Trump says he’ll ‘totally accept’ election results ‘if I win’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke during a campaign rally today at the Delaware County Fair, in Delaware, Ohio.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump debated with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the third presidential debate at UNLV in Las Vegas, on Wednesday.
DELAWARE, Ohio » Mocking his critics, Donald Trump pledged to fully accept the outcome of next month’s presidential election — if he wins. The Republican said he reserved the right to contest questionable results, deepening his unsubstantiated assertions that the race against Hillary Clinton could be rigged against him.
Trump’s comments came a day after his stunning refusal in the final presidential debate to say whether he would concede to Clinton if he loses. His resistance, threatening to undermine the essence of American democracy, was roundly rejected by fellow Republicans.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, called the peaceful transfer of power “the pride of our country.”
“I didn’t like the outcome of the 2008 election. But I had a duty to concede, and I did so without reluctance,” McCain said in a lengthy statement. “A concession isn’t just an exercise in graciousness. It is an act of respect for the will of the American people, a respect that is every American leader’s first responsibility.”
With the presidential race slipping away from him, Trump has repeatedly raised the specter of a rigged election, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud heading toward Election Day or in previous presidential contests. His top advisers and running mate Mike Pence have tried to soften his comments, only to watch helplessly as he plunges ahead.
Asked in Wednesday’s debate if he would accept the election results and concede to Clinton if he loses, Trump said: “I will tell you at the time. I will keep you in suspense.”
Clinton slammed Trump’s comments as “horrifying,” and fellow Democrats piled on Thursday.
“That undermines our democracy,” President Barack Obama said while campaigning for Clinton in Florida. “Our democracy depends on people knowing their vote matters.”
His wife, first lady Michelle Obama, told 7,000 Clinton supporters in Republican-voting Arizona Thursday that Trump was threatening to “ignore our voices and reject the outcome of this election.” She said that’s the same as “threatening the very idea of America itself.”
Trump’s comments overshadowed his attempts to diminish Clinton’s credibility during the debate. He entered the contest desperate to reshape the race and attract new voters who are deeply skeptical of his brash temperament and fitness for office, but it appeared unlikely he accomplished those goals.
Campaigning Thursday in must-win Ohio, Trump tried to make light of the situation.
“I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and to all of the people of the United States that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election,” he said. After letting that vow hang in the air for a few seconds, he added, “If I win.”
The Republican nominee said he would accept “a clear election result” but reserved his right to “contest or file a legal challenge” if he loses. He brushed off the likelihood of that happening with a confident prediction that “we’re not going to lose.”
Yet numerous Republican leaders concede Trump is heading for defeat barring a significant shift in the campaign’s closing days. The GOP’s top concern now is salvaging its majority in the Senate, followed closely by worries over the Republicans’ once comfortable grip on the House.
“The landscape has gotten a lot tougher for Republicans in the House,” said Liesl Hickey, a Republican strategist involved some of those races. In Pennsylvania, Sen. Pat Toomey said Trump’s comments were “irresponsible.”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage called Trump’s comments an “absolute stupid move” and advised him to “take your licks and let’s move on.”
U.S. elections are run by local elected officials — Republicans, in many of the most competitive states.
Trump’s campaign pointed to Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000 as an example of why it would be premature for Trump to say he’d acquiesce on Nov. 8. That election, which played out for weeks until the Supreme Court weighed in, didn’t center on allegations of fraud, but on proper vote-counting after an extremely close outcome in Florida led to a mandatory recount.
Trump tried to turn the tables on Clinton by accusing her of “cheating” and suggesting she should “resign from the race.” He cited a hacked email that showed her campaign was tipped off about a question she’d be asked in a CNN town hall meeting during the Democratic primary.
“Can you imagine if I got the questions? They would call for the re-establishment of the electric chair, do you agree?” Trump said at a rally in Ohio.
