Will Kamala Harris certify Donald Trump if she loses the US Election?
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The vice president may have to grin and bear officially certifying Donald Trump should America vote him in as president.
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In brief…
- If Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, as vice president, Kamala Harris would be in the position to certify his victory.
- The News Agents predict that Harris would agree to do so if Trump wins “fair and square”.
- They also ponder what would happen if it does the other way, and what the Republicans would do if Trump loses.
What’s the story?
In a US Presidential election, vice presidents oversee the certification of the winner several months after the result.
You might remember the chaos of 2021, when Donald Trump’s VP Mike Pence agreed to certify Joe Biden’s election win as rioters descended on the Capitol.
But if the tables turn in the Republicans’ favour in November, then come January 2025, Kamala Harris would be in the same position Pence was.
So would she actually certify Donald Trump’s victory, as vice president, following months as campaigning against him to become president?
How will the 2025 inauguration work?
Has this happened before?
In 2001, Al Gore, vice president at the time, certified Goerge Bush’s election win.
It must have been a painful one for him to bear, given that he had been the Democratic candidate running for the White House.
So it may be that Kamala Harris will “very much grin and bear it” too, Lewis Goodall says.
“It would be a pretty unpleasant experience, but she would do it”, he adds.
Jon agrees: ”Absolutely, 100% I believe that Kamala Harris would certify Donald Trump's victory if it's seen that he has won fair and square.
“I think that the Democrats would not want to be in the same position that the Republicans were in 2020/2021.”
What if it goes the other way?
“If Trump is seen to have lost again in a broadly speaking free and fair election, they will know that, at age 78, Trump is finished”, Jon says.
Although he does admit that the influence of Trump will remain.
But he adds: “The damage that Donald Trump could impose on them will be much more limited than it was in 2020 when he had been the president and I don't think there will be the same fear factor.
“Some of the swivel-eyed Republicans will die in the last ditch for Donald Trump. But others suffered Donald Trump and know how intimidating he can be.
“I think if Trump loses again, they'll say, you know what we're done with this.”
Lewis says this is why the “Democrats feel that the margin needs to be significant”.
He explains: “If the margin is significant, as it was in 2020, there's no arguing. I think the real nightmare scenario is if this really does just come down to a few thousand votes.”
Listen to the full discussion on The News Agents.
