a point about democratic legitimacy ...

It's not inherently a problem in a democratic system to "win" by the rules despite losing the popular vote.

1/x

In a multiparty list system like Germany's or Israel's, it will often happen that the parties that eg finished 2nd and 3d will form a coalition that excludes the party that finished 1st.

2/x

In a Westminster system modelled on that of the UK, it will often happen that one party wins more votes, the other wins more seats. That's what happened in the Canadian federal election of 2019: the Conservatives got more votes; Justin Trudeau's Liberals got more seats. 3x/

In Germany, Israel, Canada, etc. the winner gets to form a government - but they don't get to speak for "the people." Indeed in a Westminster system, there is a formal job of "leader of the opposition" - building into the system constitutional recognition of diverging views. 4/x

The PM heads the government, and only that - not the nation.

The American presidency is different. An American president claims more than a legal mandate. He or she claims charismatic authority resting on "the will of the people." 5/x

This problem is of course compounded when a society confronts a would-be tyrant like Donald Trump. Trump is president only *by* the rules - yet he constantly seeks to *break* the rules based on a claim to represent "will of the people." It *matters* that the claim is false. 6/x

Which is why the Trump presidency is a walking legitimacy crisis - and why a hypothetical 2nd Trump term, almost certainly with an even bigger popular vote deficit than the first - will create an even bigger legitimacy crisis than the first term. 7/x

Trump respects none of the other institutions created by the Constitution, including the oversight power of Congress and the 1st Amendment. He wants to trample every law in the name of his voters, even though his voters are outnumbered by the other voters. 8/x

So yeah, Biden voters are right to worry that a Trump re-election won't be legitimate. Trump wants to rule by lawless power, resting ultimately on the threat of vigilante violence. Constitutional legitimacy will itself be the first casualty of a 2nd Trump term. - END -