KT edit: Trump questioning institutions that make America great

For more than 220 years, American politics has lived up to the democratic credentials. Term after term, the baton of presidency has been transferred to the leader chosen by the people. The power of ballot has never been questioned, and no incumbent has been asked before if he would "commit to a peaceful transfer of power." It was a given. But in this election year, many in the US are contemplating if there is a risk of breaking down of the very systems that have been the foundation of the country. Yet President Donald Trump has been challenging it this election season. Trump's behaviour leaves little room to believe that he will accept the public's verdict if the vote is going to be against him. Trump has said on a number of occasions that if Joe Biden wins, that can only mean that the election was rigged.
The president continues to make assumptions and allegations that vote by mail is less secure than other forms of voting even when numerous studies have found that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the US. In the last four years, President Trump has tested almost every political tradition, but this time his reckless comments are giving credence to hysteria in the US and beyond its shores. Several GOP House and Senate leaders have already repudiated Trump's remarks. Majority leader Mitch McConnell has also tweeted: "There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792." 
A neat handoff of power and responsibility is a hallmark of any democracy. It's a regard to the will of the people, and consistent with the principle that the United States has only one president at a time. Much is at stake this year, as millions of mail-in and provisional ballots could keep the outcome unsettled for days or even weeks. Would the interregnum comprising 79 days be enough to decide on the verdict? Or will Trump, should he lose in November, do all he can to subvert the institutions in the US, like he has done in the last four years of his presidency? That would be an unsettling precedent. The US should prepare for any such outcome. Legitimacy of election results is the bedrock of American democracy. It is ironic, Trump is questioning the very systems that have made America great.