Trump on Committing to Peaceful Power Transfer: We'll See

President complains, once again, about mail-in voting
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 24, 2020 2:00 AM CDT
Updated Sep 24, 2020 6:25 AM CDT
Trump Won't Commit to Peaceful Power Transfer
President Donald Trump listens to a question during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Trump on Wednesday declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election in November. "Well, we’re going to have to see what happens," Trump said when asked directly about the issue during a press conference, USA Today reports. "You know that I've been complaining very strongly about the [mail-in] ballots [sent automatically to voters in some states] and the ballots are a disaster. Get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very a peaceful—there won’t be a transfer, frankly, there’ll be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it, and you know who knows it better than anyone else? The Democrats know it better than anyone else." Hours earlier, he had predicted the election results would end up before the Supreme Court, and noted in such a case it would be "important" to have all nine justices.

Democrats were speaking out strongly against the statement, the Washington Post reports. At least one Republican appeared to be speaking out as well, per the Hill: Mitt Romney, though he didn't mention Trump by name, tweeted, "Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable." A sample of the Twitter responses to Romney's remarks: "You want to hand him another judge but you know his plot is to pick one that will help him steal the election." There are quite a few more where that came from. Joe Biden's take? "What country are we in? I'm being facetious. Look, he says the most irrational things. I don't know what to say." The AP notes this is at least the second time Trump has made such a remark during this election cycle. (More President Trump stories.)

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