President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina on September 19, 2020. (Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Trump Says He Is 'Counting on the Federal Court System' to Declare Winner on Election Night--Before Many Ballots Are Tallied
"This is an open admission that Trump hopes to use the Supreme Court to steal the election."
President Donald Trump said during a campaign rally over the weekend that he is "counting on the federal court system"--which he has packed with right-wing judges--to declare a winner of the presidential election on the night of November 3, a statement that one journalist described as an "outright pledge to use the courts to stop votes from being counted."
"We're counting on the federal court system to make it so that we can actually have an evening where we know who wins, OK," Trump said during an event in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Saturday. "Not where the votes are going to be counted a week later, two weeks later."
Trump appeared to be referring to states that have extended absentee ballot deadlines to accommodate the unprecedented surge in mail-in voting driven by the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to delay the announcement of an election winner. In the key battleground of Pennsylvania, for instance, the state Supreme Court ruled last week that mail-in ballots received by November 6 must be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. More than 20 other states are similarly allowing mail-in ballots to arrive days after November 3 if postmarked on time.
Watch Trump's remarks, which came just 24 hours after the Supreme Court announced the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
"Trump said he wants to use the federal courts to cheat in November by denying Americans' lawfully-cast mail-in ballots," Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) tweeted Sunday in response to the president's comments, which came less than 45 days ahead of the November election.
"This is an open admission that Trump hopes to use the Supreme Court to steal the election," added Beyer.
MSNBC's Garrett Haake noted that while declaring an Election Night winner is "not a thing courts do," the "fact that the president is calling for it demands our attention."
Trump's comments further validated growing fears that the president could attempt to falsely declare himself the winner on Election Night, even with many mail-in ballots--which Trump has baselessly characterized as uniquely vulnerable to manipulation--left to be counted.
"It's easy to imagine the president, a geyser of self-serving lies and conspiracies, prematurely declaring himself the victor, crying foul as his lead evaporates as additional votes are counted, and challenging any loss based on the mail-in ballots he's already condemned as fraudulent," Vanity Fair's Eric Lutz wrote earlier this month. "Such a scenario would be every bit as dangerous as one in which he tried to postpone the election."
As Common Dreams reported last week, major corporate media outlets are facing pressure to craft and publicize a plan to combat any misinformation or premature victory declarations by the president or other candidates on Election Night.
The National Task Force on Election Crises, a coalition of election experts and academics, warned in a letter to news outlets last Wednesday that the "period of uncertainty" caused by the historic flood of mail-in ballots "will add further pressure to an already strained system and allow bad actors to attempt to undermine our democratic process."
New York magazine's Ed Kilgore has argued that any effort by the president to falsely declare victory on Election Night will depend on media outlets echoing and failing to adequately debunk his "bogus claims."
"Challenging the lies at the very point of utterance," Kilgore wrote earlier this month, "will be essential to stopping them from developing into a contested election and possibly a constitutional crisis."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
President Donald Trump said during a campaign rally over the weekend that he is "counting on the federal court system"--which he has packed with right-wing judges--to declare a winner of the presidential election on the night of November 3, a statement that one journalist described as an "outright pledge to use the courts to stop votes from being counted."
"We're counting on the federal court system to make it so that we can actually have an evening where we know who wins, OK," Trump said during an event in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Saturday. "Not where the votes are going to be counted a week later, two weeks later."
Trump appeared to be referring to states that have extended absentee ballot deadlines to accommodate the unprecedented surge in mail-in voting driven by the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to delay the announcement of an election winner. In the key battleground of Pennsylvania, for instance, the state Supreme Court ruled last week that mail-in ballots received by November 6 must be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. More than 20 other states are similarly allowing mail-in ballots to arrive days after November 3 if postmarked on time.
Watch Trump's remarks, which came just 24 hours after the Supreme Court announced the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
"Trump said he wants to use the federal courts to cheat in November by denying Americans' lawfully-cast mail-in ballots," Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) tweeted Sunday in response to the president's comments, which came less than 45 days ahead of the November election.
"This is an open admission that Trump hopes to use the Supreme Court to steal the election," added Beyer.
