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NEW YORK: Sean Eldridge says he is “preparing for the worst” in case President Donald Trump tries to undermine the results of next month’s vote or refuses to accept a victory from the Democrats.
The 34-year-old is one of the organizers of a coalition that plans protests across the United States if Trump loses to his electoral rival Joe Biden, but refuses to budge.
The head of the White House has repeatedly refused to say whether he would cede power peacefully in the event of defeat in the November 3 presidential election.
He has suggested that the massive election fraud involving the tens of millions of ballots mailed this year and early voting due to the coronavirus pandemic could prevent him from winning.
“This is unprecedented in American politics having to worry about whether a sitting president will accept the election results and ensure a peaceful transition of power,” Eldridge said.
He is a former Democratic candidate for Congress and one of the leaders of the successful movement to legalize gay marriage.
He is now also in charge of the New York-based anti-Trump organization Stand Up America.
“This is a job that I never expected we would have to do. (But) we have to take his word for it when he says he may not accept the outcome of the election.”
“Certainly everything we have seen from him in the last three and a half years has been a total lack of respect for democratic norms and our electoral processes,” he told AFP.
In a country that recently saw large demonstrations against racial inequality following the death of George Floyd, Eldridge is focused on organizing new protests almost everywhere.
The Protect the Results coalition has laid the groundwork for nearly 250 demonstrations, from Las Vegas to New York and from Maine to Florida.
The group brings together more than 100 organizations, particularly those campaigning for the environment and women’s rights and LGBTQ, but also at least one group of anti-Trump Republicans.
They represent tens of millions of people, according to Eldridge.
While the precise locations of the prepared protests have yet to be identified, participants were warned that the mobilization could begin at 5 p.m. on November 4.
It may take several days or more for the election result to be clear due to the high volume of mail-in ballots.
“We need to ensure that any corrupt pressure from Trump to undermine the election results will be met with a swift response from the American people to demand that every vote be counted and demand that valid final results be respected,” Eldridge said.
ARMY FOR TRUMP
The president of the United States has asked his supporters to go to the polling stations and “closely monitor” any attempted fraud, of which there is very little history in the US elections.
His campaign launched a website that asked supporters to perform typical election tasks, such as knocking on voters’ doors and registering Republican voters.
But opponents have raised concerns about the name of the site, which is Army for Trump, and the president’s refusal to denounce far-right groups like the Proud Boys, whom he even called to “stay out of it” during a debate with Biden. .
With tensions running high and the country extremely divided, law enforcement agencies are preparing for the possibility of violence around the elections.
An anonymous FBI official quoted by The Washington Post said federal police were “paying special attention” to the possibility of civil unrest.
The New York Police Department has told its officers to prepare for the possibility of protests that could last until 2021.
If Trump is clearly the winner and there is “no serious interference,” then the Protect the Results coalition will respect the result, says Eldridge.
“I hope we don’t have to mobilize,” he explained.
But if they do, Eldridge said the demonstrations would be non-violent.
“We are not going to be intimidated by the dangerous rhetoric and violence that we are seeing on the other side,” he said.
