AP Top News - Debate stunner: Trump won't say he'll accept election result
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Threatening to upend a fundamental pillar of American democracy, Donald Trump refused to say Wednesday night that he will accept the results of next month's election if he loses to Hillary Clinton.
Trump had spent the days leading up to the third and final presidential debate warning voters that the election would be "rigged." Asked whether he would accept the outcome if Clinton emerges victorious, he said, "I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense."
Trump's assertions raise the prospect that millions of his supporters may not accept the results on Nov. 8 if he loses, thrusting the nation into uncharted territory. Free and fair elections, with the vanquished peacefully stepping aside for the victor, have been the underpinning of America's democratic tradition since the country's founding 240 years ago.
The Republican National Committee immediately disavowed Trump's statement.
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Threatening to upend a fundamental pillar of American democracy, Donald Trump refused to say Wednesday night that he will accept the results of next month's election if he loses to Hillary Clinton.
The Republican National Committee immediately disavowed Trump's statement.
The man is a national embarrassment.
I guess he learned a lesson from Al Gore who didn't accept losing to George Bush in 2000 until December 13th of that year after recounting the Florida votes numerous times and the Supreme Court naming Bush as the winner. The question should have never been asked of Trump. There's really very little he could do about it and I don't think it was necessary to hold that card. At the very least the same question should have been asked of Hillary. Do you honestly think she wouldn't contest the election if she lost by only a few votes even if she said she would accept it?
But it doesn't matter now. The MSM will be criticizing Trump on it from now until after the election and very few people will see anything other than criticism of him for saying what he said.
Right on, Sixpick.
But it doesn't matter now. The MSM will be criticizing Trump on it from now until after the election and very few people will see anything other than criticism of him for saying what he said.
The MSM aren't the only ones who think Trump was wrong:
The Republican National Committee immediately disavowed Trump's statement.
And Lindsey Graham:
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Trump “ is doing the party and country a great disservice by continuing to suggest the outcome of this election is out of his hands and ‘rigged’ against him.”
“If he loses,” Graham wrote, “it will not be because the system is ‘rigged’ but because he failed as a candidate.”
Thank you, that was the very thought i had. Gore didn't accept the election results, he spent weeks having people examine tiny pieces of paper trying to figure out intent. Guess the media forgot all that!
There is a massive difference between questioning a close race after the votes have been cast in a single state, and refusing to accept a losing result before the votes have been cast nation wide. I'm not surprised you don't get it though.
Yeah, the difference is when democrats do it, it's ok. When a Republican talks about it, it's not.
No democrat has ever done what Trump did. In fact, no republican has either. He is in a moronic world of his own.
Minnesota's 2008 Senate Race. Coleman beat Franken by 725 votes. Not to be deterred, Franken's campaign dispatched dozens of lawyers to CHALLENGE the results. Franken, after THREE recounts won by 312 votes. During the recount process, it was discovered that 1099 FELONS had voted illegaly. A race was won by 312 votes, where 1099 voters were ineligable to vote. Of the 1099 illegal voters, only 177 have been convicted of voter fraud.
Take your false outrage and shove it up your ass. Voter Fraud exists. And it DOES sway elections.
Hmmm ... the math seems to indicate that voter fraud is a much bigger offense by republicans. Who'd have thought?
Go back to school. 1099 illegal voters. Franken wins by 312.
What's Trump going to do, stage a coup?
More than likely he will do what Gore did. Or what Franken did. Challenge the results in areas where it looks like shenanigans occurred.
Seriously, this head in the sand false angst is pure hypocrisy. Democrats have challenged election results many times before. And with the revelation by the Justice Department Voting Section Attorney of 4 million Ineligible and DEAD voters on the roles, yes, the opportunity for voter fraud is very real.
The Trumpsters have nothing left to say except to whine about hypothetical nationwide voter fraud. Sad.
Hillary Clinton doesn't accept the results of the 2000 election, 16 years later.
Besides demanding endless recounts and trying to throw out military votes in 2000, the Democrats are the party that tried to stop the certification of the 2004 election based on some crazy ass claims of voting machine fraud.
The only democrats with standing to attack Trump are those opposed what the Democrats did in 2000 and 2004. Good luck finding one of those. Because all Trump said was that he leaves open the possibility of acting like a Democrat if he loses.
"...he leaves open the possibility of acting like a Democrat if he loses."
How terrible for the party of hypocrisy.
rare WSJ six-column headline
So we now have hillarys word that should she lose, she will accept the results.
Can we get MSM to acknowledge the fact they are committing voter fraud today by the way they are presenting the news on each candidate?
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The clear finding is that the U.S. is an oligarchy, no democratic country, at all. American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's "news" media). The U.S., in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious "electoral" "democratic" countries. We weren't formerly, but we clearly are now. Today, after this exhaustive analysis of the data, “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.” That's it, in a nutshell.
Are you nuts? Anyone who approves of the way Trump acts on camera is free to vote for Donald Trump. That's like blaming the camera guy for a sitcom pilot being cancelled.
Does anyone doubt that if Trump had the means to rig the vote, he would definite do it?
Since he is the most personally corrupt person to ever run for president, I think he would do whatever he could to make sure he won.
Final fact-check totals for the three presidential debates: DONALD TRUMP: 104 false claims HILLARY CLINTON: 13 false claims
That comment was a false claim ...
Well said.
Hillarys open borders, pay for play, approval of late term abortion, lie about not adding one dime to the deficit, campaign inciting violence, and many more, but trumps maybe, maybe not, is the debate stunner. Sad.
Maybe you should move.
You first. Jennilee may be a more productive citizen.
Well said. She's the least qualified candidate in history.
Why move?, more fun to not follow their desires and stump them at every turn , then wait 2 years and use the obstructionist vote to elect congress people to further obstruct and to styme their progress. all the while limiting how much they can collect in domestic taxes.
no matter which of the 2 win , you will have half the voting population thinking exactly that way , how many will put off purchases or investments , or other ways they can do things remains to be seen.