MSNBC's Garrett Haake noted that while declaring an Election Night winner is "not a thing courts do," the "fact that the president is calling for it demands our attention."
Trump's comments further validated growing fears that the president could attempt to falsely declare himself the winner on Election Night, even with many mail-in ballots--which Trump has baselessly characterized as uniquely vulnerable to manipulation--left to be counted.
"It's easy to imagine the president, a geyser of self-serving lies and conspiracies, prematurely declaring himself the victor, crying foul as his lead evaporates as additional votes are counted, and challenging any loss based on the mail-in ballots he's already condemned as fraudulent," Vanity Fair's Eric Lutz wrote earlier this month. "Such a scenario would be every bit as dangerous as one in which he tried to postpone the election."
As Common Dreams reported last week, major corporate media outlets are facing pressure to craft and publicize a plan to combat any misinformation or premature victory declarations by the president or other candidates on Election Night.
The National Task Force on Election Crises, a coalition of election experts and academics, warned in a letter to news outlets last Wednesday that the "period of uncertainty" caused by the historic flood of mail-in ballots "will add further pressure to an already strained system and allow bad actors to attempt to undermine our democratic process."
New York magazine's Ed Kilgore has argued that any effort by the president to falsely declare victory on Election Night will depend on media outlets echoing and failing to adequately debunk his "bogus claims."
"Challenging the lies at the very point of utterance," Kilgore wrote earlier this month, "will be essential to stopping them from developing into a contested election and possibly a constitutional crisis."
President Donald Trump said during a campaign rally over the weekend that he is "counting on the federal court system"--which he has packed with right-wing judges--to declare a winner of the presidential election on the night of November 3, a statement that one journalist described as an "outright pledge to use the courts to stop votes from being counted."
"We're counting on the federal court system to make it so that we can actually have an evening where we know who wins, OK," Trump said during an event in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Saturday. "Not where the votes are going to be counted a week later, two weeks later."
Trump appeared to be referring to states that have extended absentee ballot deadlines to accommodate the unprecedented surge in mail-in voting driven by the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to delay the announcement of an election winner. In the key battleground of Pennsylvania, for instance, the state Supreme Court ruled last week that mail-in ballots received by November 6 must be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. More than 20 other states are similarly allowing mail-in ballots to arrive days after November 3 if postmarked on time.
Watch Trump's remarks, which came just 24 hours after the Supreme Court announced the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
"Trump said he wants to use the federal courts to cheat in November by denying Americans' lawfully-cast mail-in ballots," Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) tweeted Sunday in response to the president's comments, which came less than 45 days ahead of the November election.
"This is an open admission that Trump hopes to use the Supreme Court to steal the election," added Beyer.
MSNBC's Garrett Haake noted that while declaring an Election Night winner is "not a thing courts do," the "fact that the president is calling for it demands our attention."
Trump's comments further validated growing fears that the president could attempt to falsely declare himself the winner on Election Night, even with many mail-in ballots--which Trump has baselessly characterized as uniquely vulnerable to manipulation--left to be counted.
"It's easy to imagine the president, a geyser of self-serving lies and conspiracies, prematurely declaring himself the victor, crying foul as his lead evaporates as additional votes are counted, and challenging any loss based on the mail-in ballots he's already condemned as fraudulent," Vanity Fair's Eric Lutz wrote earlier this month. "Such a scenario would be every bit as dangerous as one in which he tried to postpone the election."
As Common Dreams reported last week, major corporate media outlets are facing pressure to craft and publicize a plan to combat any misinformation or premature victory declarations by the president or other candidates on Election Night.
The National Task Force on Election Crises, a coalition of election experts and academics, warned in a letter to news outlets last Wednesday that the "period of uncertainty" caused by the historic flood of mail-in ballots "will add further pressure to an already strained system and allow bad actors to attempt to undermine our democratic process."
New York magazine's Ed Kilgore has argued that any effort by the president to falsely declare victory on Election Night will depend on media outlets echoing and failing to adequately debunk his "bogus claims."
"Challenging the lies at the very point of utterance," Kilgore wrote earlier this month, "will be essential to stopping them from developing into a contested election and possibly a constitutional crisis."