September 24, 2020

President Trump won't commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election!

You've seen the headlines. They're the drama of the day, extracted from yesterday's press briefing where a reporter said words that Trump chose not to repeat. It was a trap, and I presume Trump could see the various ways it would function as a trap, depending on how he answered.

Let's look at the original text:
Speaker 2: Win, lose, or draw in this election. Will you commit here today for a peaceful transfer of power after the election... There’s been rioting in many cities across this country.... Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transferral of power after the election?

President Donald Trump: 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.

Speaker 2: I understand that but people are rioting. Do you commit to making sure that there’s a peaceful transferal of power?

President Donald Trump: We want to have… Get rid of the ballots and 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.
Let's break it down:
Will you commit here today for a peaceful transfer of power after the election... Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transferral of power after the election?
First of all — "making sure." I have a tag for that. It's an insidious phrase, used by politicians to gloss over how they will achieve whatever the end is. Add "commit" to that, and you're deeper into fantasy land — "commit to making sure." Who can do that?! Where is this lack of peace coming from? How could Trump know in advance? It could be a crazy tantrum by people who hate him and who are saying we'll only stop if you resist litigating about voting fraud. Trump needs to reserve his right — and responsibility — to ensure that we get a fair and accurate vote count. He can't be at the mercy of the protesters and rioters. The question is quite obviously a trap, and Trump calmly stakes out appropriate ground:
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 means the mail-in ballots. He's preserving his right to investigate and litigate over fraud and abnormalities. He goes right to that topic rather than to engage on the reporter's VIOLENCE!!! gambit. The reporter tries again:
I understand that but people are rioting. Do you commit to making sure that there’s a peaceful transferral of power?
Huh?? People are rioting now, and not over the election which hasn't happened yet. Why bring up these riots? To establish that people have a propensity to riot? How does that connect to a "transferral of power"? There's only a need for a "transferral of power" if Biden wins, and the lack of peace in question seems to be the pro-Biden forces rioting because they think Biden has won or should have won. How does this demand for Trump to "commit to making sure" make any sense except to extract words from him that will be used to force him — under threat of violence — to forgo challenging the apparent result of the election if the initial vote count favors Biden? Well, I'm sure they'd also like Trump to politely relinquish his own victory if Biden comes forward with trays of late mail-in ballots where needed in this or that purple state.

Trump responds, once again stressing the need for a fair election and not getting bullied into caving to a threat of violence. It's quite a tangle, so I'll go phrase by phrase:
We want to have…
This is the beginning of a sentence he doesn't finish, but I presume it would have ended something like "a fair election."
Get rid of the ballots and we’ll have a very peaceful…
Again, he ends before finishing the sentence. The first part sounds like he doesn't even want to have an election, but a sympathetic listener assumes he meant get rid of the mail-in ballots.
There won’t be a transfer frankly, there’ll be a continuation.
Obviously, he stopped after "we’ll have a very peaceful" because he realized that to say "transferral of power" would be to predict that Biden would win. But, no, he predicts "a continuation": He will win.
The ballots are out of control.
He returns to his original response to the question: There's a problem with the mail-in voting.
You know it, and you know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know it better than anybody else.
Everybody knows there's a problem with the voting, he's saying, and he's not going to get deflected from talking about it. He sees the reporter and the Democrats doing battlefield prep for the post-Election Day litigation, and he's not giving away anything. So he avoided that trap, but he couldn't keep them from spinning what they had, and that's why we have this morning's bullshit headline: President Trump won't commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election!