Trump’s effort to shift the conversation back to Clinton focused on an email from longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile to Clinton’s campaign in March with the subject line “From time to time I get the questions in advance.” It contained the wording of a death penalty question that Brazile suggested Clinton would be asked.
Brazile, now the acting Democratic National Committee chairwoman, was a CNN contributor at the time she sent the email, one of thousands disclosed publicly by WikiLeaks after Clinton’s campaign chairman’s emails were hacked. Clinton’s campaign has said Russia was behind the hack.
The rivals toned down the vitriol a little Thursday night at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York, a white-tie gala in which politicians are expected to be light-hearted and funny. Still, Trump drew some jeers for calling Clinton “corrupt,” while Clinton got personal with jokes about Trump’s treatment of women and connections to Russia.
47 responses to “Trump says he’ll ‘totally accept’ election results ‘if I win’”
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Pence is a mediocrity but he needs to denounce Trump and step down as his running mate. This entire thing has gotten out of hand.
Go home and preach your negative views there. Sir/Mame
Fact of the matter is Don Trump – – despite being dead and buried by the so called “news” media more times than a nos ferati – – absolutely NAILED Shrillary over and over again in sin city last night, had her on the ropes and forced to utter lie after lie after threadbare, unconvincing lie.
Reason he continues to flummox the establishment that INSISTS on underestimating him?
Because he is an alfa male and they haven’t seen one of those in a LONG time, sure as heck not the Gutless Obsequious Pantywaists pretending to be Republicans, let alone those in the Democrat Party.
HOW SWEET IT IS! HOOYA!
Hmm. So it’ll be “sweet” when he loses by 10 million popular votes and 160 electoral votes? That’s a very interesting analysis.
Not many folks would consider a spectacular loss something that can be sweet. Go figure!
Deal with facts, not platitudes. As Klas, correctly places it, he will lose by 10 million in the popular vote and not even reach 200 in the electoral college.
Suckers!!!!
for you to refer to someone else as the “alfa male” (it’s actually spelled “alpha”) is awkward, creepy, weird, and subservient. Grow a set…
Morning Allie, found out from my friend, Bruce Fein and D.C. Attorney, that he and another attorney will be filing a paternity suit against former President Bill Clinton for Mr. Danney Williams (Clinton). Danney Williams (Clinton) has been seeking resolution from President Clinton for years as a birth son. Oh, yes, Mr. Danney Williams (Clinton) is hapa, half black. Mr. Bruce Fein is a Constitutional Attorney and represented the Grassroot Institute in opposition with the Akaka Bill. The Attorney’s are continuing the request to have an independent DNA test to confirm or reject Mr. Williams claim. Ms. Clinton and her husband has been fighting this case for years, and now Mr. Fein is no Attorney to brush off.
Duhhh, they did a DNA test, in 1999…. nada. You need to keep up on your readings and less trying to drop names….
IRT Ike, No, a DNA test was not consummated and it was controlled by Ms Hillary.
Typical reaction of a Trump loyalist – deflect the attention away from the real problems Trump has….and go after the husband of the current candidate.
IRT Slink, No. This case has been dogging the Clinton’s for some 20 years and never resolved. Now, enters Mr. Bruce Fein, a very respected Constitutional attorney to represent Mr. Danney Williams (Clinton). Also, Mr. George Gates IV attorney from New Orleans has joined the case. Don’t you believe something has happened that will impact the Clinton’s.
Oh yes, Mr. Fein is very objective and well respected…..not.
Who ‘Really’ Is this Bruce Fein?
