Trump predicts this year will bring the 'greatest election disaster in history' - POLITICO
Let's hope disaster is avoided when Democrats win!
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
White House
Trump predicts this year will bring the 'greatest election disaster in history'
The president also reversed himself and said he wished the Nov. 3 election would be moved up.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo
President Donald Trump on Friday continued to deliver warnings of chaos surrounding the use of mail-in ballots in November's election, predicting that the upcoming general election will be "the greatest election disaster in history."
"This will be catastrophic for our nation. You'll see it," Trump asserted in a meeting at the White House with police groups. "I'm always right about things like this. I guess I must be, or I wouldn't be sitting here," he added.
His dire prediction came just a day after he floated delaying the election over unsubstantiated concerns of widespread voter fraud amid the coronavirus pandemic — a move he is not constitutionally empowered to take and that was roundly rejected by members of Congress.
"Everyone knows mail-in ballots are a disaster," Trump claimed. He reiterated his view that it's imperative to find out who won the election on election night, as some election experts have indeed warned that a drastic surge in mail-in ballots might mean a close race isn't called on the evening of Nov. 3.
Trump pointed to some House primary races in New York City last month that saw an influx of mail-in votes and have yet to be officially decided, and suggested without evidence that the final results may not be accurate.
"New York City has a little election," he said, claiming that "they're never going to have the results of that election. Never the correct result. They'll probably announce something at some point, but when did that take place? Five, six weeks ago?"
New York struggled with a massive influx of mail-in ballots. The state, which does not normally allow for no-excuse absentee voting, was unprepared for the wave of ballots. Absentee ballots didn't begin to be counted until well after in-person voting, and tens-of-thousands were tossed out for technicalities.
But even as he insisted later Thursday he did not want to see the date of the election changed, on Friday Trump kept up his assertion that mail-in voting is ripe for fraud. He also appeared to contradict his initial stated desire to delay the election until it's safer to do so, and called for the date of the election to be moved up.
"Nobody wants that date more than me," he said of Nov. 3, dismissing claims that his desire to postpone the election stemmed from his poor standing in the polls. "I wish we would move it up. Move it up."
Virtually all public polling of the White House race shows Trump trailing by significant margins nationally and in battleground states. His initial tweet Thursday morning came minutes after the Commerce Department reported that the pandemic had inflicted the worst economic contraction in modern American history, undermining what was by far the president's strongest argument for reelection.
The Trump campaign has sought to draw a distinction between universal mail-in voting and absentee voting, with Trump on Friday calling absentee ballots "secure" and "very good" compared with universal mail-in ballots, which he contended are a "disaster."
"Absentee ballots, great. Going to the polls, great," Trump said. "If you do universal mail-ins with millions and millions of ballots, you are never going to know what the real result of an election is. It's going to be a very, very sad day for our country," he argued, repeating claims that U.S. foes like Russia and China could easily forge ballots.
But voting rights experts maintain there is no difference between the terms mail-in voting and absentee voting, and some jurisdictions have scrubbed the latter term to avoid confusion among voters. In fact, Republicans have actively promoted requesting absentee ballots in states where no excuse is required, including in battlegrounds Pennsylvania and Florida.
In November, 42 states and the District of Columbia will effectively allow for, at a minimum, no-excuse absentee balloting — meaning any voter, regardless of age, health or location on Election Day will be able to vote by mail should they choose to do so.
An analysis last month of voting in three states that routinely and proactively mail every voter a ballot found that officials identified an infinitesimal amount of potentially fraudulent ballots.
Despite the president's repeated insistence to the contrary, cases of election fraud in the U.S. are exceedingly rare, though experts acknowledge that there are some slightly higher fraud risks associated with mail-in balloting when proper security measures are not put in place.
Still, the president asserted that his administration is "putting in all the resources you can" to secure November's election, even as he sought to play up the potential for chaos, repeating fears election officials are "not prepared" for the influx of mail-in ballots.
"You watch. They're not going to announce anything on Nov. 3. They're not going to announce it on the fourth or the fifth or the sixth. It'll go on forever," Trump said.
House Democrats passed a bill in May that would mandate all voters be sent a ballot in the case of an emergency, along with other sweeping changes to the American electoral system, but the legislation faces fierce opposition from Senate Republicans, and it is unlikely to become law.
Zach Montellaro contributed to this report.
POLITICO
Tags
Who is online
89 visitors
Does anyone really know what Trump is thinking?
