Published 13:33 IST, September 24th 2020
Trump refuses to guarantee peaceful transfer of power if he loses to Biden in US election
US President Donald Trump refused to clearly guarantee peaceful transfer of power if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the upcoming election.
US President Donald Trump, on September 23, refused to clearly guarantee peaceful transfer of power if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the upcoming US election. While speaking at White House press conference, Trump seemed to suggest annulling the mail-in ballots and added that in such a scenario, he would remain in power. When asked whether he is committed to the most basic tenet of democratic rule in the country, the US President said, ‘We’re going to have to see what happens’.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump, who has been compiling about the way the election is being held, reiterated that ‘ballots are a disaster’. He has repeatedly claimed that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to mass fraud and are being encouraged by Democrats to rig the election. However, he hasn’t provided any evidence to support his statement.
The US President has said that the mail-in ballots could result in widespread fraud, even though millions of Americans have cast absentee ballots by mail for years without such problems. A large number of voters are expected to use the postal ballot in the presidential elections due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which the Trump administration has failed to contain. GOP has been opposing mail-in ballots because more registered Democrats have requested for postal ballots than registered Republicans for the upcoming elections.
Trump pushes for Justice Ginsburg’s replacement
Meanwhile, his latest comments insisting that there cannot be a fair election came as pressure mounts over his plan to put a new, right-leaning justice on the Supreme Court. While the Democrats want any decision over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg replacement to be made after November’s election, the US President, on the other hand, seeks to replace her with a conservative judge, immediately. Justice Ginsburg, who was the second female justice, passed away at her Washington home at the age of 87 due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Within hours of her death, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel vowed to call for a vote to replace Justice Ginsburg with someone appointed by Trump, even though four years ago he blocked ex-President Barack Obama’s nomination of Garland. McConnel reportedly said that four years ago he did not believe that it was right to vote on a nomination during an election year, setting a new precedent he now is arguing doesn’t apply. Ginsburg’s dying wish was not to be replaced until a new president is installed, however, her wish underscored the battle she knew was coming.
(Image: AP)
Updated 13:33 IST, September 24th 2020