Is Trump Joking with the American Electorate? IF so, I don't find it very funny when his joking could cost human lives in the days after the election. It's not funny. It's pathetic.
begin quote from:
Donald Trump: 'I will totally accept' election results 'if I win'
| CNN | - |
Delaware,
Ohio (CNN) Donald Trump said Thursday he will accept the results of
next month's election if he wins, a caveat that threatens to cast
unprecedented doubt on the legitimacy of the electoral process.
Donald Trump: 'I will totally accept' election results 'if I win'
Story highlights
- Twice Trump implied he would only accept the results of the general election if he won
- He made his comments during the debate Wednesday and at a rally Thursday
Delaware, Ohio (CNN)Donald
Trump said Thursday he will accept the results of next month's election
if he wins, a caveat that threatens to cast unprecedented doubt on the
legitimacy of the electoral process.
Trump
offered a stunning declaration during the final presidential debate
that he might not accept the results of next month's election. In his
first speech since the debate, Trump seemed to simultaneously double
down on the stance he articulated Wednesday night while also trying to
clean it up.
Trump
argued forcefully during a rally here that he was being asked to
"waive" his right to contest the election after critics slammed him for
refusing to pledge to accept the results of the election the previous
night during the final presidential debate.
"I
would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and
to all of the people of the United States that I will totally accept
the results of this great and historic presidential election, if I win,"
Trump told supporters here in his first comments since the final
debate.
After
raising concerns about voter fraud -- instances of which are extremely
rare -- Trump also pledged to accept "a clear election result."
"Of
course, I would accept a clear election result, but I would also
reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a
questionable result," Trump said. "And always, I will follow and abide
by all of the rules and traditions of all of the many candidates who
have come before me. Always."
His
running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, echoed Trump's comments while
speaking in Reno, Nevada, telling supporters: "Of course, we will accept
a clear election result, but we also reserve the right to contest or
file a legal challenge in the case of questionable results."
'I will keep you in suspense'
Trump's
remarks Thursday appeared aimed at quelling the outrage he sparked the
previous night as Republicans and Democrats alike balked at Trump's
response that "I will look at it at the time," when asked if he would
concede the election should he lose on November 8. But by refusing again
Thursday to promise outright that he will abide by the results of the
election, Trump kept alive a worrying conspiracy theory that his
underdog candidacy could be defeated by below-board behavior.
The
remarks came after Trump took intense fire from Republicans and
Democrats alike for saying "I will look at it at the time," when asked
if he would concede the election should he lose on November 8.
"I will keep you in suspense," he added during the debate.
Trump
also said Thursday that he was only refusing to make a blanket
statement concerning the results of the election because he wants
"fairness during the election."
who's winning?
cnn/orc
cnn poll of polls
47%
Clinton
42%
Trump
7%
Johnson
2%
Stein
"This is having nothing to do with me but having to do with the future of our country. We have to have fairness," he said.
Trump,
who has spent weeks calling the election "rigged" and suggesting to his
supporters the presidency could be stolen from them, sought to compare
his situation to the 2000 election, when Al Gore sought a recount in
several counties after the results of the election in Florida were very
tight.
"If Al Gore or George Bush
had agreed three weeks before the election to concede results and waived
their right to a legal challenge or a recount then there would be no
Supreme Court case," Trump said of the ensuing legal process following
the contested result of the 2000 election.
But
neither Bush nor Gore raised concerns about the legitimacy of the
electoral process, neither before nor after Election Day. And a day
after the Supreme Court ruled, Gore called Bush to concede.
Trump's
pledge to accept the results of the election "if I win" could have gone
differently on Thursday, based on prepared remarks the Trump campaign
released after his speech concluded.
The
prepared remarks of that "major announcement" offered a similar, and
seemingly more lighthearted, pledge labeled "ALTERNATE."
"I
would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters,
and to all of the people of the United States, that when the results
come in on election night, I will accept -- without delay or hesitation
-- the concession speech of Hillary Rodham Clinton," read the alternate
text of Trump's pledge to accept the presidential election results if he
wins.
The question about accepting
the election's results was posed to Trump on Wednesday night after the
Republican nominee spent weeks arguing that there was a mass
"establishment" conspiracy seeking to undermine his candidacy.
Trump's
talk of a "rigged" election came after nearly a dozen women came
forward last week alleging that Trump had groped or kissed them without
their consent -- prompting a deluge of defections from Republicans who
had been supporting his campaign and unfavorable media coverage.
But
in previous months, Trump had already begun suggesting to his
supporters that the election could be stolen, urging them to be vigilant
on Election Day and watch for cases of voter fraud, which are extremely
rare in the US.
No comments:
Post a Comment