Though Donald Trump has time left before January 20 to formally and publicly concede the election to Joe Biden, few believe he will do so with the customary dignity, grace, humility, loyalty, and patriotism that all past losers of the presidential election have done following their losses.
I have compiled below partial concession statements of every losing presidential candidate since 1948 so we can recall what a good loser of the presidency sounds like:
“My heartiest congratulations to you on your election, and every good wish for a successful administration.” —Thomas E. Dewey, 1948 (to Harry S. Truman)
“It hurts too much to laugh, but I’m too old to cry… [I offer the new president] the support he will need to carry out the great tasks that lie before him. I pledge him mine. We vote as many, but we pray as one.” —Adlai Stevenson II, 1952 (to Dwight D. Eisenhower) – Stevenson ran against Eisenhower a second time in 1956
“I have great faith that our people, Republicans, Democrats alike, will unite behind our next president.” —Richard M. Nixon, 1960 (to John F. Kennedy)
“Congratulations on your victory. I will help you in any way that I can toward achieving a growing and better America and a secure and dignified peace.”—Barry M. Goldwater, 1964 (to Lyndon B. Johnson)
“…my congratulations. Please know that you will have my support in unifying and leading the nation. … I am confident that if constructive leaders in both our parties join together we shall be able to go on with the business of building the better America we all seek in a spirit of peace and harmony.” —Hubert H. Humphrey Jr., 1968 (to Richard M. Nixon)
“Congratulations on your victory. I hope that in the next four years you will lead us to a time of peace abroad and justice at home. You have my full support in such efforts. With best wishes to you and your gracious wife, Pat.” —George S. McGovern, 1972 (to Richard M. Nixon)
“I congratulate you on your victory. As one who has been honored to serve the people of this great land, both in Congress and as President, I believe that we must now put the divisions of the campaign behind us and unite the country once again in the common pursuit of peace and prosperity… I want to assure you that you will have my complete and wholehearted support as you take the oath of office this January. I also pledge to you that I, and all members of my Administration, will do all that we can to insure that you begin your term as smoothly and as effectively as possible.” —Gerald R. Ford Jr., 1976 (to Jimmy E. Carter Jr.)
“I have a deep appreciation of the system that lets people make a free choice about who will lead them for the next four years.” —James E. Carter Jr., 1980 (to Ronald W. Reagan)
“He has won. We are all Americans. He is our president, and we honor him tonight. Again tonight, the American people[‘s] choice was made peacefully, with dignity and with majesty. And although I would have rather won, tonight we rejoice in our democracy, we rejoice in the freedom of a wonderful people, and we accept their verdict.” —Walter F. Mondale, 1984 (to Ronald W. Reagan)
“I know I speak for all of you and for all the American people when I say that he will be our President, and we’ll work with him. This nation faces major challenges ahead, and we must work together.” —Michael S. Dukakis, 1988 (to George H. W. Bush)
“Here’s the way we see it and the country should see it — that the people have spoken and we respect the majesty of the democratic system. I just called Governor Clinton over in Little Rock and offered my congratulations. He did run a strong campaign. I wish him well in the White House. And I want the country to know that our entire Administration will work closely with his team to insure the smooth transition of power. There is important work to be done, and America must always come first. So we will get behind this new President and wish him well.”—George H. W. Bush, 1992 (to William J. Clinton)
“I’ve said repeatedly in this campaign that the president was my opponent and not my enemy. And I wish him well and I pledge my support in whatever advances the cause of a better America, because that’s what the race was about in the first place, a better America as we go into the next century.”—Robert J. Dole, 1996 (to William J. Clinton)
“Almost a century and a half ago, Senator Stephen Douglas told Abraham Lincoln, who had just defeated him for the presidency: ‘Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism. I’m with you, Mr. President, and God bless you.’ Well, in that same spirit, I say to President-elect Bush that what remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside, and may God bless his stewardship of this country. … our disappointment must be overcome by our love of country. … Let no one see this contest as a sign of American weakness. The strength of American democracy is shown most clearly through the difficulties it can overcome . . . .While we yet hold and do not yield our opposing beliefs, there is a higher duty than the one we owe to political party. This is America and we put country before party…. While I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it. For the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession. I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honor the new president-elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together.” —Albert A. Gore Jr., 2000 (to George W. Bush)
“In an American election, there are no losers. Because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning, we all wake up as Americans. And that is the greatest privilege and the most remarkable good fortune that can come to us on earth. With that gift also comes obligation. We are required now to work together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort without remorse or recrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion. I hope President Bush will advance those values in the coming years. I pledge to do my part to try to bridge the partisan divide. I know this is a difficult time for my supporters. But I ask them — all of you — to join me in doing that.” —John F. Kerry, 2004 (to George W. Bush)
“A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to visit — to dine at the White House — was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.” —John S. McCain III, 2008 (to Barack H. Obama)
“We can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work. And we citizens also have to rise to the occasion. Rising. Healing. Linking arms. Moving on. That’s what’s supposed to happen in the aftermath of even the bitterest elections. At least that’s what vanquished candidates are supposed to encourage. May the loser in this election uphold that tradition. So very much rides on it.” —Willard Mitt Romney, 2012 (to Barack H. Obama)
“Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country… Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power and we don’t just respect that, we cherish it. It also enshrines other things; the rule of law, the principle that we are all equal in rights and dignity, freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values too and we must defend them.” —Hillary D. Rodham Clinton, 2016 (to Donald J. Trump)
What a BAD LOSER sounds like
“Millions and millions of people voted for us tonight. And a very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise that group of people, and we won’t stand for it. This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity. We’ll be going to the US Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4 o’clock in the morning and add them to the list, OK? We will win this, and as far as I’m concerned, we already have.” —Donald J. Trump, White House East Room, November 4, 2020, 2:21 am
Current Electoral Vote and Popular Vote Counts (as of Sunday, November 29, 2020) with votes still outstanding and being counted:
Electoral College – Biden (306) to Trump (232) – 270 to win
Popular Vote – Biden (80,117,578) to Trump (73,923,495) – The difference of 6,194,083