Up until the closing of precincts on November 3, the 2020 election was about Donald Trump versus Joe Biden.  With the absence of meaningful campaign messages and appearances from Biden, the election was essentially a referendum on four years of Trump's presidency and whether the American voters would give him another mandate for four more years.  By objective accounts, they did.  But with abundant evidence pointing to a rigged election to hand the presidency to Joe Biden, the real issue is no longer about who the president-elect is.  This is no longer about Trump versus Biden.

The real issue now is whether America will be a banana republic or not.  The integrity of the election will define the nation for years to come.  Therefore, President Trump must see this fight not for his survival, but for the survival of the United States of America.

During the campaign, the liberal Democrats, including Joe Biden, have made it clear that they were not genuinely interested in discussing their real plans for the next four years if the voters handed them the power.  Asked by a reporter prior to the election whether he would be packing the Court or not, Biden said he would answer the question after the election.  At this juncture, one has to take seriously the Democrats' intent at face value.  Whoever brazenly committed massive cheating of this magnitude in front of millions of American people will certainly have no qualms doing the same or even worse in the future.  A desperate and obsessive desire for power can lead to desperate measures.

In the last two weeks, the Trump legal team has gathered enormous data and information indicating that massive cheating and fraud to steal the election have been committed.  If they are highly confident in the evidence they have, then, as Jay Valentine described, it's time to call it as it is: a coup.  That is a deliberate attempt to capture power through a combination of violent means (committed by the radical wing of the party) and preprogrammed, organized election fraud.

A coup is never constitutional.  In fact, it is a direct attack to the Constitution.

What then must a sitting president do?  The president's oath provides the answer plainly.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

It is worth repeating that the solemn duty of the president is to defend the Constitution.

History often teaches us a great lesson on how to deal with a crisis.

Facing a prolonged war and the breakup of the nation, President Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant general-in-chief of the Union armies in February 1864 with a sole intent to win the war in order to keep America together as a union.  Not wasting any time, General Grant summoned General William Sherman to meet him at the Burnet House in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 20, 1864 to devise a strategy to defeat the Confederacy.

Both generals came up with a plan.  General Sherman was to attack General Joseph Johnston's army in the South, and General Grant would go after General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia.  Through long and hard battles, both the Union generals were victorious, which effectively ended the war on April 9, 1865.

The history lesson is fighting two simultaneous battles to win a war.

As the president's legal team is assembling all the evidence to be presented to the Supreme Court, it is wise and imperative for the president to simultaneously prepare and announce the initiative needed to enforce the constitutionality of this election.  There is little doubt that the left will resort to violence and intimidation to get what it wants in this election.  Already a radical Democratic politician and an activist in Michigan threatened the children of Monica Palmer, a Republican Wayne County Board of Elections canvasser, for her refusal to certify the corrupt election results in the county.  Fearing for the safety of herself and her family, Monica Palmer gave in and agreed to certify the election.  (She is now attempting to rescind her vote.)

Unfortunately, we will very likely see more of this.  The Democratic Party's goal is simple: threatening anyone who dares to challenge the integrity of the election and refuses to validate the results with violence.  But if we choose to cave in to the thuggery instead of defending the Constitution, that means we are no better than many third-world countries, where despots and dictators generally win elections through intimidation and vote manipulation.  And we have no standing whatsoever to tell the world about the merit of our democracy, let alone fight in other countries in the name of democracy.

We don't know when or whether this case goes to the Supreme Court, which will hopefully help sort it out.  But the president must make it clear that any attempts to threaten the constitutionality of the election, whether by threats of violence or mass riots, will be dealt with swiftly, with force.  Whether the president decides to invoke the Insurrection Act or any other legal means available at his disposal as the commander-in-chief, it had better be announced soon.

If, after all possible legal means have been exhausted to ensure the constitutionality of the election, including counting only the legal votes, President Trump turns out to be behind Joe Biden, kudos to the Democratic Party.  They won the race fair and square.  But that in itself is Trump's monumental achievement worthy of historic praise.  And the year of 2020 may be remembered not just for the coronavirus, but for the beginning of truly fair and honest elections across America.

For that reason, President Trump must not give up. 

Ulysses S. Grant is a pen name.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.