A time-honored tradition in the United States has been the peaceful transfer of power from one president to their successor every four or eight years.
Former presidential hopeful and Sen. Bernie Sanders is convinced, however, that President Donald Trump is set to dishonor that tradition, should he lose his bid for re-election in November.
In an interview with Politico, the Vermont independent stated that he believes there is a good chance that Trump will refuse to concede defeat if his opponent, Democratic nominee Joe Biden, is elected this fall.
READ MORE: Bernie Sanders on Joe Biden: ‘Vast majority of my supporters will vote for him’
Sanders said this isn’t “just idle speculation,” being that Trump said it himself.
“Trump was saying that the only way he could lose the election is if there was — let me get the exact quote — ‘the only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election,’” Sanders said. “Now, he is making that statement at a time when virtually every national poll has him behind.”
The president has implied on several occasions that he may not accept the election results if Biden wins. In July, he tweeted that the election would be the “most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” due to mail-in voting.
Journalist Chris Wallace asked Trump during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” if he would accept the results of the election.
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“I have to see. No, I’m not going to just say yes,” Trump told Wallace. “I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time, either.”
Sanders is planning to deliver a speech and send an email to supporters to warn his followers of the possibility that Trump will not go quietly if he loses in November.
“What we have got to do in the next two months is to alert the American people about what that nightmarish scenario might look like in order to prepare them for that possibility and talk about what we do if that happens,” Sanders told Politico.
Biden in the past addressed the possibility of Trump refusing to vacate office with confidence.
“I promise you, I’m absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch,” the former vice president said.
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