On Friday, during an address to the 2020 Council for National Policy Meeting, President Donald Trump railed against mail-in voting, suggesting that top Democrat Nancy Pelosi could become commander-in-chief if the election is contested, Fox News reported.
Trump began his remarks by alleging that it could take “weeks” if not months to count the votes and declare the winner of the upcoming contest.
He then relayed speculation about the possibility of Pelosi, who is the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, being crowned the leader of the nation.
“You know, there’s a theory crazy Nancy Pelosi would become president. I don’t know if its a theory or if that’s a fact, but I said that’s not good.”
“There is a theory that if you don’t have a choice, that the speaker of the House becomes president. … Add that to everything else,” Trump continued.
As Fox News pointed out, the hypothesis Trump referred to is not correct. If the election was contested, it would be unclear what party has the majority in the lower chamber, which means that Pelosi could not be declared commander-in-chief.
Both chambers of Congress have to certify the results of the Electoral College. According to the Constitution, if the election is contested and no presidential candidate has a majority, it is considered “contingent.”
In such a scenario, Congress chooses the president and his second in command. This has only occurred twice in American history, in 1800 and 1824.
After speculating about the possibility of Pelosi being appointed to lead the nation, Trump described the vote-by-mail process as “filthy and dirty,” arguing that Americans need to be allowed to cast their ballots in person.
“This is a very serious problem for our great democracy. This is a very, very serious problem and something has to be done about it,” he added.
Trump noted that Democrats, including the party’s presidential nominee Joe Biden , have accused him of deliberately blocking mail-in voting expansions to ensure that he wins. He said that he just wants the results to be “fair.”
Trump and his Republican allies have claimed that mail-in voting would result in widespread manipulation and fraud.
In addition, the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign have filed a lawsuit to challenge Democratic efforts to expand the program amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said that Americans can vote in person this November, as long as the process is organized “carefully,” with voters wearing masks and following social distancing guidelines.
