Editorial: Donald Trump’s reckless end game

He risks subverting a cherished American ideal: the peaceful transfer of power under constitutional law.

It was a devastating moment: Donald Trump was asked point blank if he would accept the results of the election. His reply: I’ll get back to you on that.

Trump’s answer was shot through with both hubris and paranoia: He is contesting an election before the first votes are tallied.

Trump had other bad moments during the debate — his promise to get the “bad hombres” and calling his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, a “nasty woman.” But nothing compared to the Republican nominee subverting a cherished American ideal: the peaceful transfer of power under constitutional law.

At a rally in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Trump tried a halfhearted do-over but his latest comments provide no hope that the New York developer and celebrity will make a clean exit if Clinton wins.

“I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win,” he joked amid a sea of cheering supporters. Trump went on to say that “of course I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result, right?”

That would be any candidate’s right in a razor-thin election like 2000. But that wasn’t the question he answered during the debate. After a week of outrageous claims — after falling behind in the polls — that our election system is “rigged,” Trump was asked by moderator Chris Wallace if he would accept the election results if he lost.

In final debate, Trump casts doubt on election

He just couldn’t bring himself to say yes.

Will Trump ever concede if he loses? Or will he encourage his ardent supporters to reject the legitimacy of the election — attacking the very cornerstone of our democratic republic?

Trump must realize he is losing. He is trailing in every credible national poll and in most battleground states. Fellow Republicans are fleeing him as they attempt to maintain at least one house in Congress. But after pinning the “loser” label on everyone from his Republican primary opponents to past prisoners of war to troops who suffer from battle fatigue, this pampered prince of privilege cannot imagine a graceful exit. And so he claims without evidence to be the victim of a massive conspiracy that no reasonable observer believes is real.

Call it what it is: A small-minded man, falling behind, further lowering himself in a vain effort to avoid embarrassment, with no regard to what it means for our nation.

Here was Trump earlier this week in one of his many tweets on the subject:

Republicans from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to running mate Mike Pence have reaffirmed the legitimacy of the election system. Yet Trump persists in claiming that rigging is happening “at many polling places.”

One of the best studies on the subject was conducted by Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School. He could turn up only 31 credible incidents of voter fraud out of more than 1 billion votes cast from 2000 to 2014.

“Actual instances of voter fraud — such as voter impersonation, ballot stuffing and bought votes — are extremely rare, often unintentional and not on a scale large enough to affect a national election. Trump’s alarming claim, once again, is without proof,” PolitiFact determined in rating Trump’s claim “Pants on Fire,” or “ridiculously false.”

Trump’s loose talk is dangerous. Some of Trump’s followers may not be inclined to leave it to the courts or a lawsuit. Some may take the over-the-top language of Trump surrogates such as Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., literally and resort to pitchforks and torches.

Trump's claims of rigged election not 'the usual standard lie,' Obama says

USA Today reports that a woman in Newton, Iowa, told Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, that she was “ready for a revolution.” Pence asked her not to say such a thing but she went on: “Our lives depend on this election. Our kids’ futures depend on this election and I will tell you just for me, and I don’t want this to happen but I will tell you for me personally if Hillary Clinton gets in, I myself, I’m ready for a revolution because we can’t have her in.”

Some of Trump’s supporters have tried to compare their candidate’s stance with Al Gore getting a recount in Florida after the 2000 presidential election but it’s not even close. Gore narrowly won the popular vote nationwide that year and trailed by a handful of votes in Florida, the state that determined who would win in the Electoral College and become president. The margin was so slim in Florida that a recount was triggered automatically. When it was all over, after a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush vs. Gore ended the Florida recount, Gore conceded — gracefully. He respected the laws of our land, even after winning more votes overall than his opponent. It’s easy to imagine George W. Bush doing the same if their positions had been reversed.

Unfortunately, it’s much harder to imagine Trump putting his country first.

The nation’s leading Republican in elected office, Paul Ryan, has been silent about Trump’s latest act of recklessness.

We urge Ryan to finally reject Trump, who has been running as much against his own party’s leaders and ideals as he has against Clinton.

It’s the right thing to do.