Trump won’t pledge peaceful transfer of power if he loses

[aubiefifty 16,706]

al.com

 

Trump won’t pledge peaceful transfer of power if he loses

By The Associated Press

4 minutes

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before leaving for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then onto Ohio for rallies. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)AP

By AAMER MADHANI and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday again declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election.

“We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said at a news conference, responding to a question about whether he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”

It is highly unusual that a sitting president would express less than complete confidence in the American democracy’s electoral process. But he also declined four years ago to commit to honoring the election results if his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, won.

This year, Trump has been pressing a monthslong campaign against mail-in voting this November by tweeting and speaking out critically about the practice. More states are encouraging mail-in voting to keep voters safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The president, who uses mail-in voting himself, has tried to distinguish between states that automatically send mail ballots to all registered voters and those, like Florida, that send them only to voters who request a mail ballot.

Trump has baselessly claimed widespread mail voting will lead to massive fraud. The five states that routinely send mail ballots to all voters have seen no significant fraud.

Trump on Wednesday appeared to suggest that if states got “rid of” the unsolicited mailing of ballots there would be no concern about fraud or peaceful transfers of power.

“You’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer frankly,” Trump said. “There’ll be a continuation. The ballots are out of control, you know it, and you know, who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know it better than anybody else.”

In a July interview, Trump similarly refused to commit to accepting the results.

“I have to see. Look ... I have to see,” Trump told Chris Wallace during a wide-ranging July interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “No, I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either.”

The Biden campaign responded Wednesday, as it did after Trump’s July comments: “The American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”

Trump made similar comments ahead of the 2016 election. When asked during an October debate whether he would abide by the voters' will, Trump responded that he would “keep you in suspense.”

It’s unlikely that any chaos in states with universal mail-in voting will cause the election result to be inaccurately tabulated, as Trump has suggested.

The five states that already have such balloting have had time to ramp up their systems, while four states newly adopting it — California, New Jersey, Nevada and Vermont — have not. Washington, D.C., is also newly adopting it.

Of those nine states, only Nevada is a battleground, worth six electoral votes and likely to be pivotal only in a national presidential deadlock.

California, New Jersey, Vermont and D.C. are overwhelmingly Democratic and likely to be won by that party’s nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden.

[homersapien 11,353]

What do you expect from Putin's puppet? 

He is willing to throw our country into the worst constitutional crisis we've had since the Civil War all for his personal benefit.  

Putin knows Russia is in decline and wants to pull us down as well.  Trump is doing Putin's work for him.

 

• Judy Woodruff:

  Let me just finally ask you this.

  President Trump has been saying that he believes the election will be unfair and rigged if he loses. What does that say to you about his belief in our democracy?

• H.R. McMaster:

  Well, I think that's a mistake, right, because what — I think what the Russians want to do, what others want to do is, they want to — as I mentioned, they want to diminish our confidence, our confidence in our democratic principles and institutions and processes.

  So, we ought to be strengthening our confidence.

  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/h-r-mcmaster-on-trump-trust-and-threats-from-russia-and-china

[homersapien 11,353]

".....President Trump on Wednesday suggested that he might not accept the election results if he is not declared the winner in November, in response to a reporter's question about whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power — regardless of the outcome of the election.

"We're going to have to see what happens. You know that. I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots. And the ballots are a disaster," Trump said, alluding to his unsubstantiated arguments about widespread mail-in ballot fraud.

"Get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very 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 anybody else? The Democrats know it better than anybody else."

The comments in a news conference Wednesday night followed earlier remarks that he expects this year's election results to end up before the high court.

"I think this [the election] will end up in the Supreme Court, and I think it's very important that we have nine justices," Trump said, defending his decision to seek the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice in the short time before the Nov. 3 election.

"I think it's better if you go before the election, because I think this scam that the Democrats are pulling — it's a scam — the scam will be before the United States Supreme Court," Trump said."

 

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916221894/trump-says-he-expect-election-results-to-end-up-at-supreme-court

[Mikey 16,550]

Why should he promise that? They'd just say he's lying anyway. Let's make 'em nervous. The liberals are threatening more riots, burning and looting if they don't win. They will probably do that. President Trump, on the other hand, will conduct a peaceful transfer should the election honestly not go his way.

[homersapien 11,353]

23 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Why should he promise that? They'd just say he's lying anyway. Let's make 'em nervous. The liberals are threatening more riots, burning and looting if they don't win. They will probably do that. President Trump, on the other hand, will conduct a peaceful transfer should the election honestly not go his way.

Because there is absolutely no reason - NONE - for him to cast doubt and aspersions on our election process. 

