White House Says Trump Will Accept Result Of 'Free And Fair Election'
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany repeatedly avoided saying whether President Donald Trump will agree to a “peaceful transfer of power” if he loses his reelection, instead repeating to reporters Thursday that he “will accept the results of a free and fair election.”
“If the president loses this election, will this White House, will the president assure us that there will be a peaceful transfer of power?” a reporter asked during the White House press briefing.
“The president will accept the results of a free and fair election,” responded McEnany. She repeated that same answer when asked: “Are the results of the November election legitimate only if the president wins?”
“He will accept the results of a free and fair election,” McEnany answered. “He will accept the will of the American people.”
“The president will accept the results of a free and fair election. But I think that your question is more fitting to be asked of Democrats,” Kayleigh McEnany tells @jonkarl when asked about Trump declining to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. https://t.co/mRWa6yO6vCpic.twitter.com/TV7CwdBqdn
— ABC News (@ABC) September 24, 2020
McEnany’s suggestion that the Nov. 3 election may not be “free and fair” follows Trump repeatedly casting doubt on the nation’s electoral system, saying that if he loses it will be because the election was “rigged.”
On Wednesday, Trump also refused to say whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power. He instead told reporters: “We’re going to have to see what happens.” He gave a similar response to Fox News’ Chris Wallace in an interview in July.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Trump called the mail-in-voting system “a whole big scam.”
“We want to make sure the election is honest, and I am not sure that it can be,” he said while expressing agitation that some states are sending mail-in-ballots to all their registered voters in an effort...
