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WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans on Thursday condemned President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, assuring American voters that legislators would accept the result of the November elections.
By Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu
Trump refused to accept a peaceful transfer Wednesday in response to a reporter’s question, saying he hoped the Supreme Court would resolve his upcoming election battle with Democrat Joe Biden.
Democrats accused Trump of threatening American democracy and further politicizing his upcoming election to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by suggesting that the yet-to-be nominee would intervene in the election outcome.
Republicans invoked the guarantees of the United States Constitution, but did not openly condemn Trump.
“The winner of the November 3 elections will be inaugurated on January 20. There will be an orderly transition as there has been every four years since 1792, “McConnell wrote in a tweet.
McConnell was joined by other Republicans, including Senators Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney and Representative Liz Cheney, who leads the House Republican Conference.
“It will be a smooth transition regardless of the outcome,” House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters.
Trump, who follows Biden in national opinion polls, has long sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, asserting without evidence that voting by mail would be riddled with fraud.
A record number of Americans are expected to vote by mail this year to avoid the coronavirus, and Democrats hope mail-in ballots will help motivate large numbers of voters to oppose Trump.
In 2016, Trump also raised questions about whether he would accept the election results, which he later won.
“President Trump, you are not a dictator and the United States will not allow you to be,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who took the Senate floor to call the president “the gravest threat” to American democracy. .
US Senator Bernie Sanders said in a speech in Washington that Trump was “prepared to undermine American democracy to stay in power” and called for an independent commission to oversee the upcoming elections.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned against panic over comments from a president who said she admires autocratic leaders. But at a press conference, she warned Trump: “You are not in North Korea, you are not in Turkey, you are not in Russia.”
Republican Senator Mike Rounds asked what would happen if Trump won. “If President Trump wins the election, will those on the far left agree to be peaceful when the election is complete? We don’t need property damage and we don’t need bodily injury, ”he told reporters.
CHALLENGES OF THE COURT
If the November election is close, Trump could challenge the results in federal court in hopes of getting enough votes from the Electoral College to retain the White House, according to political analysts.
Only one US presidential election, the 2000 contest between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, has had its outcome determined by the Supreme Court.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who oversees the process to weigh the president’s next candidate to replace Ginsburg, said he expected a peaceful transition.
“Now we can have a dispute over who won the election, but the (Supreme) Court will decide and if the Republicans lose, we will accept that outcome,” Graham told Fox News. “But we need a full court.”
Trump later said he agreed with Graham, but told Fox News Radio: “I think we have a long way to go before we get there. These ballots are a horror show ”.
Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat on Graham’s committee, said Trump’s comments posed a problem for his Supreme Court nominee, who is expected to be a conservative woman.
“I think this creates a significant complication for the legitimacy of the court,” Coons told NPR.
Biden, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said Trump’s comments on the transition of power were “irrational.”
The former vice president’s campaign said it was prepared for any “shenanigans” from Trump, reiterating comments from July that “the US government is perfectly capable of escorting intruders out of the White House.” (Report by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu, Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell; written by David Morgan; edited by Mary Milliken, Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis)
