The White House is insisting that President Donald Trump will accept the results of the election.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked during a press conference on Thursday if she could assure the American public that there would be a peaceful transfer of power if Trump lost the general election.
“You a referring to the question asked by the Playboy reporter, right?” McEnany responded. “He was asked ‘win, lose, or draw’ whether he would accept the transfer of power, I’m not entirely sure if he won why he would accept a transfer of power.”
“That is maybe the deranged wish of that reporter, but that is not how governing works,” she added.
When ABC News’ Jon Karl pressed her on whether or not Trump would commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transfer of power, McEnany said, “The president will accept the results of a free and fair election.”
“But I think that your question is more fitting to be asked of Democrats,” she added as she continued to share examples of Congressional Democrats raising concerns that Trump might try to “steal” the election.
She also referenced former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s assertion that her Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden should not concede the election.
Watch the video below:
“The president will accept the results of a free and fair election. But I think that your question is more fitting to be asked of Democrats,” Kayleigh McEnany tells @jonkarl when asked about Trump declining to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. https://t.co/Y5dCn61qcd pic.twitter.com/a4mRNVpE2E
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 24, 2020
McEnany’s comments come less than a day after Trump was pressed on whether he would commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transfer of power, as IJR reported.
On Wednesday, Playboy’s White House reporter, Brian Karem, asked Trump, “Win, lose, or draw in this election, will you commit here today for a peaceful transferral of power after the election?”
Trump responded, “We’re going to have to see what happens. You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots. And the ballots are a disaster.”
Those comments led to denunciations from lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said, “You are not in North Korea, you are not in Turkey, you are not in Russia, Mr. President … you are not in Saudi Arabia. You are in the United States of America. It is a democracy.”
“So why don’t you just try for a moment to honor your oath of office to the Constitution of the United States,” she added.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called a peaceful transfer of power “fundamental to democracy.”
“Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable,” he added.
