Joe Biden Says He Is ‘Confident’ Donald Trump Will Step Down If He Loses
In an interview with MSNBC broadcast on Friday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that he is “confident” President Donald Trump will leave office if he loses his bid for re-election, The Hill reported.
Speaking with anchor Stephanie Ruhle, Biden said that Trump’s reluctance to commit to a peaceful transition of power is yet another “distraction” meant to divert attention away from his administration’s failures.
“I just think the people in the country are going to be heard on Nov. 3. Every vote in this country is going to be heard and they will not be stopped,” Biden said.
“I’m confident that all of the irresponsible, outrageous attacks on voting, we’ll have an election in this country as we always have had, and he’ll leave.”
Earlier this week, Trump refused to commit to conceding in the event he loses to Biden.
He doubled down on Thursday, suggesting that mail-in voting will lead to unprecedented fraud.
“We want to make sure the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be,” he said, pointing to unsolicited ballots.
Trump has long railed against vote-by-mail programs, which are expected to be vital this November, due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
There is no concrete evidence that this form of voting is uniquely susceptible to fraud, but Trump and his allies have nevertheless insisted that the 2020 presidential contest cannot be considered legitimate as long as mail-in and absentee ballots are involved.
Biden dismissed the possibility of law enforcement agencies supporting Trump if he refuses to concede.
“I don’t think he’s going to get the FBI to follow him or get anybody else to enforce something that’s not real,” he said.
Biden’s confidence stands in stark contrast to the sentiments expressed by other Democrats, many of whom have been sounding the alarm bells about the possibility of Trump refusing to leave the White House.
In an interview with The New York Times earlier this week, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — who competed against Biden in the Democratic Party primaries — warned of a potential “nightmare scenario.”
Sanders urged states to count mail-in ballots as quickly as possible as to not allow Trump to delegitimize the election and sow confusion.
Trump’s refusal to commit to an orderly transition of power reportedly shocked Republicans as well, forcing lawmakers to take a clear stance on the controversial issue.
This was allegedly not well received by vulnerable incumbents, who would rather have the commander-in-chief stay on message as they work on nominating a conservative judge to the Supreme Court.
