In an interview with Newsweek published on Thursday, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California discussed President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to accepting the results of the 2020 presidential election .
Schiff noted that Trump made similar statements in 2016, stating that his behavior is “more dangerous this time around.”
“He is laying the foundations to discredit the votes of millions of people who cast their votes by absentee.”
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee warned that hostile actors — including foreign entities — could seize on Trump’s remarks.
“I worry foreign nations might look at amplifying the president’s comments. The president is giving them a great deal of opportunity,” Schiff said.
Trump has long argued against vote-by-mail, arguing that it is uniquely susceptible to fraud. Most recently, during an interview with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, the commander-in-chief said that he would “have to see” about accepting the results of the election.
The comments prompted strong backlash from leading Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned Trump, stating that he will be “fumigated” out of the Oval Office if necessary.
Pelosi and others have previously warned that he might not leave office voluntarily.
Notably, Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, suggested in a recent interview that the U.S. military might have to intervene if Trump refuses to concede the election.
Democrats have sought to expand vote-by-mail, citing concerns over public health and safety amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Schiff explained that he and his colleagues have had “many conversations” about what they would do if Trump loses to Biden but refuses to leave the White House.
“The best safeguard we have is to sign up as many people as we can to vote. The best safeguard is a landslide result, in which there’s no room for dispute. Otherwise, we’re in uncharted waters,” Schiff said.
In a statement, Trump campaign’s director of communications Tim Murtaugh said that there are “widespread problems” with mail-in voting, alleging that Democratic Party politicians are looking to commit electoral “fraud.”
Polling suggests that Americans support mail-in voting. In a Gallup poll released in May, nearly two-thirds of respondents said that they are in favor of voting by mail. Eighty-three percent of Democrats, 40 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of independents said that they favor such measures.
Likewise, polls have shown that Trump is trailing Biden nationwide and in key swing states. The latest ABC News survey, for instance, put Biden 15 percentage points ahead.
