It could not be more obvious that Donald Trump is scared, very scared, of what his poll numbers look like in his November matchup with Vice President Joe Biden. On average, Biden is leading Trump by a full eight points, but more importantly he’s leading by significant percentages in a number of swing states. Faced with the prospect of losing a second term, Trump is desperate to think of anything that will help him avoid losing, including tampering with the U.S. Postal Service to prevent widespread mail-in voting and even delaying the November 3 vote.
#BREAKING: @senatemajldr just told me over the phone that the election date is set in stone. He cited past crises taking place during an election. An exclusive interview with the Majority Leader tonight at 5 and 6 on @wnkytv @NBCNews @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/MwZnYHd9Rh
— Max Winitz (@MaxWinitz) July 30, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, should a vote come up in Congress to delay the elections, has promised that delaying the vote will not happen. Listing a number of other catastrophes the country has faced, including wars and economic depressions, McConnell said that the vote was not delayed then and will not be now.
According to The Hill, McConnell told an anchor from WNKY 40:
‘Never in the history of the Congress, through wars, depressions and the Civil War have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time, and we’ll find a way to do that again this Nov. 3.’
Trump’s tweet from earlier in the day set many teeth on edge with fears that he will interfere in the democratic process however he can, and it isn’t as if McConnell hasn’t either assisted him or at least enabled him in the other measures he’s taken. Gerrymandering and closing polling stations has happened across the country, and quite pointedly in McConnell’s home state of Kentucky.
He’s been silent on Trump’s actions against the U.S. Postal Service, which were rationalized by Trump prior to taking those actions in the most obvious way possible. When asked about the coronavirus stimulus package and the provisions that Democrats wanted included to ensure that all Americans have the right to vote safely during this pandemic, Trump said:
‘They had things — levels of voting that, if you ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.’
Speaker Nancy Pelosi responds to Pres. Trump's tweet suggesting delaying the election by quoting Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution. https://t.co/gO6y1nirqO pic.twitter.com/JhzCuTz4Dv
— ABC News (@ABC) July 30, 2020
McConnell was not the only lawmaker to speak up when Trump proposed changing Election Day to a time when he felt more comfortable that he might win. Speaker Nancy Pelosi reminded Twitter that Trump is not the one who sets the date for voting; instead, that’s the job of Congress. Passing a bill through Congress to change Election Day would have to go through her, and that’s not going to happen.
In his eulogy for Rep. John Lewis, former President Obama addresses the state of voting in the US on the eve of a presidential election, saying "people in power are attacking our voting rights with surgical precision" https://t.co/UuZqqFQqq9 pic.twitter.com/bZLSC0wfkc
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 30, 2020
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
