By alleging that the election will be rigged against him, Trump is intentionally sowing the seeds of chaos, including the possibility of violent confrontations on election day and a flood of litigation in its wake. Should the outcome be close, the verdict may not be known for weeks and will likely be rejected as fraudulent by one side or the other. No election is conducted flawlessly, and disputes over ballots are common but this time Trump will try to inflate any minor discrepancy into a major conspiracy. There are some on the extreme left capable of thinking in the same way. Ultimately, the controversy may be settled by the Supreme Court, which for Biden supporters is a decidedly unsettling proposition.
It is possible, of course, that the tally will be one-sided enough to make partisan complaints irrelevant. I hope so. But we should prepare for the worst and three facts are worth remembering.
First, procedures for voting have been developed over many years and benefit from the guidance of non-partisan experts: widespread fraud is both extremely unlikely and relatively easy to detect. Second, a few glitches are inevitable but also remediable and should not discredit the whole process. Third, regardless of how honest and efficient the vote count is, allegations of cheating are sure to surface on social media and in partisan elements of the press. With or without real fires, there will be plenty of smoke. It will be up to responsible leaders in both parties and professionals in law, academia and journalism, to help citizens separate facts from exaggerations and lies. The more prepared we are for efforts to confuse, the better we can counter them.
I am often asked how long it will take to repair the damage done by the current administration to the US's global standing. Certainly, the country cannot undo the experience of being represented by Trump. Just as a herd of elephants leaves behind traces of its passage, so will the Trump team.
Biden, if elected, will inherit a country diminished by his predecessor's search for "greatness" in all the wrong places. The new president's task will be daunting: to reassure allies; reassert leadership on climate change and world health; forge effective coalitions to check the ambitions of China, Russia and Iran; and re-establish the US's identity as a champion of democracy.
Are Biden and his team up to the job? With help from those who still wish the US well, the answer is surely yes. Will they have the chance? That depends on how US citizens have come to view the purpose and character of their nation. Does their vision bear any resemblance to the confident, outward-looking country that welcomed my family to its shores in 1948? Or has time so narrowed the popular perspective and muddied our capacity to discern truth from lies that the US I fell in love with has faded into history? For better or worse, we will soon know the answer.
The writer is a former US secretary of state and author of Hell and Other Destinations: a 21st Century Memoir.
Written by: Madeleine Albright
© Financial Times