Trump declines to commit to transfer of power if he loses

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses, calling for getting “rid of the ballots” and suggesting there will be a “continuation” of his Presidency with a judicial stamp of approval because he did not trust in the electoral process.
In remarks that inflamed the political discourse but were dismissed as facetious banter in some quarters, Trump made no secret of his intention to continue in power regardless of the outcome of the November 3 election, as he continued to cast doubts about the process.
“Well, we’re going to have to see what happens. You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster…” he began when asked during a White House press briefing if he would ensure a peaceful transition.
When pressed if he would commit to a peaceful “transferal” given the growing unrest across the country, Trump said: “Get rid of the ballots, and you’ll have a very... we’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,” he added.
Trump, who was elected to the White House in 2016 by an anachronistic electoral college despite losing the popular vote by a massive 2.86 million votes, has repeatedly cast doubts about the voting system, particularly mail-in balloting, even though experts have confirmed that ballot fraud is negligible.
He also made it clear on Wednesday in a fairly transparent manner that he pushing ahead with the nomination of a replacement for just-deceased liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to secure a 6-3 Conservative majority on the Supreme Court bench because he expected the election to be decided there.
“I think this will end up in the Supreme Court. And I think it’s very important that we have nine justices,” Trump said, adding, “It’s better if you go before the election because I think this, this scam that the Democrats are pulling — it’s a scam — the scam will be before the United States Supreme Court. And I think having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation.”
Although the Supreme Court bench will be leaning 5-3 on the Conservative side even without a Ginsburg replacement, Trump and his surrogates do not trust the conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, who has sided with liberals in some important cases in recent months.
Meanwhile, with no central election commission and different election rules in almost every state, local leaders from both parties are filing lawsuits challenging processes that do not suit them. For instance, Republicans in Pennsylvania have indicated they will appeal against a lower court ruling that would allow voters to return mail-in ballots up to three days after Election Day, a concession made because of the pandemic.
Claiming precedent, Trump Republicans are arguing that results should be called on Election Day on November 3, a ploy that Democrats say is aimed at disregarding mail-in ballots that may arrive late. Nearly 200 million Americans are eligible to use mail-in or absentee ballots in this election, and up to a third or quarter of them – majority Democrats -- are expected to use the option because of the pandemic.
"Calling" the results on Election Day is also a media-fostered convention, not a rule. Without a central election commission, it is the Associated Press, a news agency, which “calls” the election based on trends, well before the votes are fully tabulated. The final definitive election results are actually not formally declared until weeks later till the last ballot is counted and electors pledge their votes to the winner.
The US President’s stab at extending his stay in the White House regardless of the results was so transparent and audacious that the opposition was flabbergasted. "What country are we in?" his Democratic challenger Joe Biden asked reporters, adding, “I'm being facetious,… Look, he says the most irrational things. I don't know what to say.”
Others saw a “Trump coup” and a “Trump dictatorship” on the horizon with the possible end of democracy in the United States, given that the US President has repeatedly expressed admiration for dictators and authoritarian rulers and indicated he would like his children to succeed him