shen
    Caroline Margiotta
    Caroline Sha
    Catherine Chen
    Cathy Chen
    Chloe Yang
    Christine Wang
    Daniel Pittaro
    Daniel Zhang
    Davis George
    Deeptanshu Singhvi
    Dilara Shahani
    Ellee Tomaru
    Emily Pan
    Emily Wang
    Erin Flaherty
    Felix Zheng
    Hitha Santosh
    Howard Wei
    Injae Lee
    Jacob Clott
    James Gao
    Jasmine Xie
    Jedson Boyle
    Jennifer Huang
    Joey Walter
    Jonathan Nemetz
    Jon Jen
    Julia Roos
    Kaitlin Smalling
    Katherine Wang
    Katie Kleinle
    Kevin Tang
    Kevin Yang
    Kishan Gandham
    Kunal Damaraju
    Kyanna Ouyang
    Logan Aviles
    Lucas Canteros-Paz
    Maggie Hsu
    Mariam Khan
    Mark Stachowski
    Mason Krohn
    Meghan Mangini
    Michael Shaw
    Mimi Petric
    Namita Kalghatgi
    Noah Smith
    Oliver Tang
    Omar Bekdash
    Pasha Saidi
    Priya Mullassaril
    Raheel Abubakar
    Ranen Miao
    Rayhan Murad
    Robert Johnson
    Ryan Walsh
    Saamia Khan
    Saloni Singhvi
    Sam Klein
    Sarah Ouyang
    Shaina Spector
    Shaurya Ganjoo
    Shiam Kannan
    Sunjay Melkote
    Tim O'Shea
    Tim Tang
    Vicki Liu
    Victoria Lu
    Vivek Gurumoorthy
    Wei Wen
    Willa Yu
    Zayna Kutty

rpr

About
Home
Read All
​
Contact

Sections

International
Domestic
Economics
​Opinions
Local
​
Search Site
© COPYRIGHT 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Domestic
  • International
  • Opinions
  • Economics
  • Local
  • About
  • Contact
  • All Articles