He has been a crusty foreign lobbyist making millions of dollars peddling his foreign bosses’ interests and influence in Congress and government agencies. For Fein it has never mattered who the foreign client or what their agenda. He does not care whether his foreign clients are criminals or terrorists or dictators. As long as they pay him handsomely he’ll sell their agenda and interest no matter what they may be. The words ‘principle’ or ‘taking a stand’ have never entered this foreign lobbyist’s dictionary or comprehension: One minute, on behalf of one set of his foreign designated ‘terrorist’ bosses, Bruce Fein is busy selling the need for a genocide declaration by the US Congress against one nation …
…
The next minute, on behalf of another well-known foreign mob boss, Bruce Fein is busy peddling influence and selling Congress his foreign bosses’ anti-genocide agenda:
“In 2007, Ayasli transferred $30 million in stock to fund a new endeavor, the nonprofit Turkish Coalition of America. The organization is headquartered in a Washington suite that has also been listed as the address for the Turkish Coalition USA PAC, the lobbying firm of Lydia Borland (who has represented the Turkish government), and the law firm of Bruce Fein and Associates (Fein comprises half of the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund)…”
…
Bruce Fein sees no problem with representing foreign groups like this: Fein hit the jackpot in 1991 when he signed on to represent Mozambique’s notorious guerrilla army, RENAMO, which was seeking to overthrow its country’s leftist government. When Fein came on board, RENAMO’s reputation has hit bottom… … Even the Reagan and Bush administrations kept their distance from RENAMO, despite their anti-Communist rhetoric…
Fein, however, eagerly signed up to flack for Dhlakama’s terror army. Like most foreign lobbyists, he bilked his client for huge sums of money while performing virtually no work.
…
Here is another on-the-spot description of Real Bruce Fein as a crusty “Beltway Prostitute”: “Well, well, well. Wasn’t Bruce Fein just recently condemning the Government of Sri Lanka for trying to put an end to the LTTE? But this time he’s defending a sovereign government for protecting itself – rather than slandering it using falsehoods. Now you see what I mean when I earlier referred to Mr. Fein as a “Beltway prostitute.” He will accept money from anyone who can pay the price – regardless of where that money came from, or who his legal and public relations services might unjustly hurt. What an embarrassment to the US legal profession.”
…
IRT Ike, and ….
Ikefromeli says: Oh yes, Mr. Fein is very objective and well respected…..not.
You might be wise to recall what happens to glass habitat inhabitants who unwisely decide to throw stones.
Then again, from the evidence you have provided on so many occasions, uppity Yale graduates who look down their blue veined noses on the rest of us would seem immune to wisdom, preferring instead their own little cacoon in a comfy alternate universe.
DOOOOO by all means carry on Ike from Elihu (Yale) as the cloak of imagined poison ivy league superiority in which you wrap yourself is FAR more entertaining and instructive than a cast iron bull dog door stop …. albeit not as useful.
Yeah, who does he think he is…Al Gore!
Al Gore, of course, won the popular vote. I’m sorry you didn’t read up a bit on this before commenting.
That’s different than what is going to happen to Mr. Trump, which will be to lose by perhaps 10 million votes and 160 electoral votes.
Reading is fundamental!
Even Al Gore admits it was third party candidate Ralph Nader who cost him the election, denying him the electoral votes that would have made him // shudder // POTUS 43.
If he wins, the voting results are valid. If he loses, then the results have been tampered with. Trump is a (fill in the blank).
Pretty much sums it up.
I don’t know, didn’t anyone hear the tape from JFK after his debate when asked the same question that Trump answered???? His words were EXACTLY what Trump said. “if I win.”
No and who cares.
Typical bigot Trump, couldn’t expect anything less.
Hasn’t your race card worn out yet?
Trump is a bigot, and has proven that over and over again. No matter what you think.
You should have a literate friend explain to you what the word bigot means.
One bigot calling any one else a bigot.
How tragically amusing!
Do continue admiring yourself in these fora – – in the hope that others will not realize you have in effect dropped trou.
thos – You are just so sad.
So sad.
Here is a cyber hankie for your crocodile tears.
Well, he is not going to have to worry about this scenario….as he is not only goin to lose, but lose in a historic fashion.
Then I guess he won’t be accepting the results…
Mr. Trump’s remarkable and crippling personality defects (thankfully in this case) are prompting him to burn the Republican Party to the ground. Unfortunately, this total fiasco is ending Mr. Pence’s long career in public service. He has turned out to be a coward in bowing down to Mr. Trump’s disgraceful conduct.