Or, even if?
Sure. He is thinking that he might lose and is already lining up the excuses to show that his loss was not his fault.
Exactly! Although technically, his loss won't be his fault. It will be the voters fault, when they vote him out.
If Trump is re-elected it will be, without any doubt whatsoever, the greatest election disaster in history.
The Magic 8-ball says, "You're Darned Tootin!"
Yes it will be. It will be TDS squared. Bigly.
Poor things will likely not survive it.
Don't worry. There is a cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome. It's called President Biden!
No...Biden won't really be the president. He will defer to the power brokers on the far left. The problem the Dems have right now is not one of them is fit to be the VP.
Some were tossing Michelle Obama's name out there. Now that would be a real disaster for the Dems.
Like tRump isn't really the 'president' now?
I look forward to having an actual leader and President. Joe Biden!
My mistake. I clearly meant Trump Delusion Syndrome. One of the symptoms its sufferers display is the delusion that there is such a thing as Trump Derangement Syndrome, although Trump is surely deranged.
Lol just say it, George Soros and other rich Jews.
And yet he is still somehow more competent that Donald "I can't form a coherent sentence" Trump.
Opinions do vary ...... greatly!
That's your go to response, yawn . . .
The truth will set you free .....
Trump and disaster have much in common.
Helsinki will put Trump in Fort Leavenworth Military Prison.
Trump is one of those weird psychics who gives predictions about things that happened just over three and a half years ago...
Then I take it Trump is still predicting that he will win.
He may not be too smart, but at least he's prescient in foreseeing his defeat - with perhaps the greatest landslide for the opposing candidate in the history of the USA. For sure, that's the disaster he predicts. It will only be a disaster for him, and probably for the Republican Senate majority as well because of the association.
Looking forward to it.
Can't wait.
When NY cannot even get it's primary ballots counted; and is disenfranchising so many by not allowing their ballots- then yes; it will be an unmitigated disaster. No matter which side wins there will be claims of election fraud, disenfranchisement, and ballot box stuffing.
The US wasn't close to being prepared for anything like Covid 19 and any level. The states are directly responsible for conducting fair and open elections; so no bashing Trump for this disaster.
All the states are going to have to rely on the USPS, so why isn't the Federal Gov't. doing its part and making sure the postal system can handle voting by mail? Seems to me that would be the best way eliminate concerns over fraud. FYI, we've been using mail in voting here in CO since 2013 without any major problems of fraud, etc...
Trump-backed postmaster general plans to slow mail delivery
Here in Arizona any resident can vote by mail if they want to for any reason and hence we always have a large share of votes cast that way. We are in a unique position to handle the current election because mail in voting has been a thing here for such a long time. I have cast every ballot by mail, never once voted in person. My parents can't even remember the last time they physically walked into a voting booth. There has been little to no concern about voter fraud with mail in ballots (because it really doesn't happen much at all) until Trump started whining about it.
Except Trump in needing to protect himself and conservatism hating government doing anything positive---both are doing their damn best to make it fail. They are also doing the same thing with the VA, EPA, Super Fund and a host of other programs. The real bottom line here is Suppression of the vote. This is the real point of it all.
Oh I can totally bash Trump for this, here I go. Because of his historic failure as a leader, his inability to rise to a challenge, his absolute cowardice in the face of adversity, the US has no national strategy to battle the virus to speak of, and as such it is raging out of control across the country and forcing states to try and conduct elections in a manner that very few of them are accustomed to or prepared for. Of all the developed nations in the world, only the US has failed this miserably to combat the pandemic, and that is a direct result of Donald "piece of shit" Trump and his "leadership".
If getting a serial liar, adulterer, con, traitors, nasty, narcissistic, and a generally vial individual out of the WH is a disaster, then I saw bring on the disaster.
He is pretty much every negative trait wrapped into one package. There is literally not one good thing I can say about him, he is just a complete piece of shit as a human being.
I have asked a few people that I know who support Trump if they would like him to be their boss at work, have yet to actually get an answer because they just deflect to something else or get into whataboutisms. The fact that they will not just say "yes" tells me all I need to know about how they really feel. Basically they know they fucked up, but they just don't want to admit it.
You're sitting there because the Democrats insisted on running the worst possible candidate they could. Had they run literally ANYONE else fat ass would have lost and we wouldn't even be talking about this right now.
And for the record Trump has proven to be wrong about damn near everything even before the presidency.