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Maaya Manoj

Conceding in American Politics

As you probably know, Biden won and is going to be sworn in on January 20th as America’s 46th president. But the previous president, Donald Trump, has refused to believe that. He hasn’t conceded to Biden yet, six weeks after the election. But what exactly is conceding, and why is it important?


Conceding is the process of the electorate accepting defeat and handing over the presidency to the next president. It signifies accepting the result and supporting the winning candidate irrespective of who you voted for.


There are 2 steps to a concession speech. Firstly the losing candidate privately calls the winning candidate and congratulates them which ultimately results in the losing candidate accepting defeat. Secondly, the losing candidate makes a televised concession speech with their family and Vice President candidate by their side. It should consist of the following elements:

  • A statement of being defeated: The losing candidate should make a statement where they accept the loss and congratulate the winning candidate

  • A call to unite: A statement that informs people that irrespective of who they individually voted for, a country should unite to support their president. A call to follow and respect their leader.

  • Respect for democracy: A statement that reflects the celebration of democracy in the country.

  • The importance of the vows they made: A promise to keep fighting for the issues they vowed to resolve while in the White House. The candidate states why these goals are still important to them, how they will keep fighting to achieve their goals, and urges their supporters to keep fighting as well.


Conceding has been a tradition in the white house ever since John Adams conceded to Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1800. Eventually, it started to be broadcasted on TV and became a very important part of America’s democracy. The Concession speech isn’t a law but is a courteous gesture that has always been done.


The concession speech’s main significance is to make sure the change in leadership doesn’t cause huge riots in the country. Following the speech, the previous president takes the opportunity to invite the winning president-elect and hand over the presidency to them. This includes handing over things such as resources to run the country, staff databases, and nuclear codes. They also teach the new President-elect tips on handling the presidency. If this event doesn’t take place, the President-elect is at a disadvantage, like Biden is. He doesn’t have access to all the resources he would normally, and therefore can’t make the most out of the first couple weeks of his presidency before he moves into the White House. He can’t fulfill the vows he made to his country and it has nothing to do with his capability.


If the previous president doesn’t concede it also causes the country to wonder whether this was a democratic election or was it rigged. Trump not only didn’t concede but has also encouraged his supporters to riot against Biden. Ever since he lost he has constantly been spreading conspiracy theories about the rigged election in his supporters' minds to divide America. He has made calls to officials in Georgia trying to convince them that this election was rigged, he recently contributed to the Capitol attack in a huge way by supporting his followers who attacked it. It is the complete opposite of what a good leader must do and this choice of his has resulted in chaos.


But why hasn’t Trump conceded? Most people believe this is just him being stupid and stubborn about leaving, but there might be something else at play.


Trump is in big debt, (Forbes states that he owes 1 billion dollars). He also lost 3 million dollars on filing a case on a recount in Wisconsin, it only resulted in Biden gaining 87 more votes. Trump needs to pay his debt but got fired from his job a few weeks ago. So how is he going to pay back his debt?


Since Biden won the election Trump has earned 170 million dollars. Trump has made 170 million dollars spreading news of election fraud and not conceding. Since conceding isn’t in the law Trump doesn’t need to concede. As long as his supporters follow him and support his false claims of the election being rigged, which they are doing very efficiently, Trump will continue to make money off of them.


Thank you for reading, hope this was informative!

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