The longer Donald Trump refuses to concede the US presidential election, the more he damages American democracy. The fact that Mr Trump lost last week’s vote is not in serious dispute. His opponent Joe Biden looks to have won 306 electoral college votes — 36 more than needed to take the White House. Yet Mr Trump is insisting on branding this as a “stolen election”. Many senior Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, are rashly indulging the US president’s bruised ego.

With each day that Mr Trump refuses to accept defeat, the cost to the US system’s legitimacy rises. Mr Biden is still being denied the resources to which he is entitled as America’s president-elect, including the ability to vet potential appointees and read US intelligence reports. This undercuts his ability to prepare the new administration. As a result of Mr Trump’s claims, more than two-thirds of Republican voters say the election was not free and fair, according to one poll. The basis of any stable democracy is the smooth transfer of power. By trampling on America’s more than 200-year tradition, Mr Trump is putting the system into jeopardy.

The question is why? It is conceivable that Mr Trump is simply trying to boost donations to pay off his campaign debts. More than half of the donations his campaign is collecting for ballot litigation can go towards retiring “general election debts” according to the small print. It is also possible that leading Republicans are playing along with Mr Trump’s charade in order to heighten the base’s enthusiasm for the January 5 election run-offs in Georgia that will determine which party controls the US Senate.