President Donald Trump’s Wednesday answer to a question about a peaceful transfer of power has brought renewed attention to his upcoming announcement regarding his latest Supreme Court nominee.
“We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said Wednesday 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.”
Trump on Wednesday appeared to suggest if states got “rid of” the unsolicited mailing of ballots there would be no concern about fraud or peaceful transfers of power.
Credit: AJC
“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.”
Trump’s remarks brought pushback from congressional Republicans on Thursday, including from U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday, “If Republicans lose, we will accept the result. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Joe Biden, I will accept that result.”
Graham chairs the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, which will oversee confirmation hearings for Trump’s nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
But Graham also reiterated the Supreme Court could — when acting upon seemingly inevitable legal challenges to the election — end up all but declaring the winner. Trump himself has also said the court could wind up selecting the winner, adding emphasis to the GOP’s push to secure a successful confirmation hearing and then a Senate vote before the election.
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.”
Ahead of the 2016 election, Trump’s sentiment mirrored that of his recent comments. When asked during an October debate whether he would abide by the voters' will, Trump responded that he would “keep you in suspense.”
Democratic White House nominee Joe Biden was asked about Trump’s comment after landing in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday night.
“What country are we in?” Biden asked incredulously, adding: “I’m being facetious. Look, he says the most irrational things. I don’t know what to say about it. But it doesn’t surprise me.”
Biden’s campaign also responded. “The American people will decide this election," it said. "And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”
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