2020
ELECTIONS
The 9 most notable comments Trump has made about
accepting the election results
The president has repeatedly cast doubt on the
integrity of the 2020 election.
By NICK
NIEDZWIADEK
09/24/2020
06:04 PM EDT
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/trump-casts-doubt-2020-election-integrity-421280
President
Donald Trump’s refusal Wednesday to guarantee that he would accept the results
and exit the White House if he is defeated caused an explosion of outrage and
put congressional Republicans on the defensive about what would otherwise be a
fundamental assumption of a democratic system.
It also
ratcheted up tensions amid a burgeoning Supreme Court fight that is sure to
further embitter both sides of the political spectrum, as Trump has said he
wants a successor to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in place in time to adjudicate
possible legal disputes over contested election results.
But for
months Trump has raised doubts about the integrity of this year’s elections,
accusing Democrats of going to great lengths to skew results in their favor and
making it a recurring theme in his reelection campaign — while providing little
evidence to back up his grievous assertions.
He’s also
off-handedly mused on a handful of occasions about getting more than the
constitutionally permitted eight years in office because of the time in his
first term “stolen” from him due to former special counsel Robert Muller’s
investigation — comments that also raised concerns about Trump’s commitment to
the limits of presidential terms.
White House
press secretary Kaleigh McEnaney on Thursday declared that the president “will
accept the result of a free and fair election,” though Trump himself has claimed
he will lose only if he is cheated out of victory.
It’s
familiar ground for Trump, who in 2016 also took a wait-and-see approach to
questions about whether he would accept the results of the election that
ultimately went his way and has frequently adopted a never-say-never position
to legislation, personnel moves and other decisions.
Here are
some of Trump’s most notable statements casting doubt on the coming Nov. 3
election.
Sept. 24,
from the White House lawn
“We have to
be very careful with the ballots,” Trump said, when asked whether the election
results are legitimate only if he wins. “The ballots, that’s a whole big scam.”
“We want to
make sure the election is honest, and I am not sure that it can be. I don’t
know that it can be with this whole situation of unsolicited ballots.”
Sept. 23,
during a White House press briefing
“We’re
going to have to see what happens,” the president said, when asked whether he’d
commit to a peaceful transfer of power, “win, lose, or draw.” “You know, I’ve
been complaining about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster.”
“And the
ballots are out of control,” he continued. “You know it. And you know who knows
it better than anybody else? The Democrats.”
Earlier in
the day, during a meeting with state attorneys general and Republican senators
to discuss looming litigation against major tech companies.
“I think
this scam that the Democrats are pulling, it’s a scam [and] this scam will be
before the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said. “And I think having a 4-4
situation is not a good situation.”
Sept. 13,
during a Nevada campaign rally
“The
Democrats are trying to rig this election because that’s the only way they’re
going to win,” he said.
Aug. 24,
during his Republican National Committee acceptance speech
“The only
way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election,”
Trump said.
Aug. 2, in
a televised interview with Axios journalist Jonathan Swan
“There is
no way you can go through a mail-in vote without massive cheating,” Trump said,
when asked what it would look like if a sitting president didn’t accept the
election results.
“You could
have a case where this election won’t be decided on the evening of November
3rd. This election could be decided two months later. It could be decided many
months later. ... You know why? Because lots of things will happen during that
period of time, especially when you have tight margins. Lots of things can
happen. There’s never been anything like this.”
Aug. 17, at
a rally in Wisconsin
“The only
way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged, remember
that,” Trump said. “It’s the only way we’re going to lose this election. So we
have to be careful.“
“The only
way they’re going to win is that way, and we can’t let that happen.”
July 30 via
Twitter
“With
Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the
most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” Trump wrote. “It will be
a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly,
securely and safely vote???”
Trump tried
to clarify his tweet later that day, saying, “Do I want to see a day change?
No, but I don’t want to see a crooked election,” before doubling down in a
tweet hours later.
“Must know
Election results on the night of the Election, not days, months, or even years
later!” Trump wrote.
July 19
interview on “Fox News Sunday”
Asked
directly by host Chris Wallace whether he would accept the results of the
election, Trump said he’d “have to see” and “it depends.”
“I’m not
going to just say yes,” Trump said. “I’m not going to say no.”
“Are you
suggesting that you might not accept the results of the election?” Wallace
asked in a follow up.
“No. I have
to see,” Trump said.
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