TOPLINE
During an interview with Fox News presenter Chris Wallace that aired on Sunday, President Trump refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2020 election, closed the vote by mail and called in polls showing that the former vice president Joe Biden was “false”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: President Donald J. Trump walks from the Oval Office to board Marine One. … [+]
KEY FACTS
Presented with a Fox News poll showing him behind Biden by 8 points, Trump told Wallace, “First of all, I’m not losing, because those are bogus polls.”
Wallace asked Trump, “Can you give a direct answer that he will accept the election?”
“I have to see,” Trump said, accepting the result in November. “I have to see. No, I’m not going to say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t do it the last time either.”
The comments echo that Trump said in a 2016 presidential debate “I will tell you at that time. I will keep you in suspense,” on whether he would accept the results of that election, followed by the statement, “I will fully accept the results. of this great and historic presidential election if I win. “
Trump has repeatedly rejected polls showing him by wide margins as “false” and “crackdown polls,” instead citing anecdotal metrics like sailors and motorcyclists with Trump flags as evidence of enthusiasm.
Trump told Wallace that he is not a good loser and reiterated his conspiratorial and mostly unsubstantiated claim that “voting by mail is going to manipulate the election.”
Big number
63% The Fox News poll found broad support for voting by mail, with 63% of registered voters saying they are in favor of allowing all US citizens to vote by mail, while only 28% said they oppose to that extent.
Tangent
Since taking the nomination in April, Biden has frequently alarmed Trump’s foul play. In April, Biden predicted that Trump “will try to delay the election in some way, come up with some reason why it can’t be held” and collude with Russia. Biden made similar claims in June, telling the Daily program‘s Trevor Noah “this president is going to try to steal these elections.” During a virtual fundraiser on Friday, Biden told a group of lawyers that he had started receiving national security reports and that “the Russians are still committed to trying to delegitimize our electoral process. Done.”
Critical boss
In response to Trump’s comments to Wallace, Biden’s Campaign Rapid Response Director Andrew Bates said that “the American people will decide these elections. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting intruders outside from the White House. “
News Peg
Trump’s comments emerge as concern grows that the outcome of 2020 may not be decisive on Election Night, or even in the weeks following the election. New York continues to count ballots from its primary, which took place three weeks ago, with some races closed yet to be called. In addition, in California, more than 100,000 mail-in ballots were not counted, raising concerns about possible voter suppression that is based on already widespread concerns among Democrats that Republicans will suppress voters in red states.
