House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is predicting President Donald Trump will not leave office should he lose the 2020 presidential election in November.
According to CNN’s Dana Bash, Clyburn said in a previous interview he does not believe Trump would be willing to give up his office.
Clyburn doubled down on his comments reiterating he does not think Trump will transfer power peacefully.
“I don’t think he plans to leave the White House. He doesn’t plan to have fair and unfettered elections. I believe that he plans to install himself in some kind of emergency way to continue to hold onto office,” Clyburn said.
Watch his comments below:
“I don’t think he plans to leave the White House. He doesn’t plan to have fair and unfettered elections. I believe that he plans to install himself in some kind of emergency way to continue to hold onto office,” Democratic Rep. James Clyburn says about Pres. Trump. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/q0CgdTwWcX
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) August 2, 2020
Clyburn’s comments come just days after Trump suggested delaying the election, as IJR previously reported.
The president issued a tweet on Thursday slamming “universal mail-in voting” and argued if Americans vote using this system the election will be the most “inaccurate” and “fraudulent” election in history.
Trump followed his tweet with another after receiving backlash.
He said his suggestion to delay the election led the media to “finally” start discussing the risks of mail-in voting, as IJR previously reported.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back against Trump’s idea.
McConnell insisted the election will be held on the scheduled date with no exceptions.
Schumer accused Trump of using the idea to divert attention from his response to the coronavirus.
Pelosi pointed to the Constitution as it grants Congress the power to set the date of the election rather than the president.
As the election approaches, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is on the search for his running mate.
Bash asked Clyburn if he believes candidate Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) should be Biden’s vice presidential pick.
“He should let the vetting and the polling inform him and then he should let his head and his heart direct his actions,” Clyburn said.
He added, “He calls it ‘simpatico,’ I call it let your head and your heart take a look.”