US President Donald Trump says he will not commit to a peaceful transition of power after the 2020 presidential election.
"Well, we're going to have to see what happens," Trump said on Wednesday when asked whether he would commit to a peaceful transition.
This is not the first time Trump is refusing to accept the outcome of the election and his stance has been consistent since the 2016 campaigning days.
Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transition of power after the election: "Well we're gonna have to see what happens." pic.twitter.com/UHQW7KdQj4
— The Recount (@therecount) September 23, 2020
Asked in a Fox News interview whether he would accept the election result on November 3, he said: "No. I have to see... Look you -- I have to see. No, I'm not going to just say 'yes.' I'm not going to say 'no.' And I didn't last time, either."
“People who are very chill about the president not committing to the peaceful transfer of power unless they ‘get rid of the ballots’ are too chill for me,” tweeted Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz. “This seems an awfully serious thing to be dismissive about. At the very least it’s a good reason to oppose him vigorously.”
The president also continued his criticism against the states where ballots are mailed automatically to registered voters.
"You know that I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster," Trump told reporters."Get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very a peaceful – there won’t be a transfer, frankly, there’ll be a continuation.”
Joe Lockhart, a former spokesman to President Bill Clinton, suggested that every Democratic member of Congress send a letter to the president “demanding he commit to the peaceful transition of power in writing. If he won't, impeachment is a viable option.”
National polls currently show Trump trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden although surveys of electoral battleground states are tighter.