ADDED: According to Axios, "Republicans condemn Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power." But there's no condemnation in sight! Here are the quotes:
Mitch McConnell: "The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792."
No condemnation Nothing about threats of violence. No specification of a "transferral." Nothing in this statement that Trump wouldn't go along with. There needs to be a "winner," and then there will be an "orderly transition." There's nothing about the relationship to the recent rioting in the streets, and there's nothing about the possible litigation phase that may be needed before we have a "winner."
Mitt Romney: "Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable."
He says "peaceful," but it refers to what is done by the officials, not the pressure from rioters in the street or any notion that the President can ensure that citizens don't commit acts of violence.
Marco Rubio: "As we have done for over two centuries we will have a legitimate & fair election It may take longer than usual to know the outcome, but it will be a valid one And at noon on Jan 20, 2021 we will peacefully swear in the President."
So that's a nice arrangement of thoughts, done without a reporter trying to put specific words in his mouth. Again, we see an expression of the expectation that we'll have a normal Inauguration Day. Like Trump, Rubio is concerned about difficulties arriving at a proper counting of the votes.
Rob Portman: "Throughout America’s history, the peaceful transition of power has been a hallmark of our democracy. This year, both candidates must commit to abiding by the results, no matter the outcome."
Portman uses the word "commit," but not "commit to making sure" that there's no violence in the streets, merely to commit to "abiding by the results." He doesn't address the fight phase, where the result is still unclear. That will feel agitated and not really "peaceful," and though the officials fighting it out won't commit acts of violence, it's hard to believe that some citizens won't break windows and start fires.
Liz Cheney: "The peaceful transfer of power is enshrined in our Constitution and fundamental to the survival of our Republic. America’s leaders swear an oath to the Constitution. We will uphold that oath."
Same thing.
Steve Stivers: "Nothing defines our Constitutional Republic more than the peaceful transition of power. I've taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and I will uphold that oath."
Same.
John Katko: "[T]he importance of the transition of power to our democracy is larger than any one President and any one election. I will not hesitate to fulfill my responsibility in upholding my oath to the Constitution and protecting our democracy."
Same.

No one condemned Trump's refusal. Not one Republican said Trump was wrong not to voice the words the reporter wanted him to say. The Axios headline is unsupported by the text and disgustingly misleading. Fake news. I'm not going to riot in the street about it, but I'm seriously irked.

And I'm a swing voter in Wisconsin.

ADDED: Further down, the Axios article also has these statements from Republicans, which are even less like condemnation:
Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the Senate's most senior Republican, told reporters: "I would have the same concern when Hillary Clinton advised Biden not to concede the election."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) told "Fox & Friends" that he "can assure" there will be a peaceful transition of power, adding that "if the Republicans lose we will accept that result" — without directly addressing Trump's statements.

Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.), per Politico's Andrew Desiderio: "He says crazy stuff. We’ve always had a peaceful transition of power. It’s not going to change."

Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), via CNN's Manu Raju: "[G]o ask every Democrat member and ask them if they stand with Hillary Clinton who says that Biden shouldn't accept the result under any circumstances if he doesn't win."

Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) responded to Cheney's tweet: "Now do the Russia hoax."

109 comments:

Mikey NTH said...

Peaceful transfer of power win, lose, or draw? So no matter the results they want Trump to leave office? That's how I read it.

FWBuff said...

When are they going to ask Biden the same question?

Michael K said...

The DNC has 600 lawyers to see that it is not peaceful.

deepelemblues said...

Countertroll in response to a troll question. Good job Mr. President. Asking the question itself is unserious and a deliberate insult. Make them all freak out, that's a good price to make them pay for their lack of decency.

rehajm said...

When are they going to ask Biden the same question?

Not today. They called a lid at 9:30AM...

WisRich said...

Nice catch Ann. The presumption of the question is that Trump loses. Oh, and I agree with Trump, liberal judges and election commission are changing voter laws with no authority. Get this to the appeals court or SCOTUS if you have to asap.

rehajm said...

Not off topic: Trump approval at 52% today.

n.n said...

They've been protesting since his conception (declaration). They've been rioting since his birth (inauguration). They have persisted and progressed over 16 trimesters without a peaceful resolution, setting one trap after another while hoping and dreaming to abort his administration. Democrats will not commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

Jersey Fled said...

You mean like the peaceful transfer from Obama to Trump?

Kevin said...

Where's Hunter?

roesch/voltaire said...

After he does away with ballots voting will be next, yes?

Nonapod said...

peaceful transfer of power

That's rich. As far as I can tell over the past several months by and large it hasn't been Trump's supporters who have been behaving less than peacefully. It hasn't been Trump supporters who have been violent and chaotic, rioting, looting, and burning. It's tiresome how the left is always and forever accusing the right of committing the very sins they themselves are in fact committing.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The left: We will continue to riot, loot, and arson until Trump is out of office.

Ken B said...

Wanting to know the facts is actually the least Hitler like thing ever.

Kevin said...

I take the riot comment to be a straight up admission that they have nothing to do with justice and are really only about violently forcing Trump out of office.

jim said...

