A former aide to Vice President Mike Pence is calling it “frightening” that President Donald Trump has not committed to leaving the office peacefully if he loses the 2020 presidential election.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer mentioned Trump’s recent refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the upcoming election and asked if it surprises Troye “based on what you saw how the president operates behind closed doors.”
She bluntly responded during Friday’s CNN interview, “It does not.”
Troye continued, “It’s frightening to me, because to be honest, during my tenure at the White House, I’ve had conversations behind closed doors with White House staffers and other government officials, including people in the intelligence community, where we’ve actually discussed what if, what if he loses and refuses to leave, or better yet, what if his plan is four more years of Donald Trump should he win, and would he leave after that?”
Troye continued to suggest that when Trump says that he is joking that means he is “telling you a half-truth.”
See her remarks below:
"The President can call it a hoax, but the truth is we have increasing cases … I don't see the President changing the course of the direction that we're doing in terms of the response to this." – Olivia Troye, a former VP Mike Pence aide who rebuked Trump's Covid-19 response pic.twitter.com/4Xh1teVnmJ
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) September 25, 2020
Earlier this week, Trump would not commit to ensuring a peaceful transition of power when asked by a reporter during his press conference.
“Well, we’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said on Wednesday. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots. And the ballots are a disaster.”
He was then asked the question again on Thursday when he was leaving the White House, to which he responded, “We have to be very careful with the ballots. The ballots that’s a whole big scam.”
“We want to make sure the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be. I don’t know that it can be,” the president added.
Trump came under fire from top Democrats this week, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who said that the president “is attempting massive voter suppression,” as IJR reported.
“We have a president today who calls mail-in ballots a hoax and a scam. Trump’s strategy to delegitimize this election and to stay in office if he loses is not complicated,” Sanders said during his speech on Thursday at George Washington University, adding, “Finding himself behind in many polls, he is attempting massive voter suppression.”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden responded to Trump’s remarks on a peaceful transfer of power saying on MSNBC Friday, “The whole notion of him talking about this… is to take our eye off the ball,” as IJR reported.
“Not to talk about what’s happening to the people dying of COVID, not talking about all the unemployment, not talking about him being unwilling to bring the Congress together, get off his golf course and out of a sand trap and have a meeting in the White House,” Biden continued. “I mean it’s always about distraction with him.”
