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What is described as the “handover nightmare” topped the American political scene, after President Donald Trump refused to promise a peaceful transfer of power if he lost the November 3 election, exposing himself to a torrent of critics.
The leaders of his Republican party sought to remedy the situation without direct criticism of the president, stressing that the constitutional system of government in the United States would continue.
“We have to see what happens,” Trump said at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, in response to a journalist who asked him if he promised to abide by the most basic rules of democracy in the United States, which is the peaceful transfer of power when the president changes.
In his response, Trump saw no possibility of losing, and said the issue would be a “continuity” of power rather than transfer. He also renewed his criticism of the voting-by-mail system, calling it a disaster.
Normalization of speech about the crisis
And Julian Zelzer, a historian at Princeton University, said in a televised interview that Trump intends to “threaten the electoral process and tell everyone what he thinks out loud, and every time he makes these arguments, he normalizes the fact that this could be part of the new political debate. “
For his part, Professor Gregor Cougar, dean of the Department of Political Science at the University of Miami, Florida, said that what Trump is doing “is not American at all.”
Cougar said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net: “One of the basic principles of American politics is that we elect our leaders through elections. President Trump’s continued attacks on the legitimacy of the American elections and his refusal to respect its results. they are anti-American behavior. “
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden (Reuters)Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was quick to denounce Trump’s comments, saying, “What country do we live in? He’s saying the most irrational things. I don’t know what to say.”
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed regret at Trump’s refusal to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, saying in her weekly press conference that “it is sad that this question has been raised as it is a living testimony of the urgent need to protect our democracy … But the skepticism about the peaceful transfer of power does not surprise with this. The president because he questioned the science and the verdict. “
In the same context, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders said that Trump “is ready to undermine American democracy to stay in power,” and emphasized the need to leave office if he loses the election. He added: “It is a choice between Donald Trump and democracy … and democracy will definitely win.”
For his part, Republican Senator Mitt Romney said that expressing any doubt about the implementation of what the constitution guarantees is “unreasonable and unacceptable.” He wrote in a tweet that “the peaceful transfer of power is essential for democracy, without that we would be more like Belarus” (Belarus).
The White House Commentary
White House spokeswoman Kylie McKinani was forced to comment on the matter when journalists pressured her at a press conference Thursday, saying “the president will accept the results of free and fair elections.”
Meanwhile, activists launched the hashtag “Trump’s coup” on Twitter, warning of Trump’s intention to hand over power after the next election.
Commentators expressed surprise at Trump’s remarks, while others saw them as expected, and the team supporting the president said that Democrats would rig the election and saw his remarks as correct.
Trump is controlling the political agenda
Daniel Alexey, an engineer based in Montgomery County, Maryland, told Al Jazeera that Trump “is moving the country’s political agenda as he pleases, in the service of mobilizing and mobilizing its constituencies.”
She continued: “Unfortunately, Trump can shift public attention, especially among the media, from one topic to another very quickly. He has managed to stop the discussion about the implications of trying the murderers of the young black woman, Briona Taylor, by the police, and here we are talking about another issue that he defines, the handover of power.
In defense of the constitution
Meanwhile, Republican leaders opposed Trump’s position without referring directly to it, emphasizing the need to uphold the US Constitution and the peaceful transfer of power.
Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican Majority Leader in the Senate, said in a tweet on Twitter: “The winner of the November 3 election will be inaugurated on January 20. There will be an orderly transition as it has been every 4 years since 1792 “.
McConnell emphasized that “we have to rely on the presidential election system and its procedures, and there is no reason to question its results.”
Likewise, the Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said: “We must go ahead with our elections … We must never abstain from holding elections on the day we have set.”
McCarthy said in other statements that the country will witness “a smooth transition, and I think President Trump will have a very good chance of settling in.”
For her part, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Liz Cheney, said on Twitter that “the peaceful transfer of power is stipulated in our constitution and is essential for the survival of our republic. The leaders of the United States take the oath and swear respect the constitution. We will abide by this oath. “
Voting by mail is one of the causes of intense electoral controversy in the United States (Europe)Support for Trump’s position
But others in the Trump camp have tried to defend him amid the controversy. “No candidate should accept questions about his loss in the middle of the campaign,” said Drake Hunter, a media expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Hunter said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that “Hillary Clinton (former Democratic presidential candidate) told Joe Biden not to give up under any circumstances, but this did not cause any anger.”
He added that what he called a “fact” that the Obama administration “spied on the Trump campaign, and then on the Trump transition team, shows that there was no peaceful transfer of power in 2016, but this is also being ignored.” .
Trump has repeatedly tried to question the legality of the election, citing his concerns about the mail vote encouraged by Democrats amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s calls to postpone the presidential election scheduled for November 3, and his previous refusal to commit to respect its results, led many to expect an unprecedented constitutional crisis due to the expectation of millions of voters by mail, which it would take to count and count votes over several days or weeks.
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