Give me a break. Any federal official, sworn to uphold the the constitution, would affirm that a peaceful transition would happen if that's how the election turns out.

This psycho won't.

And BTW, which of you has signed up for those pre-election Trump vaccine (aka bleach) injections to protect you from the Trump flu?

Psota said...

This reporter is not trying to extract information. It's yet another set up. The headlines would have been the same no matter what Trump said.

We went through this four years ago when the true insiders in the media knew that the "Russian collusion" dossier was floating around. The expectation was that the dossier would somehow kill Trump's chances so they kept bringing up these "are you going to concede" questions with the idea that the Deep State would wipe out Trump.

Now we are going through the same disingenuous queries.

Makes you wonder what the true insiders "know" this time.

The focus on riots and mayhem is chilling.

Jack Klompus said...

"After he does away with ballots voting will be next, yes?"

You are a blithering idiot that has never once contributed an intelligent comment? YES!

hombre said...

Trump: “Should it become necessary, we will provide the Democrats with a transfer of power reflecting the one the gave us.”

End of story.

DarkHelmet said...

A perfect response would have been:

"Asking the question itself is unserious and a deliberate insult."

(h/t to deepelemblues above)

Yancey Ward said...

"Well, I'm sure they'd also like Trump to politely relinquish his own victory if Biden comes forward with trays of late mail-in ballots where needed in this or that purple state."

Indeed, this was the way the question was frame, Althouse- the reporter explicitly asked him to commit to a peaceful transferral of power, win, lose, or draw. Either this reporter is so fucking stupid that he can't construct a proper question, or the questioner really did want to Trump to concede even if he wins the election or if no one wins the election.

Qwinn said...

The question did NOT presume that Biden will win.

Look at the beginning. "Win, lose or draw."

They explicitly require him to agree to "transfer power" even if he wins.

Explicitly.

But Trump is the fascist, don't you know.

Leland said...

This is just a continuation of the gotcha that Mike Wallace was trying to establish in the 2016 debates, which was just a continuation of the letter the RNC made Trump (and only Trump) sign saying he would agree with the outcome of the primary. In short, this is the insider uni-party's trap. It backfired in 2016 and will again. At best, it is simply an annoying debate argument for people on twitter and facebook, see roeach/voltaire as an example of the type of troll that loves this red meat.

hombre said...

roesch/voltaire said...

“After he does away with ballots voting will be next, yes?”

Oh looky. Here’s rv pretending Trump is a Democrat.

papper said...

Has Biden committed to accept the election results? Does anyone even ask him that question? His proxies keep saying he won't concede.

Mike Sylwester said...

Good analysis, Ann.

Michael K said...

roesch/voltaire said...
After he does away with ballots voting will be next, yes?


No, do you teach kindergarten?

Sam L. said...

Dems! Lyin' again!!!

Roy Lofquist said...

I am reminded of the tale of Gulliver and the Lilliputians.

Big Mike said...

After reading comments by roesch, I can only conclude that Bleachbit is correct.

Joe Smith said...

He should just answer that if he loses he will follow the same path as Hillary (except for the tankers filled with Chardonnay).

gilbar said...

People are rioting now, and not over the election which hasn't happened yet. Why bring up these riots?

well to a LARGE extent; the reason people are rioting NOW, is because of the 2016 election
Donald Trump REFUSED to submit to a Hilary! Presidency;
and only because of the lame excuse that he was legally elected

(according to the demos) the last 3.5 years have been cause for rebellion and usurpation

and NOW "President" Trump REFUSES to state, that he will step down and allow a Harris/Biden administration arrest and execute him! The man is a TRAITOR to the deep state
ALL HAIL THE DEEP STATE!!! ALL HAIL OUR MASTER CLASS!! ALL HAIL BIG BROTHER!!

Browndog said...

After nearly 5 years of "Trump won't leave office if he loses the election" I guess I see why it's still important to fully unpack the viability of the accusation.

Sam L. said...

BleachBit nails it.

Dan in Philly said...

People in democratic controlled cities are rioting to protest the lawful outcomes of the judiciary process, because the outcomes don't shit the mobs. The left will continue to riot if the vote doesn't go their way, I'm sure. Why cares? They are only damaging themselves, not Trump supporters.

mccullough said...

