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Donald Trump Says He Will Accept Election Outcome (‘if I Win’) Donald Trump Says He Will Accept Election Outcome (‘if I Win’)
(about 4 hours later)
Donald J. Trump insisted on Thursday that he will not cede the right to contest the outcome of the presidential election even as Republicans expressed concern that he could upend America’s tradition of peaceful power transfers by refusing to abide by the result and Democrats assailed him for being a threat to the political system. Donald J. Trump insisted on Thursday that he would not cede the right to contest the outcome of the presidential election, even as Democrats and Republicans expressed concern that his position threatened to upend America’s tradition of peaceful power transfers. But in a small gesture of civility, he suggested that he would not dispute the result if the outcome of the race is clear.
Mr. Trump’s intransigence follows another rocky performance in the third and final presidential debate in which he lashed out at Hillary Clinton, calling her a “nasty woman,” and continued to espouse conspiracy theories about how the race was rigged against him. Mr. Trump did make clear that there was one result that he would not challenge. Mr. Trump’s reluctance to pledge absolutely that he would honor the election outcome follows a rocky performance in the third and last presidential debate and comes as the candidates set off for the frenzied final stretch of campaigning ahead of the Nov. 8 election. On Thursday, Mr. Trump continued to rally his supporters with conspiracy theories about how the race was rigged against him, but he did make clear that there was one result that he would not challenge under any circumstance.
“I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win,” Mr. Trump said to cheers at a rally in Delaware, Ohio.“I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win,” Mr. Trump said to cheers at a rally in Delaware, Ohio.
Noting that George W. Bush might have lost the 2000 election to Al Gore if he had made a pre-election pledge not to challenge results, Mr. Trump said he would not take that option off the table. He did, however, try to ease concerns that he was planning to throw the country into postelection turmoil. Saying that George W. Bush might have lost the 2000 election to Al Gore if he had made a pre-election pledge not to challenge results, Mr. Trump said he would not take that option off the table. He did, however, try to ease concerns that he was planning to throw the country into postelection turmoil.
“Of course I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result,” Mr. Trump said. “I will follow and abide by all the rules and traditions of all of the many candidates who came before me, always.” “Of course I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result,” Mr. Trump, appearing to accept the possibility of defeat, said. “I will follow and abide by all the rules and traditions of all of the many candidates who came before me, always.”
He added, “Bottom line, we’re going to win.”He added, “Bottom line, we’re going to win.”
But Mrs. Clinton and her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, both said Mr. Trump’s defiant comments were far beyond the political mainstream. Mrs. Clinton, who called Mr. Trump’s remarks “horrifying” during the debate, repeated that criticism on board her campaign plane in Las Vegas, and said Mr. Trump was bucking centuries of American tradition. Polls show Mr. Trump trailing Hillary Clinton in many crucial battleground states and facing close races in states that usually back Republicans, increasing the possibility that he could lose the election by a big margin in the Electoral College. Since contested election results must happen on a state-by-state basis, a stinging defeat could render Mr. Trump’s threats to dispute the results a moot point.
“We are a country based on laws, and we’ve had hot, contested elections going back to the very beginning,” Mrs. Clinton told reporters. “But one of our hallmarks has always been that we accept the outcomes of our election.” To emphasize that point, the Clinton campaign initiated a new fund-raising pitch imploring supporters to help run up the score.
Mr. Kaine went further in a series of television interviews, saying Mr. Trump was trying to take down a “central pillar” of the political system because he is on track for defeat. “We can’t just beat this guy,” Christina Reynolds, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Clinton, wrote to potential donors. “We’ve got to beat him so definitively that Hillary’s victory is undeniable.”
Mr. Kaine said he hoped voters would give the Democratic ticket “a mandate” in the election so that Mr. Trump cannot cast doubt on the outcome. Mrs. Clinton’s running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, said he hoped voters would give the Democratic ticket “a mandate” in the election so that Mr. Trump could not cast doubt on the outcome.
