The Republican Party and Donald Trump’s alternative election fantasy

AMONG REPUBLICANS’ favourite grievances over the past four years is a claim that Democrats never accepted the results of the 2016 election. In fact, nine hours after the Associated Press called the election for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton took to a much smaller stage than she had hoped to command to say that she had “congratulated Donald Trump, and offered to work with him on behalf of our country.” Soon afterward, then-President Barack Obama said he would “make sure that this is a successful transition...we are now all rooting for [Mr Trump’s] success in uniting and leading the country.” Democrats may not have liked the result, but they did nothing to prevent Mr Trump from taking office.