Donald Trump-Al Gore Surrogate Comparisons Fly, Numerous Instances Of Bipartisan Election Result Disparagement Cited

Donald Trump-Al Gore comparisons are being made in the wake of comments by the Republican candidate at last night’s third presidential debate with regard to whether or not he would commit to accepting the results of the November election, even when pressed by moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News.

“What I’m saying is that I’ll tell you at the time,” Donald Trump has been previously quoted by the Inquisitr. “I’ll keep you in suspense.”

Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe earlier today, panel-member Mike Barnicle expressed his disappointment with the GOP nominee, speaking with regard to the millions of Americans who have come to rely on Donald Trump. He labeled the candidate a “coward.”

“He knows he’s going to lose,” Barnicle stated with regard to Trump’s controversial rhetoric, perhaps echoing the thoughts of many observers. “He couldn’t grasp the responsibility for what he has set in motion himself.”

Mike Barnicle stated a belief that Donald Trump “diminished” himself, his family, his business brand, and the Republican Party.

The view of Barnicle and others, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, does not appear to be shared by a number of the nominee’s supporters, with comparisons between Trump, Gore, and former Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, among others, being made.

Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski spoke about the 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which featured a “razor thin” margin in Florida that led to the Democrat rescinding his concession to the Republican and waiting until 36 days after the election to concede the win with finality.

“Nobody says ahead of time that they’re not going to contest the election, but Al Gore did,” Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway stated to reporters in Las Vegas following last night’s debate.

Conway noted that Gore took the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“He said that he would not give in to whatever the result was if he didn’t think it was fairly done,” Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions explained Donald Trump’s stance further. “That’s what Al Gore did.”

“If the election is too close, of course he wouldn’t accept it. Al Gore didn’t accept it,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated.

Giuliani explained that if Donald Trump loses by a wide margin then “even if it’s rigged” the final result would not be affected. He said that election rigging will only matter if the Republican loses by a narrow margin.

Joe Scarborough said that many Americans feel that Donald Trump’s stance “cuts at the very heart” of U.S. democracy.

Mika Brzezinski recalled both Democrats and Republicans questioning the results of not only the 2000 election, but also in 2004.

The MSNBC hosts cited a New York Magazine headline announcing that “Yes, Bush v. Gore Did Steal The Election,” a Salon headline questioning whether the GOP stole Ohio, a Vox article covering polls finding that 68 percent of U.S. voters feels elections are “rigged,” demands made by Jesse Jackson in 2000 that a formal inquiry be conducted into the contested 2000 results, and a Rolling Stone article asking if the 2004 election was stolen.

“This last vote caused a crisis in the credibility of the election,” Jackson was quoted. “This is a crisis of integrity.”

“I’m not confident that the election in Ohio was fairly decided,” former Vermont senator and DNC Chair Howard Dean was quoted by Rolling Stone with regard to the 2004 race.

Dean stated that “it should be no surprise” that Republicans wouldn’t find manipulating elections problematic. He also described some of the GOP’s actions, including “voter suppression,” as “unethical.”

Brzezinski noted that Michael Moore’s film Fahrenheit 9/11 attempted to “delegitimize” the 2000 Bush-Gore election results.

Bloomberg Politics editor Mark Halperin stated that just prior to last night’s debate, Republican vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence, Kellyanne Conway, and Rudy Giuliani each stated that “of course” the results of the election would be respected. Halperin described Donald Trump as “subverting” his surrogates with his words during the debate.

The Huffington Post has written that the actions of Al Gore in 2000 and Donald Trump currently “are not the same,” reporting that George W. Bush was the first to take legal action in 2000, reportedly suing to a put a stop to vote recounts.

[Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]