Pres. Trump Loses Reelection; Our Four-Year Nightmare is Over

President Donald Trump, Arizona, Oct. 28, 2020 (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/Flickr)

After months of acrimonious debate and nasty disputes, the election is finally over. Trump supporters were 100-percent sure that he will be reelected. I advised everyone not to be so cocky about their predictions so that they would not be embarrassed if they turned out to be wrong.

Now comes the second chapter of the false prediction. Trump supporters, following the lead of the President, are refusing to acknowledge the results of the election. In the last few days, we have come across all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories questioning the outcome of the election. How can anyone be so gullible to believe such fraudulent claims? As expected, Trump is refusing to concede and leave his office gracefully. Trump is a sore loser. While it is true that the courts will determine the validity of these false claims, not a shred of credible evidence has been presented to question the results of the election. Just about every sensible person has acknowledged the victory of Joe Biden and the defeat of Pres. Donald Trump. Even former President George W. Bush, a Republican, congratulated President-elect Biden. Many leaders around the world have also congratulated Joe Biden.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was among the first to congratulate Biden. Here is Pashinyan’s important message:

“I am convinced that the wealth of experience and wisdom that you gained through your distinguished career in politics and legislature will guide you well, as you lead the United States and its people on the path toward continued progress and prosperity. Throughout your service, you have made great contributions to the strengthening of the U.S.-Armenia friendship and mutually beneficial relationship. The Armenian people appreciate your principled stance on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and your support for the pursuit of their fundamental rights. Bilateral relations between Armenia and the United States are built on shared democratic values. I am convinced that our cooperation will continue to flourish during your presidency, consistent with the level of the strategic dialogue that underlies the relationship between our two nations. That process, of course, benefits from the invaluable role that the Armenian American community plays, acting as a bridge between our countries. Armenia deeply values the role the United States plays in the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. As you are aware, for over a month now, Azerbaijan and Turkey with the use of foreign terrorists have been fighting a war of aggression against Armenia and Artsakh in defiance of all efforts of the Co-Chairs to establish ceasefire. As a candidate you have laid out a vision for the resolution of the conflict exclusively through peaceful means. I salute that vision. I am hopeful that your Administration will take active steps to stop the war and bring about a comprehensive settlement of the conflict based on safeguards providing for the security of the people of Artsakh through the exercise of its right to self-determination….”

Without raising any hopes of what Pres. Biden might or might not do for Armenians after taking office in January, one thing is clear: Trump had to go. He has been a nightmare for most Americans and the rest of the world. He has violated scores of laws promising his advisors to pardon them should they get charged. He has lied close to 25,000 times in four years—a record for anyone, let alone a President. He has said the most ignorant and childish things undermining the dignity of the Presidency and the reputation of the United States in the world. The reason he is fighting so hard to stay in office is because he knows he will be charged when he is no longer President.

In the 2016 elections, Trump got three million less votes than Hillary Clinton. The Electoral College saved him from defeat. In 2020, Trump received 4.5 million less votes than Biden. This time around Trump also lost the Electoral College.

In January, Pres. Biden’s first order of business on day one will be to reverse the dozens of Trump’s Executive Orders. Some were ruled illegal by the courts; others will be reversed by Pres. Biden who will reinstate the Paris Climate Accords, rejoin the World Health Organization, and restore the international treaties that Pres. Trump undermined and violated.

On Armenian issues, Pres. Biden has pledged to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide in several campaign statements. That remains to be seen. One thing is clear, Biden has been highly outspoken against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has been a close friend of Pres. Trump. All one has to do is follow the Turkish press where there are multiple alarming articles about the Presidency of Biden which would end the love affair between Trump and Erdogan. Trump has acknowledged that he has a conflict of interest with Turkey because there are two buildings in Istanbul that bear his name and for which he receives millions of dollars of royalties every year.

In recent months a video a surfaced of Biden’s interview with The New York Times in which he used very strong language against Erdogan, angering the Turkish leadership. Here is what Biden said:

“I’ve spent a lot of time with him [Pres. Erdogan of Turkey]. He is an autocrat. He’s the president of Turkey and a lot more. What I think we should be doing is taking a very different approach to him now, making it clear that we support opposition leadership. Making it clear that we are in a position where we have a way which was working for a while to integrate the Kurdish population who wanted to participate in the process in their parliament, etc. Because we have to speak out about what we in fact think is wrong. He has to pay a price for whether or not we’re going to continue to sell certain weapons to him. In fact, if he has the [Russian] air defense system that they’re flying F-15s through to see how they can try to figure out how to do it.”

Biden went on: “So I’m very concerned about it. But I’m still of the view that if we were to engage more directly like I was doing with them, that we can support those elements of the Turkish leadership that still exist and get more from them and embolden them to be able to take on and defeat Erdogan. Not by a coup, not by a coup, but by the electoral process. He got blown out. He got blown out in Istanbul [during the mayoral elections]. He got blown out in his party. So what do we do now? We just sit there, and yielded. And the last thing I would’ve done is yielded to him with regard to the Kurds. The absolute last thing!”