“Donald is still going to whine if he loses, but if the mandate is clear, I don’t think many people will follow him,” he said on CNN, adding: “We’re confident in the American public.”“Donald is still going to whine if he loses, but if the mandate is clear, I don’t think many people will follow him,” he said on CNN, adding: “We’re confident in the American public.”
Mr. Trump’s refusal to pledge that he will respect the election returns has overshadowed the rest of his final debate with Mrs. Clinton, throwing his supporters onto the defensive and threatening to consume Mr. Trump’s campaign with less than three weeks to Election Day. Democrats seized on Mr. Trump’s comments Thursday as evidence that he is not fit to be president.
Mrs. Clinton and her allies have criticized Mr. Trump throughout the presidential race for rejecting American political norms around civility and social tolerance, and his defiant comments on Wednesday gave them a new opening to raise the alarm. Mr. Kaine went as far as citing his own experience as a missionary in Honduras, under a military dictatorship, to stress the importance of respecting democratic institutions. President Obama, speaking at a rally in Miami, skewered Mr. Trump for complaining of a rigged system and rejected the notion that an election in a country as large as the United States could be manipulated. He said that Mr. Trump was weakening the country by casting doubts about the validity of the election.
Mr. Trump’s advisers have tried to cast his remarks in a softer light in the hours since the debate in Las Vegas, sidestepping his literal words to claim Mr. Trump intended to merely leave open his options in the event of an extraordinarily close and genuinely uncertain result. “When you try to sow the seeds of doubt in people’s minds about our elections, that undermines our democracy,” Mr. Obama said. “You’re doing the work of our adversaries for them.”
Kellyanne Conway, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, said on ABC News that Mr. Trump “respects the principles of democracy,” and described him as “willing to respect the free and fair democratic process.” She insisted that Mr. Trump had not signaled he would defy the results of the election, but had rather declined to contemplate an outcome that has not yet occurred. Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Kaine both said Mr. Trump’s defiant comments were far beyond the political mainstream. Mrs. Clinton, who called the remarks “horrifying” during Wednesday night’s debate, repeated that criticism on board her campaign plane in Las Vegas, and said Mr. Trump was bucking centuries of American political decorum.
“He did not say, ‘I won’t accept it if I don’t win,’” Ms. Conway said on CNN. “He said, ‘Let’s see what happens.’” “We are a country based on laws, and we’ve had hot, contested elections going back to the very beginning,” Mrs. Clinton said. “But one of our hallmarks has always been that we accept the outcomes of our election.”
But Ms. Conway also echoed Mr. Trump’s angry lament that the political process is tilted against him, and attacked the news media as biased against her candidate and supportive of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. “This is not how a full and fair democracy works,” Ms. Conway said on ABC. Mr. Kaine went further in a series of television interviews Thursday, saying Mr. Trump was trying to take down a “central pillar” of the political system because he is on track for defeat.
The uproar over Mr. Trump’s willingness to abide by the results of a democratic election threatens to further unravel a candidacy already in sharp decline. Mr. Trump has fallen well behind Mrs. Clinton in the polls after three strong debate performances, and as Mr. Trump has faced escalating accusations that he sexually assaulted women. The uproar over Mr. Trump’s potential unwillingness to abide by the results of the election threatens to further unravel a candidacy already in sharp decline. Mr. Trump has fallen well behind Mrs. Clinton in the polls after her three strong debate performances, and as Mr. Trump has faced escalating accusations that he sexually assaulted women.
A new accuser came forward on Thursday and described an encounter in 1998 in which Mr. Trump grabbed her arm and touched her breast. The woman, Karena Virginia, was the 10th to accuse Mr. Trump of inappropriate sexual advances since the release of a tape on which he boasted of such behavior. A new accuser came forward on Thursday and described a 1998 encounter in which Mr. Trump grabbed her arm and touched her breast after making coarse remarks about her appearance to his male friends. The woman, Karena Virginia, was the 10th to accuse Mr. Trump of inappropriate sexual advances since the release of a tape on which he boasted of such behavior.
