Trump Continues Casting Doubt on Election Result as GOP Promises Peaceful Transition

President Donald Trump called the legitimacy of the 2020 election into question again on Thursday as Republicans scrambled to assure the public there would be a peaceful transition of power. Trump has so far refused to commit to a peaceful handover of power.

Trump caused alarm on Wednesday by indicating he might not accept the election results or peacefully stand down if he loses the election. He’s repeatedly and baselessly attacked mail-in ballots while encouraging the use of absentee ballots, which experts say are effectively the same thing.

The President appeared to make matters worse on Thursday even as many in the GOP had essentially vowed a peaceful election result.

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 (@LeaderMcConnell) September 24, 2020

“We want to make sure the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be. I don’t know that it can be, with this whole situation, unsolicited ballots,” Trump said, again reiterated an inaccurate claim.

The combination of Trump’s dismissal of the election results with recent unrest and the activity of armed militias in some American cities may have prompted senior Republicans to speak publicly on the matter. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was the most prominent GOP leader to weigh in.

“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,” McConnell tweeted.

However, the President’s continued attacks on the integrity of the election more broadly have met little push back from the Republican leadership amid a drive to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat before November 3. The state of SCOTUS could determine the outcome of the election.