At least the reporter refers to them now as riots. Mostly peaceful protests is no longer an operative phrase.

Bay Area Guy said...

I am a big fan of the peaceful transfer power.

I don't remember rioting or protesting when Clinton took over for Bush 1; I don't remember rioting or protesting when Obama took over for Bush 2.

When Trump took over from Obama, I remember hordes of clueless women wearing pink pussy hats and marching around like idiots. But, I don't recall any violence or looting or arson, so not a problem.

The Dems have a two violent enforcement political wings - Antifa & BLMs. They are like "rent-a-mobs." They need to stand down, not Trump.

As for the 600 Dem lawyers - yes, irritating, but at least there's some form of due process (we hope).

etbass said...

The simple answer is, "When it has been finally determined who is the winner of the election, we will move toward the transfer of power peacefully."

wendybar said...

When are the Democrats going to START the peaceful transfer of power to Trump, because it has been ANYTHING but peaceful, and respectful. THEY are the ones burning down cities because they didn't get what they wanted.

Hunter said...

The press tried this in October 2016, demanding that Trump promise to accept the election results (which, of course, were going to be defeat for him). He said pretty much the same thing then, and they went insane over it for a week or two.

Then Trump won, and the left refused to accept it, and searched desperately for ways to undo it -- protesting, demanding recounts, and finally pressuring electors to defect including with threats of violence. This went on for over a month until the electors voted officially, and then they started working on plans to impeach, and that harebrained scheme involving the 25th Amendment.

So: Trump was right then to not promise anything, and he's right now to not promise anything, since if he wins the hysteria will be several orders more intense than it was the first time around.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Media are shameless shakers of opinion. Almost nothing real is ever reported. Joe can’t read his cue cards and blissfully ignored burning cities but Trump. But Trump. But Trump. They won’t even stop after he’s gone.

Ryan said...

This headline will come back to bite Democrats, because THEY have been branded as wanting a peaceful election process.

rcocean said...

What trump actually says NEVER stops the "Bullshit headline". Because the whole point is ALWAYS "orange man bad". That's why the reporters ask their insanely stupid questions. That's why we have 92% negative trump coverage on EVERY SINGLE major MSM outlet (except Fox).

The Democrats and the MSM, have already said they will refuse to concede the election, and will take it to court. The whole point of the mail-in ballots is to commit vote fraud AND drag out the election, so it can be taken to court. The counting will go on and on as long as the D's are behind. Then the D's will go to court and demand the ballots be counted again. Deadlines will be put in place, and the D's will go to court to get the deadlines pushed back. The D's have already shown they will do ANYTHING to get power. will the gutless R's fight back? who knows. Trump will.

Pookie Number 2 said...

The real problem that I saw with Trump’s response...

Well, if Trump can't please a closed-minded liar looking for any excuse to justify his envy through brainless criticism, I guess he'll have to restrict his appeal to people with integrity.

Fortunately, I suspect there are enough of us.

rcocean said...

Hillary has stated her "Big Mistake" was conceding the election. Biden will NOT concede. Do will all you wise old greybeards, the people who pretend to be "the only adults in the room", condemn him when Biden doesn't concede. Or do you only wag your finger when its an R?

LA_Bob said...

Good analysis of the interaction. What really impresses me is that Trump shows (again) he can think on his feet (he certainly gets a lot of practice, doesn't he?)

Even when Biden was younger the best he could do when cornered was to question his challenger's IQ or challenge them to a fight.

Limited blogger said...

There will be a ...... "continuation"...... of WINNING!

Original Mike said...

Yeah, I've stopped reading Axios. I got sucked in by Jonathan Swan and his Aussie accent, somehow thinking they weren't going to be another leftie propaganda machine. They are.

Nichevo said...

As I've said...this may be a chance for Joe Biden to be a real American hero:


When he loses, election night, HE should concede...and commit then and there to disarm his party and support the peaceful continuation of power. Be Robert E. Lee instead of Nathaniel Bedford Forrest.

Todd said...

Speaker 2: Win, lose, or draw in this election. Will you commit here today for a peaceful transfer of power after the election... There’s been rioting in many cities across this country.... Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transferral of power after the election?

