We have all heard about the adult children that will not move out of their parents’ basement, but have you heard about the president who will not move out of the White House?

The peaceful transition of powers has been a hallmark of democracy since the inauguration of our first president in 1789 when he took the Presidential Oath standing on the Federal Hall balcony on Wall Street in New York. George Washington, and every president since then, has taken the following Presidential Oath: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

“Nothing defines our Constitutional Republic more than the peaceful transition of power. I’ve taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and I will uphold that oath,” Congressman Steve Stivers wrote on Twitter. “Regardless of how divided our country is right now, when elections are over and winners are declared, we must all commit ourselves to the Constitution and accept the results.”

Trump has a radically different point of view on this topic. When a reporter asked Trump if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of powers if he did not win he said, “Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly, there’ll be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it. And you know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know it better than anybody else.” Later in the day he followed these remarks by stating, “I think this [the election] will end up in the Supreme Court, and I think it’s very important that we have nine justices,”

As a response to President Trump’s statements the Senate unanimously passed a resolution confirming the “Senate’s commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power called for in the Constitutions of the United States.” This resolution also states that the Senate “intends that there should be no disruptions by the President or any person in power to overturn the will of the people of the United States.”

Many politicians, Democrats and Republicans alike, are coming forward and making statements to try to relieve Americans’ fears about Trump’s tyrannical statements. It seems unimaginable that we even have to make these statements about the peaceful transfer of presidential powers. We want Everlasting Gobstoppers, not an everlasting President!

Lindsey Ulrey is a freshman political science major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or lrulrey@eiu.edu.