In an unbelievable move by a sitting president, Donald Trump suggested on Thursday morning to delay November’s election over his false claims regarding mail-in voting.
Mr. Trump tweeted out early Thursday morning to his 84 million followers that mail-in voting “result in the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history”. The president has constantly spoken out against mail-in voting despite not providing evidence of any such fraud.
Mr. Trump’s claims come despite election experts debunked any theory of widespread fraud with the use of mail ballots. However, President Trump has no authority to postpone the election, that must come from Congress. Furthermore, the Constitution also states the president’s term ends on Jan. 20.
Both Republicans and Democrats quickly shot down the idea as GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Americans have voted in wars and the date has no reason to change now.
“Well never in the history of the country through wars, depressions and the Civil War have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time. And we’ll find a way to do that again this November 3,” McConnell said.
At his coronavirus press briefing, Mr. Trump walked back the notion he wants to delay the election, saying he was warning of the possible problems with mail-in voting.
“Do I want to see a date change? No,” he said. “But I don’t want to see a crooked election.”
Mr. Trump continued to rant about the election night results, saying, without evidence, that the American people would have to wait “months or years” for the results due to mail-in voting.
“What will happen in November — it’s a mess,” Trump said. “I want a result much, more more than you…I don’t want to be waiting around around for weeks and months.”
The comments come as Mr. Trump trails presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in battleground states, including states the president won like Texas and Georgia.
