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The Republican Majority Leader in the Senate promises an orderly transition even in the event of defeat. The owner did not want to guarantee one. Kayleigh McEnany has now tried to smooth things over.
Clarification Provided: Office of the President Spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany.
Photo: Patrick Semansky (Keystone)
After the unclear statements of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, on the transfer in case of an electoral defeat, the White House is trying to clarify. “The President will accept the results of free and fair elections,” said the spokeswoman for the Office of the President. Kayleigh McEnany Thursday at the request of journalists.
Trump responded evasively on Wednesday when asked if he would secure a peaceful transfer if his Democratic rival Joe Biden won. “We’ll see what happens,” he said.
Trump’s statement had sparked opposition in his own ranks. Although his fellow party members did not directly criticize him in public for this reason, several Republicans said Thursday that a peaceful transfer of office would be the cornerstone of the US constitution. “The winner of the November 3 election will take office on January 20,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote on Twitter. “There will be an orderly transition, as there has been every four years since 1792,” he added, referring to the second presidential election in the United States. It was then that George Washington was re-elected.
Republican heavyweight: Mitch McConnell.
Photo: Keystone
Liz Cheney of the House of Representatives, Republican leaders tweeted: “The peaceful transfer of power is anchored in our constitution and critical to the survival of our republic. The oath that leading American politicians take on the constitution must be kept.
Graham wants to go to the Supreme Court too
But other Republicans showed little alarm at Trump’s comments and tried to smooth things over. “I can assure you that it will be peaceful,” Trump’s confidant Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Fox News. “If the Republicans lose, we will accept the result.” However, this can only be decided by the Supreme Court.
Trump expressed the same expectation Wednesday. He had previously stated repeatedly that voting by mail, which will likely be used a lot this year because of Corona, was increasing voter fraud. He did not provide any evidence for this.
FBI Chief: So far no large-scale electoral fraud
According to FBI chief Christopher Wray, there has been no large-scale election fraud in the United States. “We have not seen any kind of coordinated nationwide voter fraud attempts in the past,” in voting by mail or otherwise, Wray said at a hearing in the US Senate on Thursday. Their statements should in no way be construed as minimizing the FBI’s responsibility to investigate such incidents or the potential impact these things could have locally, Wray said. “From time to time we have seen electoral fraud at the local level.”
Wray called it a “great challenge for an opponent” to carry out fraud on such a scale that it would affect the outcome of the elections. However, the FBI is keeping an eye on the Nov.3 election and is closely monitoring the situation, Wray said. The FBI warned in a statement Thursday of election-related crimes and named double voting, among other things.
Due to the crown pandemic, many more voters are expected to vote by letter in the upcoming US Presidential and Congressional elections on November 3.
