Published 11:47 IST, November 13th 2020
US Election 2020: Obama says Trump 'delegitimizing' democracy, calls it 'dangerous path'
Barack Obama not only said that incumbent Donald Trump “doesn’t like to lose” but also accused the senior Republicans in the US of undermining democracy.
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Former US President Barack Obama not only said that incumbent Donald Trump “doesn’t like to lose” but also accused the senior Republicans in the nation of undermining democracy by backing the 45th US President in his baseless claims of election fraud. In CBS News’ 60 Minutes that is due to air on November 15, Obama reiterated that president-elect Joe Biden “clearly won” in US Election 2020 as major media outlets had called him victorious. However, irked by the outcome, Trump has been mounting legal challenges on voting stations and has claimed, without evidence, that the election has been “stolen” by Democrats.
While Trump’s team is yet to provide proof of the US President’s claims, he has refused to graciously concede. As the current administration has stalled the long-standing traditional process of transition of power, Obama told CBS News that the allegations are budded from the fact that “the president doesn't like to lose.” The former US President expressed that he is “more troubled” by learning that Republicans are also paying heed to Trump’s claims that are delegitimizing the democracy.
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“I'm more troubled by the fact that other Republican officials who clearly know better are going along with this, are humouring him in this fashion," Obama said. "It is one more step in delegitimizing not just the incoming Biden administration, but democracy generally. And that's a dangerous path.”
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Obama-Trump transition in 2016
This chaos in American politics this year between the outgoing and incoming administrations calls for US citizens to remember the peaceful transitions in the past. In 2016, when Donald Trump won against Hillary Clinton, the outgoing Democrat administration headed by Obama ensured that the incoming Republicans in the White House are well prepared before the Inaugration Day that usually falls in January. In a video that has surfaced again on social media, Obama can be seen introducing then-president-elect Trump and explaining that his “first priority” is to facilitate the transfer of power. Watch:
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11:48 IST, November 13th 2020