For the first time President Trump has publicly contemplated losing the election. At a campaign rally last Friday evening he speculated, “Maybe I’ll have to leave the country” if I lose.[1]

While he probably didn’t realize it, Trump was, in effect, admitting he is guilty of serious crimes, crimes that would land him in prison if he doesn’t leave the country. Fleeing their country is what disgraced dictators do when they are thrown out of office. They escape to avoid being jailed or worse.

The Justice Department has determined that a president can’t be indicted and tried while he is still in office.[2] Trump knows that his only safe place in the nation right now is the White House. Once his presidency ends, Trump will be subject to prosecution, and most likely be found guilty.

Why else would a wealthy businessman like Trump think he would “have to leave the country”? If he were innocent, wouldn’t he want to stay, clear his name and live the rest of his life in his beloved America?

Consider that he has multiple properties in the U.S., including his luxurious Mar a Lago estate in Florida. His business headquarters is in New York. Plus, his whole family lives in the states. There is only one reason Trump would feel he had to leave the country if he loses: to avoid prison.

The Democrats should make Trump’s tacit admission of guilt a central theme of their closing argument in the election. Make it clear that Americans don’t want to re-elect a president who knows he is guilty of egregious felonies against the nation and given the chance will likely commit many more crimes in a second term.

It’s up to all of us to vote him out. Then, before he can leave the country, LOCK HIM UP!

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

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[1] https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/trump-may-leave-country-if-he-loses-prison-criminal-prosecution.html.

[2] https://www.vox.com/2019/7/24/20708393/robert-mueller-report-trump-olc-justice-department-indictment-charge-sitting-president.