‘We Are Teetering on the Edge of Autocracy,’ Warn Critics After Trump Suggests Election Delay
Common Dreams – By Andrea Germanos – Thursday, July 30, 2020
Democracy advocates sounded immediate alarms Thursday morning after President Donald Trump floated the idea of delaying the November elections, citing mail-in voting and the unfounded threat of voter fraud.
“This is a coup in the making,” warned Robert Weisman, president of Public Citizen, in response to Trump.
“Voting by mail will not create a risk of fraud,” Weisman said. “In fact, voting by mail is an absolute necessity to ensure Americans can exercise their franchise amid a pandemic—which Trump has made dramatically worse through his utter incompetence and callous indifference to human life.”
Groups like Common Cause noted that the president does not have the power to postpone the election date.
Some critical observers wondered whether Trump’s tweet was an effort to stir up controversy or distract the media on the same day that data released from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy suffered its largest contraction in the country’s history last quarter.
“If Trump truly cared about our elections,” said Public Citizen’s Weisman, “he would demand Congress provide the $3.6 billion in funding that states and localities need to properly and safely administer them amid the pandemic. The real issue for Trump, of course, is Trump. The economy is in free-fall and Trump is worried about what that means for his electoral prospects.”
The president’s tweet Thursday comes less than two weeks after Trump—who’s trailing presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden in the polls—refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2020 presidential election if he is defeated.
Video source: www.youtube.com
Posted by Teri Perticone
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