More honestly asked:

Speaker 2: Win, lose, or draw (LOL - we all know you will lose) in this election. Will you commit here today for a peaceful transfer of power after the election regardless of how obvious our fraud and ignoring how long it takes? There's been rioting in many cities across this country, our fault, hell we drummed it all up! How better the drive the voters to our side, nice city you have there, be a shame if something were to happen to it. So will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transfer of power after we steal the election?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

“We’ve got to have a massive legal operation, I know the Biden campaign is working on that… Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances” – HRC

Francisco D said...

The Dems are desperately trying to rally their base to turn out.

It's not just about the Presidential election. Its about senators, congress critters, state elected officials, etc.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Once he gets them all in those camps he's been building, maybe.

Mike Sylwester said...

Chuck at 11:00 AM
What are “Mail-in ballots”? How are they different from “absentee ballots,”

Absentee ballots are given to voters who request them.

Mail-in ballots are massively sent out to the public.

Mary Beth said...

I just want Trump to say, "Do you all promise not to get hysterical when I win again?"

I think he will win and win bigly.

Iman said...

One thing I’d like to see at these briefings is a requirement that the press state their name and which infotainment org they represent. This would allow the identification of the crazed corksoakers as opposed to the run-of-the-mill corksoakers,.

Howard said...

Trolling the Dems

Psota said...

What are “Mail-in ballots”? How are they different from “absentee ballots,”

Difference is how you get them:

The voter has to request the absentee ballot. there is a clear "chain of title" from the state entity issuing the ballot and the voter requesting it.

For Mail-in...someone sends the ballot to the voter unasked. ballot goes to last known address of the voter, whether or not the voter actually lives there. ballots are completely unsecure as a result.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Trump says “absentee is fine.” So what is the problematic part of vote-by-mail, and where exactly are those problems occurring? Which states are we talking about, where there are newly-instituted “mail” votes unlike 2016, when Trump had no notable complaints about voting methods?’”

The basic differences are that you have to request an absentee ballot, but with mail-in ballots, they are just sent willie nillie to everyone who might maybe be a legitimate voter (or in CA, maybe not even that, with their ploy to recruit illegals to vote through registering them when they get DLs). In most states, there are mechanisms in place to prevent over-voting. The mail-in voting doesn’t typically have those protections. That is by design.

The whole purpose of mail-in voting is to flood the system with likely fraudulent ballots. If you move a lot, you might get several ballots. Your dead parents may get ballots. Attempts to cleanup efforts to cleanup rolls of voters are routinely met with aggressive, By the same partisans demanding mail-in ballots, even when the cleanups are mandated by state law.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Hows that Hunter Biden witch hunt by sycophants t Johnson.Oh wait did I hear nothing.GOODtry trumpeters whzts. E t?what's.

JRoberts said...

I have visions of the White House Press Corp sitting around all day "group sourcing" and "wordsmithing" these questions in an effort to trip up the President. Several reporters probably had the same question in hopes of being the first reporter called on by Trump.

MayBee said...

I don't understand why the reporter is talking about the rioters and then the "peaceful transfer of power" in the same question. Trump wants to highlight there won't be a transfer of power, because he believes he'll win the election.

But how does he know if the rioters will be peaceful? I saw people get outraged about this last night, but the question sounds like it was about the rioters, not what Trump will do.

Democrats, answer this for me. If Trump wins, will the current rioters be peaceful?

Pettifogger said...

If Trump wins, I'll be shocked if enough Ballot Box 13s don't come in over time to tip the result.

If, well after the election, Jim Wells County, Texas (to continue with Ballot Box 13), comes in with enough Democratic votes to equal the population of Houston and tips Texas to Biden, is Trump supposed to shrug it off and step down?

Dixie_Sugarbaker said...

He can always answer that he will use how Obama “left” the WH as his template.

Drago said...

LLR-lefty Chuck: "What are “Mail-in ballots”? How are they different from “absentee ballots,”..."

LOL

Isn't everything just nicer now that LLR-lefty Chuck has completely dropped the faux conservative mask and simply parrots every marxist/far left/democratical talking point as it comes down the pike?

Transparency is a good thing.

tom said...

Has there ever been any evidence presented that there's a problem with mail-in voting? That voter fraud takes place on a scale that could tip the election?

Any evidence at all?

Drago said...

Looks like the Reid Hoffman crew has been checking in under little seen blog handles like "jim" that were first established in 2016 for that national election and have been reenergized for the 2020 campaign.

