To the editor:
As former president Donald J. Trump inexplicably continues to refuse to concede that he lost the 2020 presidential election to the present and, unquestionably, legitimate President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in spite of his instigating a failed and very violent coup attempt to, illegally, keep him in office, and also, following extensive investigations, based on Trump's unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, which cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars, concluding that the election was perhaps "the fairest and most lawful election in U.S. history," it has become, sadly, quite obvious that the former president is simply unwilling, or unable, to accept reality and, consider what is best for our great country and respect the will of the people over the demands of his tremendously over-inflated ego, as have others who have been in much more legitimate circumstances but were willing to graciously step aside.
Recall that in the 2000 presidential election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, that although Gore won the popular vote by a more than 500,000 votes, the determining factor came down to Florida, where Bush's brother, Jeb, served as governor, to determine the winner as the voting in the Electoral College was in a dead heat, and the winner of the state would be elected president.
Initially, it was determined that Bush had won the state by fewer than 2,000 votes, which called for an automatic recount by Florida law. After the recount it was determined that Bush was the winner by only 307 votes and, as a result, Florida Democrats requested a manual recount in what had been heavily Democratic counties where voting did not indicate such to be the case, which was approved by the Florida Supreme Court, a decision that was, incredibly, overridden by the conservative U.S. Supreme Court, declaring Bush the victor. In spite of such considerable controversy, Gore graciously conceded the presidency to Bush.
In addition, in the 2016 presidential election between Trump and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, it was discovered, as a result of an investigation by Robert Mueller, that Russia had, without question, massively interfered on behalf of Trump, by hacking sites of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign, and by using fake, politically damaging propaganda to dissuade American voters from supporting Clinton, revealing that the Trump campaign during this period was in contact with the Russians more than 100 times for this purpose, and that Trump, himself, had vehemently praised the Russians more than 100 times for their involvement in opposition to Clinton.
In spite of this incomprehensible, and totally illegal, involvement by the Russians, Clinton, who actually won the popular vote by more than 2.9 million, conceded the presidency to Trump, as he was victorious in the Electoral College. Clinton humbly conceded, even though it was won through unquestionably illegal means.
Sad that Trump continues to place his unquenchable ego as a priority over the American electorate, as all proof has long indicated that he lost a completely fair election.
Richard Hord
Martins Ferry