JULY

**16, 2020**

Meyerson on TAP

The Only Scenario in Which Trump Could Resign

My fellow On-TAPPER Bob Kuttner has occasionally suggested, in this
space and others, that Donald Trump might resign rather than face a set
of unpleasant outcomes, like defeat at the polls or, back in the day,
impeachment and removal from office. I've never thought that's a
real possibility, but today, one scenario occurred to me under which I
do think it's possible.

Let's say that Joe Biden beats Trump in November's election, and on
Monday, January 4, despite all Trump's efforts to derail it, the new
Congress convenes and ratifies the verdict of the Electoral College. At
that point, it will truly be game over for Trump.

And at that point, Trump will have a strong incentive to leave office
and hand over the final fortnight of his presidency to Mike
Pence-under one and only one condition. That condition, of course,
would be Pence's pardoning Trump for all federal crimes he may ever
have committed.

The stumbling block here would be Pence. It's possible Pence might
think such a pardon would so endear him to the Trumpniks that it would
give him a leg up in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. But
it's also possible that Pence would realize any such action would
guarantee his defeat at the polls if he did win that nomination, and
that, most likely of all, he would be inscribing for all time his
otherwise obscure name in history's Hall of Horrors-in return for a
paltry week or two as America's chief executive.

So is there some way that Trump can assure himself that a President
Pence would grant him that pardon? If, under this scenario, Trump waits
until, say, January 5 to make this suggestion, I doubt it. But if he
makes it now, conditioning Pence's continuation on this year's
ticket on his agreement to grant that pardon should Trump think it
necessary, that just might work. Of course, if Pence turns him down,
Trump could always select a different running mate-like, say, Donald
Jr., or Ivanka. To be sure, that wouldn't dislodge Pence from the vice
presidency for the duration of Trump's term, but as Trump conceives
himself less as a president than a monarch, such an action would
nonetheless be fitting.

~ HAROLD MEYERSON

Follow Harold Meyerson on Twitter

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Free Military Equipment: Parts Not Included

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aimed to support financially distressed local police. But in reality,
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Waiting for Annexation

De facto or de jure, the oppression of Palestinians demands real
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Unsanitized: There Is No Flood of COVID Lawsuits Against Businesses

Also, how coronavirus deaths are proceeding. This is The COVID-19 Daily
Report for July 16, 2020. BY DAVID DAYEN

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