Hey "jim", I don't think you yet realize that the jig is up on you guys. You should check in with LLR-lefty Chuck to get the lay of the land here.

richlb said...

"Win, Lose or Draw" was a fun game show. RIP Burt Reynolds (& Burt Convey).

Rabel said...

That was Brian J. Karem, "reporter" for Playboy. He was the one who challenged Sebastian Gorka to a fight in the Rose Garden.

narciso said...

there is no chain of custody with mail ballots,

Temujin said...

Once again, the most intelligent people in the country, born out of nuance, do not understand nuance when it's poured over their heads.

Of course, they don't understand the issue with national mail-in ballots either. But they DO understand their own fear that they've shouted for years now: "What if Trump doesn't leave?" They are the masters of projection.

effinayright said...

Chuck said...
Althouse; Trump obviously cannot do it, so I put it to you. What are “Mail-in ballots”? How are they different from “absentee ballots,” which have been utilized by Trump, Pence, both of their wives and the White House Press Secretary for each of the elections throughout the Trump Administration and longer?
***************

Only a notorious troll would pose that question, after it's been addressed again and again the past four-five months.

YOU go look up the many discussions about the difference between absentee ballots, which voters have to apply for and prove their identity to got, and ballots mailed out to every person on the voting rolls, whether they are registered, live at the address where mailed, or even alive. YOU do your own homework.

effinayright said...

Bruce, Chuck knows exactly the differences, but pretends he doesn't. He just wants to waste your time.

It's what he does, what he lives for.

Doug said...

Chuck, are you a real person?

Rusty said...

roesch/voltaire said...
"After he does away with ballots voting will be next, yes?
Blogger jim said...
Give me a break. Any federal official, sworn to uphold the the constitution, would affirm that a peaceful transition would happen if that's how the election turns out.

This psycho won't.
Blogger DINKY DAU 45 said...
Hows that Hunter Biden witch hunt by sycophants t Johnson.Oh wait did I hear nothing.GOODtry trumpeters whzts. E t?what's.
"
So what I'm getting here is that y'all are going to be voting more than once and if it still doesn't go your way you'll start bike locking conservative heads.


Bill Owens said...

As he calls a 'lid' seemingly every day by 9:30, I safely assume that no one will ever ask Biden about his predecessor's remark counseling Biden to not concede "under any circumstances". The link has the added benefit of being from MSNBC.

https://disq.us/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msnbc.com%2F11th-hour%2Fwatch%2Fhillary-clinton-biden-should-not-concede-under-any-circumstances-90647621758%3AQ8J8_xRBu7RlxARxM9Mvm8y7TUo&cuid=1212423

Elliott A said...

He should have answered that he would follow Obama/Biden's example of sabotage, withholding information necessary to the position and priming the pump of a false narrative intended to bring about his removal. It will be otherwise peaceful

n.n said...

When Trump took over from Obama, I remember hordes of clueless women wearing pink pussy hats and marching around like idiots. But, I don't recall any violence or looting or arson, so not a problem.

A dark sarcasm?

Donald Trump inauguration: Violence flares on streets of Washington

The violent transfer of power that marked the birth of the new administration. It was because he's orange... Orange.

J Melcher said...

Will the Trump team in the White House (and executive office building) damage all (or simply many of) their computers by prying the "W" key off the keyboards before leaving their offices?

If so, will the incoming president direct his team to keep quiet about the "prank" and accept the action as the shenanigans of disappointed juveniles -- or will he take to the news and airwaves claiming sabotage and damage of government property calling for his political opponents to be arrested and prosecuted?

Oh by the way, did anybody ever get arrested or prosecuted over the Debbie Wasserman Schulz / Awan Imran shenanigans with CONGRESSIONAL PCs?

Leora said...

Well analyzed Ms Althouse!

hstad said...

Just another set up by a reporter trying to make himself and fraud tabloid news organ the 'hit for today'. Meanwhile, as we continue to march toward election day guess what? Polls are tightening and beginning to reflect the true feelings of voters. Give it another week or two and you'll see Mr. Trump ahead - in 3 weeks I predict polls will show a glimmer of a landslide.

rehajm said...

