There is so much of the little boy being dragged to school in the manner Donald Trump is coming to terms with his loss in the American presidential election.

By allowing the US General Services Administration to begin the transition to President-elect Joe Biden ~ a process that involves provision of federal funding as well as access to matters of administration ~ he seems to have given the first indication that he is preparing to hand over power on 20 January to the man who beat him in this month’s election. With Michigan having officially certified that Mr Biden won the state – notwithstanding a last-ditch effort by Mr Trump to coerce Republican legislators to hijack the result – the incumbent’s fate has been effectively sealed.

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But even as this development delivered a fatal blow to Mr Trump’s political and legal ploys to remain in the White House, the Republican was far from gracious in clearing the transition, claiming in a tweet that his battle continues and hoping “we will prevail”.

This bravado comes in the face of serial setbacks that Mr Trump has faced in the past few days. A judge in Pennsylvania threw out his challenge to the voting saying it comprised “speculative accusations” that were “unsupported by evidence.”

With Pennsylvania and Nevada, the third state on which Mr. Trump had pinned his hopes, likely to certify the election this week in Mr Biden’s favour, it seems clear that the President’s campaign is petering out. Michigan’s Board of Canvassers, the official body comprising two Republicans and two Democrats, has certified Mr Biden’s victory and the state’s secretary of state has said, “the election was fair and secure, and the results accurately reflect the will of the voters.”

In refusing to concede with grace, and in seeking to drive American domestic and foreign policy during the period of transition, Mr Trump may have caused incalculable harm to his legacy, as well as damaged his own standing within a party which he ought to have been in control of after securing the support of more than 70 million voters.

Nobody likes or respects a sore loser, and Mr Trump has inflicted this tag upon himself with his recalcitrance. This position also has been adopted by those close to him, not the least by Emily Murphy, the head of the GSA, who claimed in a letter to Mr Biden written immediately after Mr Trump gave the green light, that she had acted “independently” and not under pressure from any member of the White House or the Executive Branch.

Indicating the bitterness that has entered the discourse, she also claimed that she had received threats to her person, her family and even her pets to make a premature determination. A sad chapter is coming to an end but not without inflicting grievous wounds.