Will Trump fans accept the result if he loses?
by Gerard Ball

November 8th is a day of reckoning. It is a most important day – a day when either everything could change, or little will. Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? That has been the paramount question worth answering ever since it became readily apparent that these two – a lifelong Democrat and a born-again Republican – were destined to lock political horns.

Many months, falsehoods and crassness followed which left on-lookers like myself with a distasteful taste in my mouth. However, following on from Trump’s own groping admissions – he tanked in the polls. What seemed a close race suddenly became anything but. Now, a mere week or two later, following on from fresh email ‘scandals’, Clinton herself has plummeted in the very same polls that had her in such a commanding position. From what I’ve read today, though, her polling has stabilized somewhat and she still remains likely to succeed Barrack Obama as the 45th President of the United States and the first female to do so. However; if the aforementioned comes to fruition, it begs the question; what will Trump and most importantly, his supporters, do when they must utter the following words; Madame President.

As an onlooker, I don’t profess to know a great deal about the U.S political system. No, but I do, however, enjoy educating myself on such things on a daily basis. As part of that educational process, I have read the following; The Hill, the Guardian politics, Politico, CNN, Fox news and, of course, non-American sites such as Irish and English daily newspapers. The result? An experience in huge contrasts. Reading CNN’s take on Hillary Clinton is not quite akin to Fox’s take nor is it so for Donald Trump. However, this is of no surprise to anyone. What is, perhaps, more surprising though, is the amount of people who comment on these websites that seem to be under the illusion that Trump will not only win, but he will do so in a landslide, much akin to Reagan’s victory apparently in that he’ll do so whilst losing in the ‘crooked’ polls.

Now I’m not for one second saying he won’t win, but a common trend I’ve encountered upon reading through these thousands of comments daily is that some of these pro-Trump supporters truly believe that the only feasible way their candidate could possibly lose is by voter fraud. So, it begs the question; how will these same people react if he does, indeed, lose?

Now, I don’t live in the United States, so perhaps me reading through the comment sections of various media isn’t enough to accurately gauge how Trump supporters will react – nevertheless, if reading through the Fox News comment sections has taught me anything – it’s to be worried.

Donald Trump has encouraged a lot of unsavory behavior to his supporters: he (and the Republican Party) has made them despise Hillary Clinton (rightly or wrongly, that’s up to you). He has laid the foundation for his supporters to feel as if they’re fighting against the status quo in the form of a ‘Washington cartel’. If these people truly believe the aforementioned, will they, in their millions, peacefully accept the results of the Presidential election if their candidate of choice does, indeed, lose?

Now, I’m not suggesting that all Trump supporters feel this way – far from it. I don’t hold favorable views for either candidate but I do believe this most unique of elections begs a most interesting question; how will disgruntled and frustrated Trump fans react if the election doesn’t go their way? Perhaps we will know on November 8th, or perhaps there’ll be joyous scenes of jubilation within every Fox News comment section – who knows?

Gerard Ball – a 23 year old journalism student from Ireland.