WH response:

[The Playboy reporter] asked, 'win lose or draw if [Trump] would accept the transfer of power.' I'm not entirely sure if he won why he would accept the transfer of power. Maybe that's the deranged wish of the reporter, but that's not how governing works."

Phil 314 said...

"They called a lid"

Every time I hear a reference to a "lid" I think someone is about to roll a few doobies.

Narayanan said...

Speaker 2: Win, lose, or draw in this election. Will you commit here today for a peaceful transfer of power after the election... There’s been rioting in many cities across this country....
-----------------==================
IOW : when we come to arrest you will you come quietly or make us shoot you to death?

rehajm said...

This is the distraction for THIS:

BREAKING: Obama, Biden Oval Office Meeting On January 5 Was Key To Entire Anti-Trump Operation

Jim at said...

Trump leaving office is the last thing they should be worried about if the left steals the election through voter fraud.

The last thing.

Jim at said...

After he does away with ballots voting will be next, yes?

Yes, R/V. He's going to do away with voting, too.
Better get on it.

tcrosse said...

If, God forbid, Trump loses the election, to whom will power be transferred?
Certainly not Joe.

n.n said...

there is no chain of custody with mail ballots

Democracy is smothered by Democrats under a blanket of privacy.

Birkel said...

I learned how to handle these press whores from Carlie Harper of "Two and a Half Men".

Always ask the whore who is asking you a question yet another question.

You mention riots, those are bad right?

You mention the peaceful transfer of power, does that mean I get to command the CIA/FBI/State/IRS/DHS/ and more to start investigating the Biden Campaign? Can I set them up with phone foreign operatives the CIA is paying? Can I pay a law firm to launder money to an opposition research firm that buys fake information for a phony dossier?

Are you going to accept my victory? Did you know it will be HIGE?

When the House flips and the Republican Senate gets stronger, are you going to support the peaceful transition of further power to conservatives who win elections?

And so forth.

MikeR said...

Anne, you are correct about his meaning, it was obvious. But he really could have finished his sentences and made it clear.

donald said...

No, do you teach kindergarten?

More like in kindergarten what with the tantrums and all.

pacwest said...

Slightly off topic, but since we are talking about the certainty of election fraud by Dems: Act Blue ( Dem money from individual contributers) is hiding where nearly half of that money comes from. China? Russia? No way of knowing.

Ken B said...

Here is Sullivan's take. It is spectacular. Try to imagine the craziest thing Andrew has ever said. Now, double it.

https://twitter.com/sullydish/status/1309148868651646984

Saying the winner of the election will be inaugurated is an assault on democracy!

Trig Palin was unavailable for comment, but her spokesman is rolling on the floor laughing.

gadfly said...

September 22, 2020
Public Service Announcement
Alert Number I-092220-PSA

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are issuing this announcement to raise awareness of the potential threat posed by attempts to spread disinformation regarding the results of the 2020 elections. Foreign actors and cybercriminals could create new websites, change existing websites, and create or share corresponding social media content to spread false information [@realDonaldTrump on Twitter perhaps?] in an attempt to discredit the electoral process and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions.

The FBI and CISA urge the American public to critically evaluate the sources of the information they consume and to seek out reliable and verified information from trusted sources, such as state and local election officials.

"We have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise," United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray ... noted on Thursday.

The agency did detect voter fraud "at the local level, from time to time," Wray told the Senate Homeland Security Committee in a hearing. However, he emphasized that his statement does not "minimize" the seriousness with which the FBI investigates such incidents and stressed that the agency is "vigilant" on the "threat."


US President Donald Trump insisted on multiple occasions that mail-in voting would enable election fraud, even predicting that the results of the November's presidential election may be known only after a Supreme Court decision on the matter and refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses in "a scam" allegedly designed by the Democrats.

stevew said...

Propaganda deployed to win or coerce votes. Democrats, and their media operatives, are despicable.

Brian said...

They really have set the stage for violence and riots no matter what the election outcome.

If Trump loses, the purge will begin for those that "normalized him".

If it's a tie, they will riot to control the narrative while the DNC attempts to flip various purple states.

If Trump wins they'll riot anyway in the hope it gets so bad he'll just step down.

This year is going to make Florida 2000 look like a picnic....

Drago said...

I'm pretty sure LLR-lefty and Out and Proud Defender of Marxists Chuck as well as his mini-me gadfly are not going to respond very well at all with today's release of more FBI texts that show every one of them knew the russia collusion hoax was just that, a massive and stupid hoax.

