What if the concession speech is not a call to union?
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(CNN) ––
Granting a lost election is the most elegant thing to do.
It is an act that has usually been part of the moment when the country comes together after a divisive campaign.
But it is a custom, not a law.
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According to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, President Donald Trump has told his allies that he has no intention of granting Biden the victory, even if his path to winning the Electoral College is blocked.
With Biden's lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania, Trump's path to victory is nonexistent.
There are generally two elements to a concession: a phone call to the winner and a speech to the fans.
Trump would not recognize Biden if he wins the election 6:08
This is how the losing candidates have conceded in past elections
Hillary Clinton called Trump to concede the triumph in 2016 and addressed her supporters, after it was clear that she would lose.
(Although she advised Biden not to concede if the election was close and to let things unfold.)
John McCain established this modern standard of gracious concession, when he told supporters, "I recently had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected as the next president of the country we both love."
Read here his statements in English.
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Al Gore called George W. Bush to grant him victory on Election Night 2000, even though he later contacted him to recant when the results in Florida were at odds.
In the end, Al Gore conceded: 36 days later, after the Supreme Court finished recount and handed the White House over to Bush.
He also delivered a conciliatory speech to the nation, even as his supporters were furious at the result.
Trump seeks to challenge the 3:40 election results
If Trump loses ...
At some point - perhaps not today, but perhaps until legal options are exhausted - it will become clear to people around Trump and to Republicans in Congress that this is over.
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Maybe that's when Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, should fulfill his official role of certifying the vote count of Electoral College votes.
Process that takes place in the Chamber of the Chamber in January.
The losers, who are generally part of the government, often attend the inauguration of the winner in modern times.
It is not clear whether Trump could do it or not.
It could be an appropriate conclusion to Trump's leadership style if he refuses to acknowledge his loss.
What the Constitution says
The Constitution is very clear that the new president will take the oath of office on January 20 at noon.
That will happen if Trump loses with diplomacy or if he has to be escorted out of the Oval Office by the Secret Service.
However, it is not exactly clear what the Secret Service would do if Trump did not leave.
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The Secret Service has begun to protect Biden more and more strictly.
He has a greater number of agents around him and the airspace over Wilmington has been cleared.
This fact suggests that the Secret Service understands that a transfer of power could be looming, even if the current leader does not.
And there is grace time for Trump in the coming months.
I could look at reading the letter that George HW Bush left to Bill Clinton in the Oval Office, after Clinton defeated him in 1992. Here is the complete letter in English.
«You will be our president when you read this note.
I wish him well.
I wish the best to your family.
Your success is now the success of our country.
I support it, ”Bush wrote to the man who defeated him.
And he didn't have to.