It undermines the confidence in the most basic, foundational aspect of our democracy.  It is, in fact, antidemocratic.  The fact it's the POTUS is doing this is reason enough for another impeachment.  Trump is helping our enemies to undermine our faith in our processes.

It will get worse on election night as the final results won't be evident for at least several more days.

You are flat out amazing.    Just not in a good way.

(And pray tell, what liberals are threatening more riots, burning and looting if they don't win. )

[Mikey 16,550]

4 hours ago, homersapien said:

And pray tell, what liberals are threatening more riots, burning and looting if they don't win.

Watch your news casts. "Now is the time to radicalize." by Sandy Cortez would be one starting place.

[homersapien 11,353]

22 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Watch your news casts. "Now is the time to radicalize." by Sandy Cortez would be one starting place.

First, that may not mean what you assume in means.  Let's see the full context. 

Second, that's one (1) person, not "liberals".

Do you really want me to start presenting some characters who represent "conservatives"?  I could possibly find one that even you would be repelled by, but that's certainly open to question.

[RunInRed 16,360]

Shocker 

[jj3jordan 2,040]

On 9/24/2020 at 11:59 AM, homersapien said:

Because there is absolutely no reason - NONE - for him to cast doubt and aspersions on our election process. 

It undermines the confidence in the most basic, foundational aspect of our democracy.  It is, in fact, antidemocratic.  The fact it's the POTUS is doing this is reason enough for another impeachment.  Trump is helping our enemies to undermine our faith in our processes.

It will get worse on election night as the final results won't be evident for at least several more days.

You are flat out amazing.    Just not in a good way.

(And pray tell, what liberals are threatening more riots, burning and looting if they don't win. )

So Homer, question for you. I do not know the answer to this question.  Has ANY presidential candidate EVER been asked if they will accept the results of the upcoming election?  Until Trump I do not recall this ever being asked. Has it in your knowledge?

[Mikey 16,550]

On 9/26/2020 at 10:40 AM, jj3jordan said:

So Homer, question for you. I do not know the answer to this question.  Has ANY presidential candidate EVER been asked if they will accept the results of the upcoming election?  Until Trump I do not recall this ever being asked. Has it in your knowledge?

I don't recall ever hearing the question before today's lefty media started asking it of President Trump. I'm glad he won't give them a definitive answer. If failing to answer gets their panties in a wad, so much the better.

[yngwie1995 2,227]

This is rich, coming from the left, when:

1) They still refuse to accept the results of the 2016 election, almost 4 years later.

2) Hillary Clinton is the one telling Biden to not concede the election, no matter what. Where's the media on this one?

[aubiefifty 16,706]

On 9/26/2020 at 10:40 AM, jj3jordan said:

So Homer, question for you. I do not know the answer to this question.  Has ANY presidential candidate EVER been asked if they will accept the results of the upcoming election?  Until Trump I do not recall this ever being asked. Has it in your knowledge?

question for you scooter. ask yourself why we have to ask this about trump to begin with?

[aubiefifty 16,706]

3 hours ago, yngwie1995 said:

This is rich, coming from the left, when:

1) They still refuse to accept the results of the 2016 election, almost 4 years later.

2) Hillary Clinton is the one telling Biden to not concede the election, no matter what. Where's the media on this one?

i never said i did not except the elections results..........that would be W. and you are thinking it is elections results when it is job performance and corruption we do not care for. how many covid deaths we have now? and the idiot you love played politics with blue states and for a week or two was calling covid a dem hoax. youtube is your friend.

[Mikey 16,550]

31 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

youtube is your friend.

Youtube can be the friend of people who want to see how to repair a lawnmower carburetor, if the poster knows what he's doing. It's about the last place to look for political truth.

[jj3jordan 2,040]

4 hours ago, Mikey said:

Youtube can be the friend of people who want to see how to repair a lawnmower carburetor, if the poster knows what he's doing. It's about the last place to look for political truth.

Remember you are talking to somebody who thinks russians buying facebook ads stole the election from hillary.

[jj3jordan 2,040]

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

question for you scooter. ask yourself why we have to ask this about trump to begin with?

Too hard a question?

[yngwie1995 2,227]

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

i never said i did not except the elections results..........that would be W. and you are thinking it is elections results when it is job performance and corruption we do not care for. how many covid deaths we have now? and the idiot you love played politics with blue states and for a week or two was calling covid a dem hoax. youtube is your friend.

Yeah, and in January, Trump shut down travel from China. The very next day Dems called him a xenophobe for it. Now, they're saying he didn't act early enough.