[ad_1]
Congressional leaders from both parties have criticized US President Donald Trump after he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of powers if he loses the November 3 election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other prominent figures in Trump’s Republican Party have not hesitated to commit to an orderly transfer if Trump loses.
The president, responding to a question about commitment to results, said Wednesday that “we will have to see what happens.”
He added: “You know that I have complained a lot about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster.”
McConnell responded in a tweet: “The winner of the November 3 election will be inaugurated on January 20.
“There will be an orderly transition as there has been every four years since 1792.”
The Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said she was “very sad” that the president of the United States even raised this question.
She asked, “What would our founders think?
“Calm down, Mr. President.”
He reminded Trump that the United States is not North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, or other countries with strong leaders that he openly admires.
“You are in the United States of America, it is a democracy,” he said.
“So why don’t you try for a moment to honor our oath to the United States Constitution?”
Pelosi said she has confidence in American voters to cast their votes and elect the president.
(Graphics PA) “>Almost no Republican politician came out in defense of the president.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox & Friends on Thursday: “If the Republicans lose, we will accept the result.
“If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Joe Biden, I will accept that result.”
Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a member of the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives, tweeted: “The peaceful transfer of power is enshrined in our Constitution and critical to the survival of our Republic.
“The leaders of the United States take an oath to the Constitution. We will keep that oath. “
Veteran Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, said: “Well, we’ve always had a peaceful transfer of power. That is one of the hallmarks.
“And I think this year will be no exception.”
Trump’s rival, Joe Biden, dismissed the president’s comments (Carolyn Kaster / AP) “>It is highly unusual for a sitting president to express less than complete confidence in the electoral process.
But Trump also refused four years ago to commit to respecting the election results if his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, won.
Biden, his current Democratic rival, was asked about Trump’s comment after landing in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday night.
“What country are we in?” Biden asked incredulously, adding, “I’m being a joker. Look, he says the most irrational things.
“I don’t know what to say about it. But I’m not surprised. “
Trump has been pushing a months-long campaign against voting by mail this November by tweeting and speaking critically about the practice.
More states are encouraging voting by mail to keep voters safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
The peaceful transition of power is fundamental to democracy; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president may not respect this constitutional guarantee is unthinkable and unacceptable.
– Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) September 24, 2020
The president, who uses vote-by-mail, has tried to distinguish between states that automatically mail ballots to all registered voters and those, like Florida, that send them only to voters requesting a mail-in ballot.
Trump has claimed that widespread vote-by-mail will lead to massive fraud, but the five states that routinely mail ballots to all voters have not seen any significant fraud.
Ohio Congressman Steve Stivers, former chairman of the Republican campaign arm of the House of Representatives, tweeted: “Regardless of how divided our country is right now, when the election is over and the winners are declared, we must all commit to the constitution and accept the results. “
Sen. Mitt Romney, one of the only Republican voices opposing Trump, referred to an electoral crisis in Europe and tweeted: “The key to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus.
“Any suggestion that a president might not respect this constitutional guarantee is unthinkable and unacceptable.”
[ad_2]