On the morning after Election Day, Republican politicians will have to make a choice

Donald Trump is preparing to argue that if he loses the presidential election on November 8, that’s only because it was “stolen” from him.

So if Trump does go down to defeat, Republican and conservative leaders across the country will immediately face a choice on November 9.

Do they play along with Trump’s bullshit, or do they tell their voters the truth — that he lost fair and square?

Now, this will be an incredibly important moment for democratic norms in the United States. Every losing major party presidential nominee in the modern era has recognized his opponent’s victory. The GOP has a responsibility to uphold that tradition for the stability of our political system.

But it’s not just abstract ideals, or hypothetical concerns about possible violence, that matter here. The future of the Republican Party also hangs in the balance, with the big question being: How great a role will Trump play in a post-election GOP?

Because if the GOP truly does want to free itself from Trump’s influence, its leading voices from both its establishment and conservative wings need to quickly and irrefutably reject the idea that the election was “stolen” from Trump.

If Hillary Clinton wins, then Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Reince Priebus, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, and other Trump-supporting politicians and voices should say, loudly and clearly and repeatedly, starting on November 9, that she won fair and square.

That’s the right thing to do for the democratic system, and it’s also the smart thing to do for self-interested GOP players who want to ensure the blame for the party’s defeat goes where it rightfully belongs: to Donald Trump himself.

But if Republicans don’t do this — if they agree with the “rigged election” thesis or even just refuse to condemn it, hoping it will go away — they will prove that they truly are the party of Trump, and will ensure he remains a hugely influential voice in politics for years to come.