President Trump has shown no signs
of conceding the election to Joe Biden.
But the question is: why is conceding such a big deal?
Well, let's find out why in another installment of
"If You Don't Know, Now You Know."
♪ ♪
The concession speech.
It's a time-honored tradition of U.S. politics,
like kissing babies, and interns without their permission.
And while there's nothing about it
in the Constitution or the law,
it's become a very important part of America's democracy.
One of the most important norms
that a person who loses an election faces
is to concede that election
and allow that peaceful transfer of power to go forward.
NEWSMAN: The loser grants legitimacy
to the winner of an American election
through their concession speech.
We have fought the good fight.
NEWSWOMAN: We fought hard.
We've come to an end. We accept this result.
We will work together.
Once the decision is made,
we unite behind the man who is elected.
NEWSMAN: It's a simple courtesy
that began in 1896 with a two-sentence telegram
that William Jennings Bryan sent to William McKinley
two days after the election.
And the tradition has continued in some form or another
in every election since.
Al Smith gave the first radio concession in 1928
after losing to Herbert Hoover.
In 1940, moviegoers watched Wendell Willkie concede
to FDR in a newsreel.
(trumpet playing fanfare)
People of America, I accept the result of the election.
NEWSMAN: When Gerald Ford lost the 1976 election,
his voice gone,
he turned to his wife to read his concession.
The president asked me tell you
that he telephoned President-Elect Carter
a short time ago and congratulated him
on his victory.
You know how the saying goes.
Behind every great man is a great woman
waiting to be pushed in front to do his dirty work.
If you ask me, it's actually a little risky
having your wife concede for you.
Because she knows shit.
Okay, you all know my husband is a loser,
but what you don't know is how much of a loser he is.
First of all, he has skid marks on his underwear,
like, every day.
So, even though it's not legally required,
conceding is really important.
You know, it's the same way
you have to say, "Let's catch up soon,"
to someone you haven't seen in a long time,
even though you know that's never gonna happen.
Or the same way you have to wash your hands
in a public bathroom if someone else sees you.
And it's interesting how the way candidates concede
tracks the technology of the era.
You know, first they conceded by telegram,
then by radio, then telephone.
Which means in 20 years Don Jr. will have to concede
to President Malia by TikTok.
♪ ♪
That's right, in modern history,
every candidate has offered a concession,
no matter how painful.
Although, there were some candidates
who couldn't wait to get it out of the way.
1980. Jimmy Carter was defeated resoundingly
by Ronald Reagan by about ten points.
The first thing that Jimmy Carter says,
"I want to have the best transition in history."
NEWSMAN: Carter decided very early in the evening,
at, like, 5:30,
California time, where Reagan was,
to concede.
He did this over the objection of some of his aides,
who thought that the polls were still open on the West Coast.
And Carter wanted to get it over with,
so he called much earlier than Reagan expected.
Nancy Reagan was in the bath.
Ronald Reagan was in the shower.
Okay, a guy wanting to concede that fast
would actually make me suspicious
of becoming president.
It's like when someone is a little too happy
that you're dating their ex.
And you have to admit, the story about Reagan
is really humanizing.
You know, you never think of presidents
running through the house in a towel,
trying to get to the phone before it stops ringing.
But they did.
Even President Lincoln had to deal with it.
-(phone ringing) -Hold on! Hold on!
Yes, are you calling to concede?
No, I do not want to buy slaves! Stop calling this number!
Unsubscribe!
I've got to do something about this!
So, the formal concession has been an important part
of the peaceful transition of power for nearly 125 years,
but there have been a handful of times
when it almost didn't happen.
NEWSWOMAN: In 1916, the presidential race
wasn't called for more than two weeks.
Democratic president Woodrow Wilson
and Republican Charles Evans Hughes
both claimed victory one day after Election Day,
but Hughes conceded on November 22.
NEWSMAN: In 2000, it played out over 36 days.
Al Gore called George W. Bush to concede
after a remarkably close election,
only to call an hour later to take it back.
After a recount and a Supreme Court case,
Gore decided to concede again.
In 1876, Rutherford Hayes, the governor of Ohio,
is running for the Republicans,
Samuel Tilden, ex-governor of New York at that time,
is running as the Democratic candidate.
And it's a very close, disputed election.
And two days before Inauguration Day,
the dispute was still alive.
Both sides were planning on inaugurating their candidate.
Only two days before did Tilden concede,
and the country came very, very close
to a terrible outcome.
Yeah. One time America got close to having,
not one, but two inaugurations.
Which would have been a nightmare.
Can you imagine all the traffic?
Plus, you're gonna need two Sean Spicers
to lie about the size of two crowds?
And the dueling presidential speeches must be terrible.
It's, like, the Brandy and Monica of inaugurations.
♪ The crowd is mine ♪
-♪ It's mine ♪ -♪ It's mine ♪
-♪ It's mine ♪ -♪ It's mine... ♪
By the way, 1876 must have been a really shitty time
to live through a contested election.
I mean, because now we've got Twitter-- we can just scroll.
They could only look out of their window all day
waiting for some dude on a horse to deliver the news.
Look! Here he comes! He has the election results!
Oh, no. No, wait.
He's just got a list of other horses
that he thinks I should follow.
It's just an ad.
But if concessions haven't always gone smoothly,
in the end, it's a gentlemen's agreement
that every candidate has adhered to.
But Donald Trump is no gentleman,
and it's pretty likely that he's going to end his term in office
by breaking one final unwritten rule.
The good news is, it might not really matter.
If President Trump decides not to do it,
nothing consequential happens to the outcome.
WOMAN: There will still be a peaceful transition of power
no matter if Donald Trump stays in the White house,
or if he decides to leave.
The codes, the nuclear codes and every code,
will be delivered to Joe Biden.
The Constitution has a remedy.
If you are not the electoral vote winner
on January 20 of the following year,
you're no longer the president, you're a trespasser.
NEWSMAN: The Biden campaign saying
the United States government is perfectly capable
of escorting trespassers out of the White House.
That's right, people.
And best believe, if Trump is escorted out,
he's not gonna give a shit about anything.
Especially keeping national secrets.
(like Trump): Get your hands off of me.
E.T.'s hiding in the Hoover Dam.
Tupac is alive. He lives in Montreal.
The moon landing was fake.
There's no such thing as the moon.
All I know is this--
when they kick Donald Trump out of the house,
they'd better change the codes to everything immediately.
Because I know him-- he's gonna try and log back in.
They better make the code something he'd never guess,
like Eric's birthday.
So if President Trump doesn't concede,
he will put a stain on the American presidency
that'll never go away.
But on the other hand, he could be physically dragged
out of the White House.
So...
maybe it's worth it.
And if you don't know, now you know.