U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, September 10, 2020.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump refused Wednesday to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses the 2020 election to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
“Well, we’ll have to see what happens. You know that. I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots. And the ballots are a disaster,” Trump said at a news conference at the White House. It appeared Trump was referring to mail-in ballots, which he has repeatedly condemned, without evidence, as susceptible to massive fraud.
The president had been asked by a reporter if he would commit to a peaceful transferal of power, “win, lose or draw.”
When the reporter noted that “people are rioting,” Trump replied: “Get rid of the ballots, and you’ll have a very — you’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly, there’ll be a continuation.”
“The ballots are out of control,” Trump said, adding, “The Democrats know it better than anybody else.”
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.