It has been over a week since the election was called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Over a week since Americans poured into the streets to celebrate the return of decency, intelligence, and compassion to the White House. Over a week since the international community breathed a collective sigh of relief, ready to rebuild our many fractured alliances. Over a week since world leaders congratulated Biden and Harris, recognizing the validity of their election and looking forward to working with their administration.

Over a week since donald trump [sic et seq] has refused to concede his loss.

We’re not surprised that the Spoiled Brat-in-Chief is sulking in the Oval Office, consoling himself with fast food, rose-scented candles, and bogus accusations of massive voter fraud. He told us what he would do if he lost and, for the first time in I-don’t-know-how-long, he didn’t lie. He said he would not leave and, so far, he apparently has no plans to vacate the premises. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of an eviction notice, donald?

Even in 2016, he stated that he would accept the election results only if he won. Throughout his administration, he sowed doubt and division, undermining the lynchpin of our democracy by asserting that the voting process was a con. I guess he would know. The illogic of his convoluted rationalizations is astounding, and that Republican sycophants continue to buy into it is contemptible. Mail-in ballots are rife with fraud, he barked – even as he voted that way himself. Stop the count in states he’s winning. Continue to count in states he’s losing. They didn’t stop in Florida over 537 votes in 2000, so they shouldn’t stop in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona over tens of thousands of votes in 2020.

What about down-the-ballot votes? Did voters commit fraud in their presidential selections but remain scrupulous in their votes for the Senate and House? Why isn’t anyone calling for a recount for Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, or John Cornyn? Cornyn, who – with Ted Cruz – represents Texas. Lucky me. Quite disgruntled, he announced the other day that thousands of votes in Puerto Rico were mishandled. Unbeknownst to him, a U.S. senator, Puerto Rico doesn’t vote for president. Ironically, Puerto Ricans pay a majority of the taxes that mainland Americans pay, but they cannot vote for the individuals who levy those taxes. Adds fresh meaning to “taxation without representation,” doesn’t it? And after trump’s handling of Hurricane Maria in 2017, does Cornyn really expect Puerto Ricans to vote for trump even if they could?

Famous for his nasty nicknames – always a sign of maturity, especially in a president – trump, called Biden ‘Sleepy Joe’ throughout the campaign. Nevertheless, trump implies Biden is apparently the head of a crime family that makes Vito Corleone look like an olive oil salesman. Somehow, he was also able to mastermind a conspiracy that destabilized the election process and coerce poll workers and vote counters across the country to mishandle ballots. Sleepy Joe is apparently wide awake, donald.

The Department of Homeland Security, intelligence agencies, and Democratic and Republican Secretaries of State have contradicted trump’s claims, confirming that this election “was the most secure in American history” and that “there is no evidence” any voting systems malfunctioned. The New York Times also reports that “on Friday, 16 federal prosecutors who had been assigned to monitor the election also directly debunked claims of widespread fraud, saying in a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr that there was no evidence of substantial irregularities.”

That trump ignores his own agencies is no surprise. That Jones Day Porter Wright, the firm representing him in Pennsylvania, dropped his case because they feared undermining the election process, is refreshingly honorable. That judges he assumed he controlled have overruled him repeatedly restores our faith in a judicial system that has been overly politicized by the trump administration. That bipartisan election officials have defended the system and the myriad workers who braved the pandemic to serve their country further protects the democracy donald trump has relentlessly destabilized since he took office.

The 2020 election is historic on many levels:  a record number of Americans turned out, giving Biden over 75 million votes, more than any presidential candidate in American history, and trump over 70 million, the highest total for a losing candidate; even with the ever-present threat of voter suppression, more than 100 million ballots were cast during expanded early voting periods.

I thought I had seen it all during Watergate, but democracy prevailed. I wasn’t thrilled with the selection of George W. Bush, but democracy prevailed. This side-show that is the end of the trump administration is embarrassing for him, but democracy will prevail again.

He can’t ignore the will of the people. Guess what, donald: “You’re fired.”