Mr. Trump is going to lose, of course. Good riddance to him and the Republicans who supported him.
Thanks to all the Trump supporters here who helped nominate a worthless piece of garbage. You helped destroy the Republican Party!
As Al Gore said with such grace, humility and eloquence, within his concession speech:
I know that many of my supporters are disappointed. I am too. But our disappointment must be overcome by our love of country.
Trump, has no love of country, he only has love of Trump.
Gore didn’t give his “concession” speech until December 13th!
If you know history, which I can only assume you don’t–Gore had already called Bush directly beforehand, further, the recount was mandated via Florida state law and initiated by the state of Florida, not Gore.
You should really attempt to finish intermediate school….sort of embarrassing for you.
The ignorance here really is shocking. Even for Trump supporters. And that’s really saying something.
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a330110800goreretract
What actually happened. Concession withdrawn again became concession a month later. I case anyone is interested in the facts..
Bumbai, must have been your mantra when others urged you to finish high school and try and apply for community college–indeed, bumbai.
Ike, before Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Gore made his concession speech, he refused to accept the results of the election. Gore called Bush about 2:15 AM on 8 November 2000 to concede the election after Florida was called for Bush. However, about an hour later before making his planned concession speech to the nation, Gore called Bush to retract his concession when Bush’s lead dwindled and the election became too close to call. It took a questionable recount of the controversial “butterfly ballots” used by Palm Beach County with their hanging chads, which resulted in election officials scratching their heads trying to determine voter intent, and subsequently the US Supreme Court to rule in favor of Bush before Gore graciously conceded the election to Bush on 13 December 2000, five weeks after the election.
“She used these questions, studied the questions, got the perfect answer for the questions and never said that she did something that was totally wrong and inappropriate,” Trump said of Clinton. Wow, “got the perfect answer…” Trump just agreed with her “perfect answer” of the question. Interesting….
Trump and his historically deplorable behavior.
With his campaign flailing in the final stretch of the race, Donald Trump refused to endorse the legitimacy of the presidential election during Wednesday night’s presidential date, telling moderator Chris Wallace that he could not commit to recognizing its results.
“I will look at it at the time,” the Republican nominee said, adding, “I’ll keep you in suspense.”
Blaming the media for slanted coverage and saying that his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, should not have been allowed to run for president, Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transition, even as Wallace tried to explain to him that it was a bedrock principle of American government.
“This is how Donald Trump thinks,” Clinton said. “It is funny, but it is also really troubling. This is not how our democracy works. We have been around for 240 years. We have had free and fair elections. We have accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them, and that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election.”
Trump’s refusal to endorse a core principle of American democracy, on stage during a general-election debate with much of the country watching, might be the weirdest, and most disturbing, moment yet in a campaign marked by breathtaking violations of protocol and decorum. Faced with accusations from his critics on both the left and the right that he is a wannabe tin-pot dictator, Trump rose to the occasion, determinedly confirming the attack. It was perhaps the most irresponsible thing ever said during a general-election debate.
That exchange, more than an hour in, was just one of several nasty moments that made this the tensest of the three debates. But in many ways, it followed the pattern of its two predecessors: Trump was irritable, blustery, and spouted dishonest statements. Clinton, meanwhile, was workmanlike and studious, and found herself occasionally on the defensive over her email server and hacked messages released by WikiLeaks. In general, she seemed content to play it conservative, holding on to what most polls find as a strong lead, rather than aim for a knockout blow. Trump delivered his most substantive and detailed performance, and landed a few solid blows, but as in previous debates, his erratic behavior overshadowed them.
