Donald Trump causes uproar by refusing to promise a peaceful transition
Donald Trump at a White House press conference, September 23, 2020. Tom Brenner / Reuters
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Donald Trump has tense the political class in the United States by refusing to guarantee a peaceful passage of power if he were to lose the presidential election to Joe Biden on November 3.
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All it took was one question, during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, September 23, to stretch the American political debate a little more, less than six weeks before the presidential election.
Donald Trump
was asked what he would do in the event of a defeat against Joe Biden on November 3: “
Do you commit to a peaceful transfer of power?
".
Response from the Head of State: “We
will have to see what is happening.
"
Donald Trump added, after his evasive answer, that he still had as many doubts around
postal voting
, a method widely used this year because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The president sees it as a source of potential fraud and has been criticizing it for weeks.
"
Get rid of those mail ballots and there will be no problems,
" he said.
Criticism even in the Republican camp
By refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power, the candidate for re-election has drawn a number of criticisms, starting with those of his Democratic opponent.
“
What country do we live in?
I'm hardly kidding.
I mean, what country are we in?
He says the most irrational things, I don't know what to say,
”responded Joe Biden.
In the Republican camp, Donald Trump's position is also criticized.
Senator Mitt Romney, candidate defeated by Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election and regularly opposed to the current occupant of the White House while they are on the same side, protested on Twitter: "
The peaceful transfer of power is fundamental for our democracy
;
without it, it is Belarus.
Any suggestion by a president that he can evade this constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.
"
The leader of the Republican majority in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, meanwhile reassured: “
Whoever wins the November 3 election will be invested on January 20.
There will be a smooth transition, like every four years since 1792.
”
The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th.
There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792.
Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) September 24, 2020
(With AFP)
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