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Trump Says He’d Accept ‘Clear’ Result After Stoking Doubts
Bloomberg
by Kevin Cirilli
10/20/2016
Excerpt:
Donald Trump said Thursday he would accept a “clear election result” in November, but he also basked in the speculation he stoked during the final presidential debate about whether he would honor the outcome.
“I would accept a clear election result but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result," Trump told a campaign rally in Delaware, Ohio.
But first, he opened up the rally by playing off the uncertainty created by his refusal during Wednesday night’s debate to declare that he would concede if he was defeated by Hillary Clinton. “I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election -- if I win,” Trump said with a smirk, prompting a huge cheer from a crowd of about 600 people at a local fairground.
Trump has been alleging for weeks that the media and Democrats are “rigging” the presidential election. When Fox News’ debate moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump whether he will accept the results, the Republican nominee demurred.
“I’ll keep you in suspense,” Trump said.
‘Legal Precedent’
On Thursday, Trump made reference to the need to protect his legal rights, equating it to the 2000 Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore, regarding the Florida recount.
"I’m being asked to waive centuries of legal precedent designed to protect the voters," Trump said.
Cases of vote fraud are rare in the U.S. and Trump has offered no evidence of widespread irregularities. Less than an hour before the debate, Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, said in a Bloomberg Politics interview that he and Trump had “made it clear that we’ll accept the will of the American people” and expressed confidence that they would win.
After the debate, several Republican senators issued statements defending the integrity of the U.S. voting system.
"I don’t know who’s going to win the presidential election. I do know that in every previous election, the loser congratulates the winner and calls them, ‘my president,’" Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, said Thursday in a statement. “That’s not just the Republican way or the Democratic way. It’s the American way. This election must not be any different.”
‘Beyond the Pale’
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, a vehement Trump opponent, on Wednesday called Trump’s assertion “beyond the pale.”
President Barack Obama, speaking at a Clinton campaign rally in Miami on Thursday, chastised Trump for his remarks suggesting the integrity of the U.S. election system is in question.
“That is not a joking matter. That is dangerous. Because when you try to sow the seeds of doubt” in the nation’s election process, “then you’re doing the work of our adversaries for them,” Obama said.
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View the complete article, including video, at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...stoking-doubts
Bloomberg
by Kevin Cirilli
10/20/2016
Excerpt:
Donald Trump said Thursday he would accept a “clear election result” in November, but he also basked in the speculation he stoked during the final presidential debate about whether he would honor the outcome.
“I would accept a clear election result but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result," Trump told a campaign rally in Delaware, Ohio.
But first, he opened up the rally by playing off the uncertainty created by his refusal during Wednesday night’s debate to declare that he would concede if he was defeated by Hillary Clinton. “I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election -- if I win,” Trump said with a smirk, prompting a huge cheer from a crowd of about 600 people at a local fairground.
Trump has been alleging for weeks that the media and Democrats are “rigging” the presidential election. When Fox News’ debate moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump whether he will accept the results, the Republican nominee demurred.
“I’ll keep you in suspense,” Trump said.
‘Legal Precedent’
On Thursday, Trump made reference to the need to protect his legal rights, equating it to the 2000 Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore, regarding the Florida recount.
"I’m being asked to waive centuries of legal precedent designed to protect the voters," Trump said.
Cases of vote fraud are rare in the U.S. and Trump has offered no evidence of widespread irregularities. Less than an hour before the debate, Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, said in a Bloomberg Politics interview that he and Trump had “made it clear that we’ll accept the will of the American people” and expressed confidence that they would win.
After the debate, several Republican senators issued statements defending the integrity of the U.S. voting system.
"I don’t know who’s going to win the presidential election. I do know that in every previous election, the loser congratulates the winner and calls them, ‘my president,’" Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, said Thursday in a statement. “That’s not just the Republican way or the Democratic way. It’s the American way. This election must not be any different.”
‘Beyond the Pale’
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, a vehement Trump opponent, on Wednesday called Trump’s assertion “beyond the pale.”
President Barack Obama, speaking at a Clinton campaign rally in Miami on Thursday, chastised Trump for his remarks suggesting the integrity of the U.S. election system is in question.
“That is not a joking matter. That is dangerous. Because when you try to sow the seeds of doubt” in the nation’s election process, “then you’re doing the work of our adversaries for them,” Obama said.
.................................................. ..............
View the complete article, including video, at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...stoking-doubts