If Defeated, Trump Won’t Accept Election Results: Congressman Adam Schiff
There is another possibility that Trump will change the Constitution – like Putin has done – to retain power even after his second presidential term that will end in 2024.
By Rakesh Raman
Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Congressman Adam Schiff has categorically warned that President Donald Trump will not accept the results of the presidential election in November if he could not win it. In fact, Trump himself has also indicated it.
While raising concerns about the Russian interference again in the election to help Trump win, Schiff said that Trump may do more damage to the American democracy by refusing to accept election results.
Recently, Tim Wirth – a former Democratic Senator from Colorado – also expressed the same apprehension when he said that Trump is conspiring to retain power even after losing the November election.
He added that Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden can beat Trump in November, but Trump has planned to usurp power by hook or by crook.
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Since Trump seems to be willing to take foreign help to win the election, it is largely believed that Russians will interfere again. In his weekly address Saturday (July 25), Schiff warned about such a possibility.
“It was four years ago that we first began to see evidence of Russian interference in our elections. The lights were flashing red then, and are again now. We must deter, disrupt, and expose foreign interference. And we must vote, because Americans decide American elections,” Schiff said in his video message.
It was four years ago that we first began to see evidence of Russian interference in our elections.
The lights were flashing red then, and are again now.
We must deter, disrupt, and expose foreign interference.
And we must vote. Because Americans decide American elections. pic.twitter.com/nzqD2XpSg6
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 25, 2020
He recounted the 2016 presidential election when Russian intelligence officers directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin hacked Democratic emails and dumped them on the web to assist Trump and damage the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Schiff added that Russia may use the old techniques again or apply new methods to interfere in the election that will be beneficial to Trump. He also raised concerns about Trump’s attempts toward voter suppression by closing down the polling stations, limiting days and time of voting, purging voter rolls, and discrediting in advance millions of voters who must vote by mail because of coronavirus pandemic.
According to Schiff, Trump has already started undermining the vote-by-mail option, which may increase his chances of winning the election deceptively.
Although Democrats are trying to thwart Trump’s attempt to steal the November election, so far they have failed to tame Trump who is behaving like a dictator in a democracy.
There is a real possibility that Trump will win again and Democrats will keep holding ineffective impeachment proceedings against him after the election, as they did after 2016 election.
There is another possibility that Trump will change the Constitution – like Putin has done – to retain power even after his second presidential term that will end in 2024.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects. These publications include the “Covid Health Bulletin” that covers global coronavirus news and views.
