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In his recently published book, Will He Go?: Trump and the Looming Electoral Meltdown in 2020. Lawrence R. Douglas, a professor at Amherst College, addressed the possible courses of action that Trump might take if he wants to challenge the Nov. 3 election results

In an online interview about the book, Douglas discussed the nightmare scenario of Trump simply refusing to leave office. I cannot imagine Trump conceding defeatits not in his DNA to do so, Douglas told his interviewer. "If he loses decisivelyand by that, I mean not only in the electoral college vote but also in the popular vote of the swing stateshe will have no choice but to submit to defeat.

But, Douglas added, if his loss turns on the results of mail-in ballot submitted in swing states, then I believe Trump will aggressively work to dispute the result."

Explained Douglas: Its not hard to imagine how this could play out: Trump could enjoy a slim lead in the key swing states on November 3a lead that vanishes once the mail-ins start getting counted in the days following November 3. And yet all the while Trump is pushing his insistence that only election day results should count; indeed, he brazenly declares that his disappearing lead simply proves his claim of mail-in fraud. Delays in the counting of these ballots increase the possibility that our key swing statesall controlled by Republican state legislaturescertify Trump as having won. And so, like in 1876 [and the disputed election between the popular vote winner, Samuel Tilden, and the eventual victor, Rutherford B. Hayes], we can imagine Congress finding itself confronted with competing electoral certificates at its joint session on January 6, 2021.

And what do we do if Trump wont leave? Constitutional scholar Joshua Geltzer recently wrote an article for The Intercept in which he said, "There is no reason to believe Trump will go quietly if he is defeated. There is every reason, however, to believe he and his allies will incite hysteria and even violence. Those who assume otherwise havent been paying attention.

But, as he told Mehdi Hasan on his show Deconstructed, the country should be protected by the rule of law. The Constitution is clear that on January 20, the term of a current president ends, Geltzer said. "And its also clear that if there isnt someone whose votes have been certified by Congress as the new president, then the line of succession kicks in.

And if Trump's term legally comes to an end without a certified result, and Pence's along with it, then who would be next in that line of succession? Well folks, it would be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Talk about perfect irony.

Read more:
What Happens If Donald Trump Actually Refuses to Accept the Election Results? - Vogue