President Donald Trump exits the Oval Office and walks toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on July 15, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
'We Are Teetering on the Edge of Autocracy,' Warn Critics After Trump Suggests Election Delay
"This is how democracy dies in the USA."
Democracy advocates sounded immediate alarms Thursday morning after President Donald Trump floated the idea of delaying the November elections, citing mail-in voting and the unfounded threat of voter fraud.
"This is a coup in the making."
--Robert Weissman, Public Citizen"This is a coup in the making," warned Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, in response to Trump.
"Voting by mail will not create a risk of fraud," Weissman said. "In fact, voting by mail is an absolute necessity to ensure Americans can exercise their franchise amid a pandemic--which Trump has made dramatically worse through his utter incompetence and callous indifference to human life."
Groups like Common Cause noted that the president does not have the power to postpone the election date.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back on Trump's tweet, responding, "This is how democracy dies in the USA. Don't let it happen."
"These messages from Trump are intended to promote chaos and confusion, and undermine confidence in our elections. We REJECT all of it," tweeted Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
According to Stand Up America founder and president Sean Eldridge, the president's tweets shouldn't be brushed aside.
"As his latest comments show, Trump poses an existential threat to our democracy. While he has no authority to delay the election, we cannot ignore his escalating lies and attacks on our democracy," Eldridge said in a statement.
"Americans need to be ready to mobilize if Trump contests the results or refuses to concede--and 'Protect the Results' is building a network of millions of Americans to meet the moment if we need to take to the streets in protest," he added.
Some critical observers wondered whether Trump's tweet was an effort to stir up controversy or distract the media on the same day that data released from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy suffered its largest contraction in the country's history last quarter.
"If Trump truly cared about our elections," said Public Citizen's Weissman, "he would demand Congress provide the $3.6 billion in funding that states and localities need to properly and safely administer them amid the pandemic. The real issue for Trump, of course, is Trump. The economy is in free-fall and Trump is worried about what that means for his electoral prospects."
The president's tweet Thursday comes less than two weeks after Trump--who's trailing presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden in the polls--refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2020 presidential election if he is defeated.
Asked by Fox News' Chris Wallace whether he intends to accept the election results, the president responded, "No, I'm not gonna just say yes. I'm not gonna say it, and I didn't last time either."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Democracy advocates sounded immediate alarms Thursday morning after President Donald Trump floated the idea of delaying the November elections, citing mail-in voting and the unfounded threat of voter fraud.
"This is a coup in the making."
--Robert Weissman, Public Citizen"This is a coup in the making," warned Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, in response to Trump.
"Voting by mail will not create a risk of fraud," Weissman said. "In fact, voting by mail is an absolute necessity to ensure Americans can exercise their franchise amid a pandemic--which Trump has made dramatically worse through his utter incompetence and callous indifference to human life."
Groups like Common Cause noted that the president does not have the power to postpone the election date.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back on Trump's tweet, responding, "This is how democracy dies in the USA. Don't let it happen."
"These messages from Trump are intended to promote chaos and confusion, and undermine confidence in our elections. We REJECT all of it," tweeted Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
According to Stand Up America founder and president Sean Eldridge, the president's tweets shouldn't be brushed aside.
"As his latest comments show, Trump poses an existential threat to our democracy. While he has no authority to delay the election, we cannot ignore his escalating lies and attacks on our democracy," Eldridge said in a statement.
"Americans need to be ready to mobilize if Trump contests the results or refuses to concede--and 'Protect the Results' is building a network of millions of Americans to meet the moment if we need to take to the streets in protest," he added.
Some critical observers wondered whether Trump's tweet was an effort to stir up controversy or distract the media on the same day that data released from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy suffered its largest contraction in the country's history last quarter.
"If Trump truly cared about our elections," said Public Citizen's Weissman, "he would demand Congress provide the $3.6 billion in funding that states and localities need to properly and safely administer them amid the pandemic. The real issue for Trump, of course, is Trump. The economy is in free-fall and Trump is worried about what that means for his electoral prospects."
The president's tweet Thursday comes less than two weeks after Trump--who's trailing presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden in the polls--refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2020 presidential election if he is defeated.
Asked by Fox News' Chris Wallace whether he intends to accept the election results, the president responded, "No, I'm not gonna just say yes. I'm not gonna say it, and I didn't last time either."
Democracy advocates sounded immediate alarms Thursday morning after President Donald Trump floated the idea of delaying the November elections, citing mail-in voting and the unfounded threat of voter fraud.
"This is a coup in the making."
--Robert Weissman, Public Citizen"This is a coup in the making," warned Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, in response to Trump.
"Voting by mail will not create a risk of fraud," Weissman said. "In fact, voting by mail is an absolute necessity to ensure Americans can exercise their franchise amid a pandemic--which Trump has made dramatically worse through his utter incompetence and callous indifference to human life."
Groups like Common Cause noted that the president does not have the power to postpone the election date.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back on Trump's tweet, responding, "This is how democracy dies in the USA. Don't let it happen."
"These messages from Trump are intended to promote chaos and confusion, and undermine confidence in our elections. We REJECT all of it," tweeted Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
According to Stand Up America founder and president Sean Eldridge, the president's tweets shouldn't be brushed aside.
"As his latest comments show, Trump poses an existential threat to our democracy. While he has no authority to delay the election, we cannot ignore his escalating lies and attacks on our democracy," Eldridge said in a statement.
"Americans need to be ready to mobilize if Trump contests the results or refuses to concede--and 'Protect the Results' is building a network of millions of Americans to meet the moment if we need to take to the streets in protest," he added.
Some critical observers wondered whether Trump's tweet was an effort to stir up controversy or distract the media on the same day that data released from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy suffered its largest contraction in the country's history last quarter.
"If Trump truly cared about our elections," said Public Citizen's Weissman, "he would demand Congress provide the $3.6 billion in funding that states and localities need to properly and safely administer them amid the pandemic. The real issue for Trump, of course, is Trump. The economy is in free-fall and Trump is worried about what that means for his electoral prospects."
The president's tweet Thursday comes less than two weeks after Trump--who's trailing presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden in the polls--refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2020 presidential election if he is defeated.
Asked by Fox News' Chris Wallace whether he intends to accept the election results, the president responded, "No, I'm not gonna just say yes. I'm not gonna say it, and I didn't last time either."