In fact, ALL the FBI agents and analysts ran out after Trump's victory to rapidly purchase professional liability insurance. All together. All at once. Like all 31 Mueller hack team phones being wiped clean....in exactly the same way...at exactly the same time.

Because that's all like, totally normal and not strange in any way.........(wink wink)

And this is on top of the additional info release that shows, as we suspected, that is was commie John Brennan himself who let his buddy write up the Russia is trying to help Trump claim after his entire team of analysts told him there was no evidence to show that.

Something tells me LLR-lefty Chuck will be curled up in a ball shortly with a tankard of gin and tonic and muttering something about pecan pies........

Jon said...

As far as voting by the dead or moved, could we get a court case that asserted one man one vote must include cleaning up voter rolls with each census? It is a reasonable extention to using the census for redrawing congressional each census, is it not?

Achilles said...

Challenge accepted.

I will not accept the election results if the democrats win.

They are a completely illegitimate party of criminals and traitors and looters.

Ann said...

I just want to say that your interest in language and precision of words is appreciated. Thanks for a good read.

Banjo said...

"This reporter is not trying to extract information. It's yet another set up. The headlines would have been the same no matter what Trump said."

He's not a reporter, he's a "journalist." Lance Morrow has a wonderful piece about the difference in an op-ed piece today in the WSJ.

bagoh20 said...

""We have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise,"

That proves nothing. There won't be evidence of a "coordinated national" conspiracy, or at least none that will be found, and if it was found it would be buried, or ignored, just like these riots are not nationally coordinated, although we know they are, and the attempts to destroy Trump with Russian collusion and Ukrainian phone calls weren't coordinated by people at the FBI, DOJ, Media, and Democrats. No, of course not, even if we have proof of them planning and doing just that.

But voter fraud is even more elusive because it doesn't need to be coordinated. People who hate Trump will act exactly like they are coordinated, becuase they all want the same thing and have the same values which means nothing is out of bounds to get rid of him. Individuals and small groups will act on the same motivation and use a variety of the same methods, which will mostly be making sure Trump votes don't get counted and Biden votes do, even for people who did not vote for Biden themselves. Ballots will disappear across the country, discarded by mailmen, stolen by activists, and hidden by bearcats and people entrusted with them who should not be. Most of those will be taken from areas where Trump is known to be favored. They never even have to open them, which means some Biden voters will also be disenfranchised - just not nearly as many. Besides, it worth it, right?

The Gipper Lives said...

The maggots who haven't accepted the last results are asking the President this?

They seem to want a Civil War.

walter said...

"I understand that but people are rioting."
--
Some people..dooo...some things.

Qwinn said...

The Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of over 1000 cases of documented voter fraud taking place in just the last few years.

I'd post the link, but why bother? Everyone resisting attempts to prevent voter fraud (the Left) knows that it's taking place, wants more of it, and knows that denying it is required for it to succeed. There is no good faith whatsoever. A mountain of evidence would not change their public position that voter fraud never happens to any significant degree and therefore no security measures to prevent it are acceptable and all means of lawfare to prevent any security measures is justified. They are happy the fraud will happen and their denials that it's taking place are them doing their small part in helping overthrow OrangeManBad by any means necessary. The gaslighting on this topic will never end.

MadTownGuy said...

Leland said...
"This is just a continuation of the gotcha that Mike Wallace was trying to establish in the 2016 debates, which was just a continuation of the letter the RNC made Trump (and only Trump) sign saying he would agree with the outcome of the primary. In short, this is the insider uni-party's trap. It backfired in 2016 and will again."

Link? I followed the run-up to the nomination and I don't remember hearing about this letter, though I wouldn't be surprised. The RNC didn't want Trump - that much was clear- but then he was, after all, the DNC's straw candidate.

Rusty said...

"US President Donald Trump insisted on multiple occasions that mail-in voting would enable election fraud, even predicting that the results of the November's presidential election may be known only after a Supreme Court decision on the matter and refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses in "a scam" allegedly designed by the Democrats."
Oh thee isn't any 'alleging' about it. You and your friends are going to stuff the mail with illegal ballots.
How do I know this?
Democrats.

Rusty said...

there