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The White House sought to mitigate Donald Trump’s attacks on the legitimacy of the elections.
Then he gave them one more turn.
“It may be the biggest damage he’s ever done to American democracy,” presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told the New York Times.
President Trump has repeatedly questioned the upcoming presidential election. Especially after opinion polls show that Democratic candidate Joe Biden appears to be leading the way. It has been driven primarily by the record mail-in vote increase expected in the wake of the corona pandemic.
He has called mail-in ballots a disaster and claims they lead to widespread voter fraud. Trump has also accused Democrats of trying to rig the election.
I did not want to assure
At a press conference on Wednesday, he went one step further and did not want to assure that he will help hand over power peacefully if the election results show that he has lost.
– We’ll see what happens, answered the president to the reporter’s question.
The reporter repeated the question.
– Remove the votes by mail and it will be peaceful. Although there will be no surrender. It will be a continuation, he said then.
The anger among the Democrats was real.
“You are not in North Korea, you are not in Turkey, you are not in Russia, Mr. President, and by the way, you are not in Saudi Arabia,” said Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, writes the New York Times.
– You are in United States. It’s a democracy, so why can’t you try to honor the oath you took to the constitution?
Photo: Evan Vucci / TT NEWS AGENCY
Triumph.
I tried to smooth
On Thursday, the White House tried to soften the alarming remarks.
“The president will accept the results of a free and fair election, he will accept the will of the American people,” said Secretary of State Kayleigh McEnany.
Even prominent figures from the Republican Party tried to pour oil on the waves. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote on Twitter that there will be a transfer of power in the usual way if Trump loses.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump’s close confidant and golf partner, also delivered the same message, although he opened that the election result could be challenged in court.
– I can promise you it will be peaceful. There may be a lawsuit over who won the election, but the Supreme Court will decide and if the Republicans lose, we will accept the result, Lindsey Graham said in an interview with Fox News, writes The Guardian.
Repeated message
But just hours later, Donald Trump stood in front of the press and repeated basically the same message.
– We want to make sure it will be a reliable option and I’m not sure it can be. We must be very careful with postal votes. That is a big scam.
FBI Director Christopher A Wray said earlier Thursday that there is no evidence of nationwide organized electoral fraud.
Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley tells the New York Times that the plot over the legitimacy of the elections could be “the greatest damage that has ever been inflicted on American democracy.” Many fear the attacks could lead the United States into total chaos after the election if the result is not in Trump’s favor. Followers who feel cheated by victory can get very angry.
Thomas Massie, a Conservative member of the House of Representatives, tweeted shortly after Trump’s refusal to promise a peaceful transition:
“This spring, the stores sold out without alcohol and toilet paper. This fall ammunition is running out ”.
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