US polls: White House says Donald Trump will accept outcome of a ‘free and fair’ election

The White House on Friday said that President Donald Trump will accept the results of a “free and fair” election, PTI reported.

On September 23, Trump had declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost the upcoming presidential elections. Trump claimed that even if he ended up losing, it would be because of fraudulent postal ballot voting and not because more Americans voted against him. “We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”

The remarks caused alarm in American political circles and among the US media. Responding to a question from a reporter on Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, his Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany sought to blame the Democratic Party. “The president will accept the results of a free and fair election,” she said. “But I think that your question is more fitting to be asked of Democrats, who have already been on the record saying they will not accept the results of an election.”

The reporter clarified his question. “I am referring to the president being asked if there would be a peaceful transfer of power and he did not say yes,” he said. In response, McEnany sought to dodge.

“I believe that question asked by the Playboy reporter – in fact, I think, have it right here – he [Trump] was asked win, lose or draw, whether he would accept the transfer of power,” she said. “I am not entirely sure if he won, why would he accept a transfer of power. That is maybe the deranged wish of that reporter, but that is not how governing works.”

‘Democrats questioned validity of election’

McEnany then referred to several comments made by the Democrats in the past, questioning the legitimacy of elections. “South Carolina Democrat Jim Clyburn has said Trump is not going to win fairly,” she said. “Senator Barbara Boxer has said the only way Trump will win is to steal it. That is according to Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer.”

McEnany pointed out that The Washington Post had run an editorial which said “Democrats may not trust the results of the election if Trump wins”. She claimed former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that he should not concede the election under any circumstances.

“The president will accept the results of a free and fair election. He will accept the will of the American people,” McEnany reasserted.

She claimed that police in Greenville, Wisconsin had found mail in a ditch and it included absentee ballots. McEnany also claimed that ballots for Trump, cast aside, were found in Pennsylvania. “The president has always made the distinction that absentee ballots, where you go through a process, where you request a ballot and you mail that in, that is a system that works,” the press secretary said.

Trump has repeatedly argued that voting through mail is a “catastrophic disaster” that leads to inaccurate counting or fraud, but has not provided any proof of fraud so far. He had even floated the idea to delay the poll, which is due on November 3, arguing that the election would become “the most inaccurate and fraudulent” in history.

Asked about Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, Biden said: “What country are we in? He says the most irrational things.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said that there would be an “orderly transition”. “The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th,” he tweeted. “There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792.”