As of Nov. 8, Democratic candidate Joe Biden was confirmed as the next

president-elect of the United States. The result led to President Trump’s refusal to concede and finally accept his defeat. His actions have caused animosity, which has led his legal team to push lawsuits in an attempt to invalidate the results. His administration won’t allow the transition to Biden’s new team to begin, and even some members of Congress won’t acknowledge or congratulate the new president-elect.

The behavior of Trump, his administration and his supporters have raised concerns of the validity and transparency of the election, with some claiming the rules of democracy were broken. Not only will the administration refuse to help Biden and his team transition to their new positions, their refusal negates the issues they have to tackle once entering on Jan. 20. Threatening our democracy by not addressing the change in administration only makes the current issues this country is facing worse. We are hitting over 100,000 COVID-19 cases a day due to the negligence and deflection of our sitting president. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated in a press conference that he denies Trump’s defeat and that “there will be a smooth transition to a second term for the Trump administration.”

The other problem with Trump’s refusal to concede is that it defies everything about our democracy listed in the United States constitution. Trump is the only president or presidential candidate not to concede. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but each candidate before Trump has handled losing with maturity and dignity.

A question that comes into play is this: What if he never concedes? What comes after that? Trump has the right to take legal action, but as far as any court ruling altering election results, it is very unlikely, especially with no evidence of voter fraud. Even if a recount is granted in close states such as Georgia or Nevada, they will likely grant the same results as the original count.

“He may never concede; he doesn’t have to concede,” conservative lawyer John Yoo, who has worked directly with the Trump administration, said. “The thing about the American Constitution is that it doesn’t actually require the sitting president to do anything one way or the other. On Jan. 20, Donald Trump’s term ends and Joe Biden’s, I believe, will begin.”

As Americans, we need to recognize the administrative change and uphold the standards of our democracy while acknowledging our new president-elect, the one who will grant us a brighter future and work on the issues we Americans want fixed.