After the election, when the depths of Reince Priebus’ humiliation during the campaign are being charted, this Sunday’s interview on Face the Nation will definitely feature. Priebus had a tough assignment: try to defend Donald Trump’s refusal to say he’ll accept the results of the election when he loses. There may be no good way to defend that, but this is definitely not the best way:
What he’s saying is, he wants to reserve all options, and if there is grounds for a recount, I will exercise my options. I know where his head is at. He is not willing to not concede if he loses and there’s no fraud.
“He is not willing to not concede”? That has to be one of the most tortured phrases uttered in a campaign cycle that has involved both Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Also, note the giant if: “if he loses and there’s no fraud.” No fraud in whose judgment? Because Trump has made it clear that he will take losing as evidence there was fraud. Face the Nation host John Dickerson pressed the point:
DICKERSON: But his mouth is in a different place than where you think his head is.
He said, if he loses Pennsylvania, a state Republicans haven’t won since ‘88, it will only be because the state was stolen for him.
PRIEBUS: I don’t think that’s where he’s at. That’s not where I’m at.
I think that if -- losing by 100 votes is one thing. Losing by 100,000 is a different thing. I think we can reasonable on this issue.
“We can be reasonable”? Tell me about this “we,” please.
You might want to talk to your candidate about that one, since he’s the one running around claiming the election is rigged. And Trump is not being so careful to talk about 100 votes vs. 100,000 votes—that there sounds like Priebus rehearsing his Election-Night pleas to Trump. “If they were saying you’d lost by 100 votes, I’d be fighting for a recount, but it’s 100,000 votes, so please, you have to concede.”
And I say this sincerely: Good luck with that. The country needs people like Priebus and Kellyanne Conway, who have been trying to cover for Trump by claiming that of course he’ll concede if he loses fair and square when he obviously plans no such thing, to succeed. We need them to convince him to concede and tell his supporters that the election was not rigged or stolen. So no matter how craven they’re being in defending him by pretending that’s not what he’s saying now, let’s wish them good luck on the night of November 8.
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