House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) claims it is “dangerous” that a wide swath of Republican voters apparently believe that former President Donald Trump is still or should be the president.
During Thursday’s appearance on MSNBC, the California Democrat said, “Half of the Republican voters out there think that [Donald Trump] is still the president or still should be, that Biden lost the election.”
“That such a significant percentage of our population could be so deceived by him is alarming. And it just underscores that the threat to our democracy didn’t go away when Donald Trump left office. It is very much with us. It’s going to be with us for some time,” he added.
Additionally, Schiff claimed that if Trump does not run for president in 2024, the “forces of authoritarianism” that he “unleashed” will be “with us for some time.”
Watch the video below:
.@RepAdamSchiff: "Half of the Republican voters out there think that [Donald Trump] is still the president or still should be, that Biden lost the election. That such a significant percentage of our population could be so deceived by him is alarming." pic.twitter.com/AIfDrlWfGs
— The Hill (@thehill) June 3, 2021
Schiff’s comments come as Trump has reportedly been telling people he believes he will be “reinstated” as president by August. He also reportedly believes that former Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Martha McSally (Ariz.) will be “reinstated” as well.
Trump has repeated the unfounded claim that widespread in the election tilted the results in President Joe Biden’s favor.
While Biden was sworn in on January 20, a slight majority of Republicans say they believe that Trump is the “true” president.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in May found that 53% of Republicans said they believe that Trump is the “true president,” and just 25% of Republicans said they believe the results were accurate.
Despite Trump’s reported belief about being reinstated, legal experts have noted that the Constitution has no mechanism for reinstatement.
The only way to remove a sitting president before the end of his term is through resignation, impeachment and conviction, or invoking the 25th Amendment.