"Well, we're going to have to see what happens," Trump said when asked whether he'd commit to a peaceful transition, one of the cornerstones of American democracy.
Trump has previously refused to say whether he would accept the election results, echoing his sentiments from 2016. And he has joked -- he says -- about staying in office well past the constitutionally bound two terms.
But his refusal to guarantee a violence-free transition went further and is likely to alarm his opponents, already on edge given his deployment of federal law enforcement to quell protests in American cities.
His reluctance to commit to a peaceful transition was rooted in what he said were concerns about ballots, extending his false assertion that widespread mail-in voting is rife with fraud.
"You know that I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster," Trump said at a press briefing at the White House, presumably referring to mail-in ballots, which he has baselessly claimed will lead to voter fraud[1].
"(G)et rid of the ballots and you'll have a very ... there won't be a transfer, frankly. There'll be a continuation," he added, saying "the ballots are out of control."
Trump has previously said his rival Joe Biden would only prevail in November if the election is "rigged," and suggested earlier in the day it was likely the results of the election would be contested all the way to the Supreme Court.
National polls currently show Trump trailing Biden, though surveys of electoral battleground states are tighter.
Democrats have long fretted that Trump may attempt to cling to power using the authorities of the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested over the summer that Trump may have to be "fumigated out" of office if he refuses to accept the election results.
Trump has not sought to tamp down on speculation he won't leave office. Asked in a Fox News interview whether he could accept the election results, he demurred.
"No. I have to see," Trump said. "Look you -- I have to see. No, I'm not going to just say 'yes.' I'm not going to say 'no.' And I didn't last time, either."
References
- ^ which he has baselessly claimed will lead to voter fraud (www.cnn.com)
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