Both Donald Trump’s campaign and professional CNN Trump apologist Jeffrey Lord are defending Trump’s refusal at the third presidential debate to say that he would accept the results of the election by claiming former Democratic nominee Al Gore did the same thing by not immediately conceding the 2000 election.
Numerous journalists are calling out the false comparision on Twitter:
To belabor the obvious: Gore didn’t concede when the election was too close to call. He did concede, though, when SCOTUS stopped the recount
— Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) October 20, 2016
Jeffrey Lord is justifying Trump's answer by citing Al Gore. It's apples and cantaloupes.
— Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) October 20, 2016
KellyAnne Conway just cited Gore’s retracted concession in 2000 as precedent for rejecting outcome
Terrible examplehttps://t.co/bht0iPy6oO— Michael Crowley (@michaelcrowley) October 20, 2016
Al Gore not only accepted the result in the end, even after winning popular vote, he urged others to do the same https://t.co/bht0iPy6oO
— Michael Crowley (@michaelcrowley) October 20, 2016
God Jeffrey Lord is full of shit. There was an official recount in 2000. Gore let that process go forward. When it ended, he conceded.
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) October 20, 2016
Florida had to do a recount. Gore let it go forward. SCOTUS stopped it. When they did Gore conceded like a gentleman and a patriot.
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) October 20, 2016
I’m seeing a number of people saying Al Gore didn’t accept election results. That isn’t what happened. He conceded. https://t.co/5s8m9qD2QN
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) October 20, 2016
Trump surrogates comparing this to Gore in Florida ... where there was a recount because the vote was so close. AND, Gore conceded. #debate
— Kate Brannen (@K8brannen) October 20, 2016
CNN somehow is comparing Gore, who conceded a legitimately contested election, to Trump, who is contesting a legitimate election. Insane
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) October 20, 2016
1. Gore lost in the courts & conceded
2. Would Trump accept losing in court?
3. Does anyone really, truly know what Trump means anyway? https://t.co/XgRCyrFMPu— Brian Fung (@b_fung) October 20, 2016
@j_guy13 No, that is *not* what he was saying. He's been claiming for weeks that the election is “rigged.” Not what Bush v Gore was about
— Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) October 20, 2016
Legally illiterate, too; 2000 was automatically caused by Florida state laws--not by Gore's refusal to accept that he was bound by them... https://t.co/fKEaDRyxKm
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) October 20, 2016
This is especially, profoundly wrong given Gore's grace in accepting the outcome. https://t.co/wVlWrW0T4h
— Jon Meacham (@jmeacham) October 20, 2016
To the trolls saying “Gore.” Asking for a recount in a close race is not the same as refusing to accept a result.
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) October 20, 2016