Related Articles
Senator JD Vance of Ohio finally has an answer for journalists who ask him who won the 2020 presidential election.
Donald Trump.
Here is how my newsroom colleagues captured the scene:
I am not going to explain, again, the sheer absurdity of Vance’s views, but his comment did get me thinking about one of the many elements of this election that have produced real anxiety in liberals and other Democratic voters: the possibility that Trump will try to steal the election if he loses.
There is no question that both Trump and his allies will denounce the results if, on Nov. 6, the day after the election, it appears that he has lost. Hell, there is no question that Trump will immediately declare victory on Election Day and try to pressure election officials in swing states where he is leading to stop counting the votes. There is also no question that if he does lose, he will try to prevent individual states from certifying their electoral votes in hopes of triggering a contingent election in the House of Representatives.
All of this has liberals understandably scared. But here’s the thing. The best outcome for Trump is still just to win the election. His ability to reverse a loss is limited to his ability to inspire others to commit crimes on his behalf. Remember, the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 clarified that congressional counting of the electoral votes is a formality and has no real bearing on the outcome. The Jan. 6 method is off the table. More important, Trump is not the president. He has no legal authority. If he loses, he’ll be just another private citizen, urging other private citizens to commit state and federal crimes on his behalf.
Some may do so on account of his cult of personality. But many others won’t. It is one thing to break the law for the elected representative of the entire country. It is something else entirely to break the law for someone who is just a guy. And if Trump suffers a decisive defeat, civil society will almost certainly coalesce around Kamala Harris, making any attempt to disrupt the results next to impossible.
This is not to say that it is silly to worry about what comes next if Harris wins; there is, for instance, the real chance of post-election violence. But the fact of the matter is that Trump has a better chance of winning outright than he does of overturning a defeat.
Which is to say that if you’re reading this and you are a liberal inclined to worry, you might want to focus more on putting him out to pasture than on whether he can break out of the enclosure.
What I Wrote
I’m definitely repeating myself here, but I wrote once again about why it is important to take Trump both literally and seriously, and I speculated a little about why this seems to be so difficult for so many people.
Now Reading
Matthew Duss on President Biden’s disastrously steadfast support for Israel’s war in Gaza for The New Republic.
Adam Shatz on Israel’s “forever war” for the London Review of Books.
Judith Levine on the world without Roe for Boston Review.
Sarah Jones on the coal industry for Dissent.
Matt Zoller Seitz on “Megalopolis” and the state of American moviemaking for RogerEbert.com
Photo of the Week
A photo of the Tennessee State Capitol I took over the summer during a short trip to Nashville. I used a Leica range finder camera and Kodak color film.
Now Eating: Lentil Soup With Smoked Sausages and Apples
This soup, which is delicious, screams cold weather and cozy sweaters. It’s a little sweet, a little savory and very filling. I have no particular notes other than you should feel free to go heavy on the garnishes — not just the green onion but also fresh apple, as well as some parsley. Recipe from the Cooking section of The New York Times.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow or red onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tart firm apples, such as Honeycrisp, peeled and diced
celery stalks, chopped into ½-inch pieces
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 fresh sage sprig, leaves chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried sage
1 fresh thyme sprig, leaves chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 ½ cups dry hard cider
¾ pound smoked sausage, such as kielbasa or Andouille, sliced into ½-inch-thick coins
1 ½ cups/10 ounces dried small green lentils (also called French lentils or lentils du Puy)
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
¼ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 to 6 scallions, thinly sliced for garnish
Directions
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add half the chopped apples, and cook, stirring until softened, adjusting the heat as necessary to avoid scorching, about 5 minutes.
Add the celery, garlic, sage and thyme, and stir to combine. Pour in the cider and let it come to a bubble. Add the sausage, lentils, nutmeg and 4 cups water to the pot. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a generous amount of pepper. Let the soup come to a boil, then decrease the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cover the pot and cook until the lentils are tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
Just before you are ready to eat, add the vinegar. Stir together the sour cream and mustard, then stir the mixture into the soup. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve in bowls topped with the scallions and remaining chopped apples.
<