Biden concluded: “I had a couple of those meetings with him about the Kurds, and they did not clamp down at the time. We have to make it clear that if they’re looking to, because, at the end of the day, Turkey doesn’t want to have to rely on Russia. They’ve had a bite out of that apple a long time ago. But they got to understand that we’re not going to continue to play with them the way we have. So I am very concerned. I’m very concerned about our airfields [in Turkey] and access to them as well. And I think it takes an awful lot of work for us to be able to get together with our allies in the region and deal with how we isolate his actions in the region, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean in relating to oil and a whole range of other things which take too long to go into. But the answer is yes, I’m worried.”

Biden has made several similar statements against Erdogan and Turkey. We now need to ensure that he keeps his words.

It is important now to unify the people of the United States. Biden has pledged to be the President of all Americans including those who did not vote for him.

After this divisive election, the Armenian American community has to come together and help defend Armenia and Artsakh against Azerbaijan, Turkey and their mercenary terrorists in Artsakh!

Harut Sassounian

Harut Sassounian

California Courier Editor
Harut Sassounian is the publisher of The California Courier, a weekly newspaper based in Glendale, Calif. He is the president of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization that has donated to Armenia and Artsakh one billion dollars of humanitarian aid, mostly medicines, since 1989 (including its predecessor, the United Armenian Fund). He has been decorated by the presidents of Armenia and Artsakh and the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches. He is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

8 Comments

  1. Mr. Sasounian,

    Do you realize you are rooting for Biden, who has a history in fund raising with Turkish and Azerbaijani donors and lobbyists?

    Maybe you are not aware of the fact that the media does not call elections.
    Your obvious TDS is clouding your judgement.

    If you think Biden, in office for over 47 years, did nothing to Armenians, or Americans in general to suddenly do something, then I am sure you’d also buy the Brooklyn bridge, real cheap too.

    You are either ignoring or not aware of the fact that Biden is a pathological liar who once said then Amrmenian president Serzh Sargysyan asked him not to pressure Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
    The evidence against Joe Biden are too long to detail in one comment.
    But that is exposing you and the rest of the “elites” among us Armenians who are nothing but loud partisan hacks.

  2. We’ve just lost a war, lost people, territory, Armenians around the world are grieving, and this guy is celebrating the victory of a senile man, who, as many readers pointed, did nothing for Armenians. Also, a Trump praising article in these days would be equally tactless.
    It’s no time for celebrations.

    • In this reply, I’m not interested in discussing the merits of the Republican and Democratic Presidential Candidates. I don’t know for sure, why Sassounian didn’t address the Artsakh War, in this article; probably, it’s because it was published shortly after the bad news arrived.

  3. “…Biden has made several similar statements against Erdogan and Turkey. We now need to ensure that he keeps his words…”
    Sure. With what power ?
    We can “come together”( who said we are apart with regard to objectives ) all we want but we have no control over many external, immovable forces.
    We just experienced our 1915.
    We have no friends.
    Candidates say one thing but once in office??
    After all these years we remain delusional.
    In this case, Biden has never produced for us over his many years in Foggy Bottom. He won’t start after Jan. 5.
    We have no friends.

  4. Armenians in our homeland and the diaspora are grieving with an empty feeling of despair during these dark times of our history. This is not the time and actually it is never the time for Armenians to take sides and uphold one presidential candidate against another.

    Researching facts and analyzing the organizations, the individuals and the funds that poured in to push Joe Biden as the nominee of the Democratic party would have been helpful to understand the political landscape in raising Biden to the pedestal. Biden failed on 2 previous runs for the presidency when he was younger and healthier, because of lack of support from his democratic party. If democrats truly cared for the poor and the needy, they could have spent the millions that they spent on advertising, on improving the lives of the people living in the inner cities.

    Furthermore, when we hold leadership positions in non profit organizations, such as the case is with the writer, it is advisable to refrain from expressing our political views publicly, to avoid alienating our audience and donors, who may have different political convictions.

  5. Let us assume that an American President uses the word genocide. Then what is suppose to happen? Why don’t you outline the benefits of the President using the word genocide. Once you outline the benefits, we will be able to determine if it was worth the effort.

  6. Glad to read so many comments that clarify how unconstructive the stance of people like HS has been. Lack or judgment but overambitious and underskilled. This is who represents us currently, an outdated class that likes to believe they are in the same position as Jews in the US based on superficial factors when in reality they have maybe 0.1% of that clout. Thankfully, the many excellent young contributors to this website in particular give some hope as to one day fixing the problems that their Americanized or Soviet-brainwashed predecessors have not been able to solve in the least.

  7. Also, you would think that any Armenian with a brain wouldn’t dream of suggesting that now, of all times, our supposed “nightmare is over.” It has just begun and it had nothing to do with Trump, mind you.

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