Something happened in America on Jan. 6 that was remarkable among nations. I am not referring to Jan. 6, 2021, which was not remarkable in many nations of the world where peaceful transfers of power do not happen. I am referring to Jan. 6, 2025, when a presidential candidate who lost an election officially declared her opponent as the winner. And power was peacefully transferred from one party to another.
That is how transitions used to take place in America. Throughout our history, the incumbent vice president, as the constitutionally designated president of the U.S. Senate, stood in a joint session of Congress and declared the electoral vote victor, even if that person was not of their own party or even themselves. It was routine. Rarely was much attention paid to it.
Yet it was, and still is, for much of the world a rarity. In so many countries, the ruling party or dictator simply refuses to leave power. A real election is not held. And if it is, the results are nullified by a hand-picked electoral commission or Supreme Court. Venezuela is a recent example. The opposition party proved their candidate won last year’s presidential election. Yet, the governing party still has not relinquished power.
We are the envy of so much of the world because of our peaceful transfers of power. Historically, the governing party turns over power to the opposition without drama. Losing candidates concede gracefully. They call their opponents and wish them well. In many cases, they even attend the inauguration ceremonies of their opponents. And, as Vice President Kamala Harris showed, they are willing to officially recognize their own loss. Several sitting vice presidents who were losing presidential candidates, such as Richard Nixon in 1960, Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and Al Gore in 2000, have done that. Historically, everyone respects the process and understands how important that respect is in the preservation of a democratic society based on the rule of law. Many citizens of other nations see this trait of the United States of America as one they wish their own leaders would emulate.
And yet, Jan. 6, 2021, shattered that model for the world and proved that not everyone does respect those norms that guarantee our democratic republic. Donald Trump does not. He never conceded. He skipped out on the inauguration ceremony of his successor. He repeated a lie that the election had been stolen, for which there was no evidence. There is no question that had the 2024 election gone the other way, he would have sent his supporters into the streets and the Capitol building again to destroy a legitimate election process. He was already preparing for that moment with his rhetoric during the campaign. And many people would have joined the mob or supported them from their armchairs, computers or mobile devices. A CNN survey last year found that 70% of Republicans believed Joe Biden was not legitimately elected, and a CBS News survey this year noted 72% of Republicans support pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters.
We may think that with the peaceful transfer of power occurring now the nation has escaped the drama four years ago and perhaps has put all that behind us. Maybe or maybe not. Republicans will lose a presidential election in the future — 2028 or 2032. The question is whether they will respect the results. Will history show that Donald Trump was an aberration — a political figure who temporarily upset our political institutions and processes to feed his own narcissism? Or has Trump permanently altered Republicans’ support for the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power by crying foul and attempting by violent means to overturn the election results when they do not go their way?
Will Republicans make peaceful transfers of power in the future routine once again? And, if not, what will that mean for our model for the world and, more importantly, our own future as a democratic society? That decision is up to the Republicans. Let’s all hope they make the right one. As a nation, we cannot afford the wrong one.
Richard Davis is a professor emeritus of political science at Brigham Young University.
This post was originally published on here