With many Republicans having abandoned his campaign, Mr. Trump has spent most of the last week railing against what he has called a “rigged” election. He has said, without evidence, that there could be widespread fraud at the polls, including by undocumented immigrants, and claimed there is a conspiracy among Mrs. Clinton, international corporations and the news media to block his candidacy. With many Republicans having abandoned his campaign, Mr. Trump has spent most of the last week railing against what he has called a rigged election. He has said, without evidence, that there could be widespread fraud at the polls, including by undocumented immigrants, and claimed there is a conspiracy among Mrs. Clinton, international corporations and the news media to block his candidacy.
Mr. Trump has faced censure from some Republican leaders and election officials in both parties for questioning the democratic process, and his debate answer is likely to prompt new rebukes from the right. After Wednesday night’s debate, several Republican members of Congress stepped forward to chastise Mr. Trump, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said on social media that Mr. Trump was “doing the party and country a great disservice” by attacking the election’s integrity.
On Wednesday night, several Republican members of Congress stepped forward to chastise Mr. Trump, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said on social media that Mr. Trump was “doing the party and country a great disservice” by attacking the integrity of elections. Senators John McCain, Ben Sasse and Jeff Flake, all Republicans who have been critical of Mr. Trump, criticized him on Thursday for undermining America’s system of self-government.
Republican Senators John McCain, Ben Sasse and Jeff Flake, who have all been critical of Mr. Trump, criticized him on Thursday for undermining America’s system of self-government.
But Mr. Trump may be unlikely to bow to the backlash. He already effectively overruled his advisers by saying on the debate stage that he would leave the country in suspense as to how he would handle defeat.But Mr. Trump may be unlikely to bow to the backlash. He already effectively overruled his advisers by saying on the debate stage that he would leave the country in suspense as to how he would handle defeat.
Several of Mr. Trump’s closest allies, including Ms. Conway and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, his running mate, said in advance of the debate that he would certainly concede to Mrs. Clinton if she won the election — only to see Mr. Trump render their comments inoperative with his own debate performance. Some supporters of Mr. Trump, such as the conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, sympathized with his cause, arguing that he would be conceding defeat and disappointing his supporters if he said that he was prepared to lose. However, even Mr. Limbaugh expressed dismay on Thursday at Mr. Trump’s uneven debate performance.
Some supporters of Mr. Trump, such as the conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, did sympathize with Mr. Trump’s cause, arguing that he would be conceding defeat and disappointing his supporters it he said that he was prepared to lose. However, even Mr. Limbaugh expressed dismay on Thursday at Mr. Trump’s uneven debate performance.
“His political instincts just are not there,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “It’s not that he blew it, it’s that, man, it could have been so much better.”“His political instincts just are not there,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “It’s not that he blew it, it’s that, man, it could have been so much better.”
Mr. Trump did try out a new line of attack against Mrs. Clinton on Thursday, saying that she acted unethically by allowing Donna Brazile, the interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman, to tip her off to questions that she would face at a Democratic town hall event. The suggestion of such collusion was revealed in hacked emails released by WikiLeaks. Mr. Trump did try out a new line of attack against Mrs. Clinton on Thursday, saying that she acted unethically by allowing Donna Brazile, the interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman, to tip her off to questions that she would face at a Democratic town hall event. The suggestion of such collusion was revealed in hacked emails released by WikiLeaks, and Mr. Trump called it “cheating at the highest level.”
“Why shouldn’t Hillary Clinton resign from the race?” Mr. Trump wondered. “She’s a very dishonest person.”“Why shouldn’t Hillary Clinton resign from the race?” Mr. Trump wondered. “She’s a very dishonest person.”