Once again, Donald Trump went there on Wednesday when asked if he will leave the White House peacefully if Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins in November. “Well, we’re going to have to see what happens. You know that,” the president said. Trump is trying to clutch onto the power of his office as he flails in the polls. And because of Trump’s threat, the Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to a peaceful transition of power in the wake of Trump’s refusal to do so if he loses the election to Biden.
The military will not have Trump’s back if he loses the election and tries to co-opt them to back any challenge of the results, the chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services said. Trump is trying every trick in the book, including allegations of voter fraud, even though widespread voter fraud does not exist.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, told CNN that defense leaders have already assured him that they would not serve Trump after the inauguration on January 20 if Biden defeats him. Smith noted Trump’s narcissism and that the president would likely not concede, but said there is nothing he can do about it.
Smith also told the network that military leaders told him they “serve one president at a time,” and while he does not expect Trump to concede, “all the layers of government will no longer serve him, they will serve Joe Biden—if he wins and if he is sworn in—and there is nothing he can do about that.”
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“The second thing is: Does he try to order the military to defy that? What the military has made clear to me is they will not follow an unlawful order. Period,” Smith continued.
“For instance, if the president had ordered them into a city, as he was threatening to do, they were prepared to say no, that is not a lawful order, we have no lawful reason to go there, he said.
“Their oath is to the Constitution. Much to Donald Trump’s chagrin, it is not to him. It is to the laws and Constitution of our country, and they will uphold that oath,” he added.
“I can’t imagine him conceding,” says Rep. Adam Smith about Trump refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “I don’t think this election is going to be close. But I think the President is still going to make up whatever number he has to make up and claim it was rigged.” pic.twitter.com/UZGGp1pvmH
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) September 24, 2020
Well, given the fact that this even has to be discussed, that isn’t exactly reassuring. Chaos agent Donald Trump is trying to stay in power even if he loses. Of course, that’s not normal unless the president is afraid of facing charges in the future. The so-called ‘law and order’ president would be breaking the law if he refuses to leave office and uses the military to stay in the White House.
Featured image via DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos
