The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mum on Trump, McConnell vows an ‘orderly transition’
Many Republicans distance selves from president’s remarks.
President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to accepting the results of November’s election led several prominent Republicans, including Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, to insist Thursday that there would be a peaceful transfer of power in January. But they stopped short of directly criticizing the president.
“The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th,” McConnell wrote on Twitter. “There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792.”
McConnell did not mention Trump in his comments, and he refused to elaborate on them. But his tweet was in response to the president’s comment on Wednesday, when a reporter asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition, that “we’re going to have to see what happens.”
Trump went on to question the integrity of “the ballots” — apparently referring to mail-in voting, which he has falsely called rife with fraud — and added that if he were able to “get rid of ” the ballots and ensure a “continuation” rather than a “transfer,” it would be peaceful.
The peaceful transfer of power and accepting the results of an election are fundamentals of democracy.
Many Republicans, including McConnell, offered carefully worded statements distancing themselves without calling the president out by name.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, a frequent critic of Trump’s who this week declared his support for allowing the president to quickly fill the Supreme Court vacancy left open by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, was first to air his concern.
“Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable,” Romney wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who has moderated his criticism of the president after lashing Trump during the 2016 Republican primary debates, also avoided referring to him directly in his response Thursday.
“As we have done for over two centuries we will have a legitimate & fair election. It may take longer than usual to know the outcome, but it will be a valid one,” wrote Rubio, who is also backing Trump’s move to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. “And at noon on Jan. 20, 2021 we will peacefully swear in the President.”
Only a few Republicans referred to the president directly in their responses.
“The peaceful transfer of power is a fundamental tenet of our democracy, and I am confident that we will see it occur once again,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said she opposes Trump’s effort to ram through a Supreme Court nominee. “I don’t know what his thinking was, but we have always had a controlled transition between administrations.”
Yet some Republicans struck a defiant tone. Former Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who has been helping Vice President Mike Pence prepare for the upcoming debates, tweeted: “Smart candidates never concede anything before an election. They focus on what it takes to win.”
Trump’s remarks, though, were not about whether he would be willing to concede on election night. They were about whether he would ultimately step aside if he lost.
There was scant mention of Trump’s comments on the president’s favorite network, Fox News, on Wednesday, with hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham focusing on other topics.