The Republican has a habit of turning insults and criticisms back on his critics. When Clinton argued that Trump was too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and would be a puppet, he sniped, “No, you’re the puppet. No, you’re the puppet.” When she questioned his unfitness for office, he replied, “No, you are the one that’s unfit.” Late in the debate, as she answered a question, he said, “Such a nasty woman.” At other times, he tangled with Wallace. Clinton, for her part, repeatedly tried to run over Wallace’s attempts to keep her to time limits, speaking over him.
It took 50 minutes for the issue of allegations of sexual assault against Trump to come up, and Wallace arguably did Trump a favor, setting it up as a contrast between those allegations and past allegations against Clinton’s husband Bill. Trump said, falsely, that the allegations had been debunked, then tried to pivot hard to videos released by conservative muckraker James O’Keefe that purport to show Democratic operatives bragging about inciting violence. Clinton, who surely expected such a question, turned directly back to the assaults.
“Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger,” she said. “He goes after their dignity, their self-worth, and I don’t think there is a woman anywhere who doesn’t know what that feels like. So we now know what Donald thinks and what he says and how he acts toward women. That’s who Donald is.”
“No one respects women more than I do,” Trump answered—eliciting open laughter from the audience in Las Vegas.
Clinton kept pushing, bringing up Trump’s past attacks on New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, Judge Gonzalo Curiel, Senator John McCain, and Khizr and Ghazala Khan. “Every time Donald is pushed on something, which is obviously uncomfortable, like what these women are saying, he immediately goes to denying responsibility, and the not just about women,” she said. “I’d love to talk about other things,” Trump said, a moment of frankness. Perhaps that was unwise, though—within minutes, he had refused to endorse the legitimacy of the election.
For a few minutes at the start of Wednesday’s third presidential debate, it seemed like voters might actually get a substantive look at policy from the two candidates. The first question, to Clinton, was about how she would approach Supreme Court appointments, delivering a straightforward description of a liberal court that would defend Roe v. Wade, rule against major companies, and reverse the Citizens United case. Then Trump was up. He began with a swipe at Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, criticizing her for attacking him (she did) and his supporters (which she did not). When Wallace asked him directly whether Roe would be overturned under a Trump presidency, he tried to dodge the question, finally saying that with the justices he picked, it “inevitably” would be. But Trump quickly attacked Clinton for backing late-term abortions. She fired back that he was using “scare rhetoric” and pledging to protect the right to choose—contrasting the U.S. with countries with forced abortion or forced pregnancy.
So far, so good—or at least as good as could be hoped. Next up was immigration. Trump delivered one of the more memorable lines of the night, justifying mass deportations by saying, “We have some bad hombres here and we have to get them out.” Trump made a curious, quietly effective argument that Clinton, who voted for border security, and Obama, who has deported millions, were stronger on immigration that Trump had previously suggested.
Wallace asked Clinton about a speech to a Brazilian bank in which she said that she favored “open borders.” Clinton insisted that she was referring only to electricity markets—a statement that seems hard to support based on the transcript. She quickly tried to pivot, complaining that the hacked emails, revealed by WikiLeaks were a Russian plot, as U.S. intelligence officials have said. Trump said he did not know Putin, and he complained—in an echo of the 1960 election—of a missile gap with Russia.
“I find it ironic that he’s raising nuclear weapons,” Clinton said. “This is a person who has been very cavalier, even casual, about the use of nuclear weapons. Trump insisted she was wrong: “There’s no quote. You’re not going to find a quote from me.” He was, yet again, lying. In April, in an interview with Wallace, Trump said, ” So, North Korea has nukes. Japan has a problem with that. I mean, they have a big problem with that. Maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea.” Asked by Wallace whether that included nuclear weapons, Trump said, “Including with nukes, yes, including with nukes.”
As has often been the case, Trump is most effective when talking about his opposition to existing free-trade agreements, one of his core arguments. He worked to tie Clinton to NAFTA.
“I pass factories that were thriving 20, 25 years ago. And because of the bill that her husband signed and she blessed 100 percent, it is just horrible what’s happened to these people in these communities,” he said. “She can say that her husband did well. But, boy, did they suffer, as NAFTA kicked in, because it didn’t really kick in very much. But it kicked in after they left. Boy, did they suffer.”
