“Well, we’re going to see what happens,” the president said.
President Donald Trump denied his commitment to a peaceful transfer of power after the November election during a press conference on Wednesday.
Asked if he would leave the White House peacefully, Trump replied if he lost the election, “Well, we have to see what happens. You know that.”
The president then turned to the subject he frequently brings up: the ballet. For months, Trump has sought to undermine confidence in the mail-in vote as the country struggles over how to vote safely during the coronavirus epidemic.
“I am complaining very strongly about the ballot and the ballot is a disaster,” the president said.
When pressed a second time, if he will make sure that “a peaceful transfer of power is guaranteed or not,” Trump turned to the ballot again, but this time an answer suggests that if there is no power, there will be no transfer of power. Ballots.
Trump said, “We want to keep going – get rid of the ballot and you’ll have a lot of peace, there won’t be a transfer, honestly.” Trump said. “One will continue.”
He then pointed to the ballot and said, “The ballots are out of control. You know that. You know who knows better than anyone else? The Democrats know better than anyone else.”
Trump’s lack of commitment to a peaceful transfer of power is unprecedented. Peaceful transition is a key aspect of American democracy. President Richard Nixon also commented on the peaceful transfer of power during his inaugural address in 1969, saying, “We celebrate the unity in the systematic transfer of power that keeps us free.”
In response to Trump’s remarks about his commitment to a peaceful transition of power, former Vice President J. Biden’s campaign is referring to a statement issued to reporters on July 19, when Trump gave a similar response to Fox News’ Chris accepting the election results. Wallace.
“The American people will decide this election,” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. “And the United States government is fully capable of protecting abusers outside the White House.”
This is not the first time Trump has taken the fear of widespread voter fraud from the mail-in ballot. It has been brought up frequently during rallies and on Twitter, with social media platforms marking tweets as a violation of its “Civic Integrity Policy”.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this year, Trump said, “I have to see.” Saying so did not commit to accepting the election results.
The president’s remarks on Wednesday came just hours after protests began in Louisville and across the country, when a grand jury in Kentucky convicted only one officer of endangering Brona Taylor’s neighbors during a police shooting.
The summer after George Floyd’s death was also filled with tension and unrest, and Trump deployed federal law enforcement to quiet protests in cities across the country.
The report was contributed by ABC News’ John Verhauke.
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