Clinton, for her part, accused Trump of outsourcing jobs, employing undocumented workers during the construction of Trump Tower, and using cheap Chinese steel to build his own hotels in the U.S. She vowed to not add a single penny to the national debt with her economic-stimulus plan.
Everything from Trump’s filibuster on electoral legitimacy felt a little anti-climactic. The candidates went through pro forma discussions of foreign-policy hot spots, for the most part reiterating past positions. At the end of the debate, it was no great surprise when the candidates did not shake hands.
The end of the election is looking equally anticlimactic. With less than three weeks to go, Trump is falling behind in the polls. While debates are seldom good places to change the momentum of the race, it was one last chance for Trump to impress upon a huge national audience his readiness for the presidency; instead, he chose to question the very enterprise he wishes to run. If he loses on November 8, there’s no reason to expect a friendlier denouement to the election than there was to Wednesday’s debate. Atlantic
Wow Ike, did you just plagiarize the Atlantic?
No. He attributed it to The Atlantic. See the word ATLANTIC at the bottom?
You might consider finding out what the word plagiarize means.
Reading is fundamental!
Indeed. Atlantic, for Kuro is a river in Kalihi Valley.
Telling, some never been, thinking he is somehow still relevant, but all the while his last lucid and cogent thought was in the 80s, right before he cost Saiki the governorship.
Brother, I would be very concerned about Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as you exhibit overt signs….
Michelle Obama–“Trump treats women like objects of pleasure”.
Indeed….he may not think it, but at his core, he is the epitome of a who$e monger, no doubt he pays, one way or the other, for all the affection he receives in his life.
Trump wants his supporters to take over the Government when he losses and install him as Dictator. Of course Trump won’t lead them, he’ll be hiding in his bathroom.
Buahahahah
blah, blah, blah…
Donald Trump can’t help being himself. It’s why he lost yet another debate and why he will lose the election.
The post-debate coverage has been dominated by Mr. Trump’s refusal to say he won’t accept the election results, and rightly so. It would be a shocking statement, except for the fact that he has spent much of this month attempting to undermine the foundations of our democratic system. That he would do so in a debate, despite how obviously self-destructive it was, underscores what has always been his main weakness: his unstable and disordered personality.
Mr. Trump obsesses over polls and knows that the overwhelming odds are that he will lose. Psychologically, he cannot accept that; for him, being labeled a loser is the ultimate humiliation. Therefore he has to manufacture an excuse for his impending defeat, and in this case, the excuse comes in the form of him repeatedly claiming that the election is rigged.
But that very claim, which is an extraordinary transgression of an unwritten and almost sacred democratic rule, not only will help insure his defeat, but will make the margin of that defeat even worse.
Most Americans are unsettled and unnerved by Mr. Trump, and the more exposed to him they are, the more unsettled and unnerved they become. He doesn’t come across as an agent of change, which would help him; instead, he comes across as a radical and destabilizing force, which hurts him.
Narcissism — in this instance the inability to accept that he is likely to lose to a woman in the biggest contest in the world — was at the core of Mr. Trump’s answer about not being prepared to say he would abide by the outcome of the election. What Americans saw almost instantaneously in that answer is that the Republican nominee for president puts himself — his vanity, his self-obsession, his need to project dominance and therefore his need to win — far above everything in life, including the best interest of the nation. All of us struggle with pride and none of us is selfless; but no one we have ever seen in American political life is as egotistical and selfish as Donald Trump.
That character flaw has led him to several terrible moments during this election, including the one in Wednesday’s debate that sealed his defeat. Earlier in this campaign he was unable to cite his favorite Bible passage. Here’s one that he could have learned from and that foreshadowed his fate: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Peter Wehner served in the last three Republican administrations and is a contributing opinion writer.NYT