Republicans ‘will accept that result,’ if Trump loses in November, SC’s Graham says
President Donald Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the upcoming election, but one of his staunchest allies, South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, promised that Republicans would accept whatever the outcome is come November.
During a Thursday morning appearance on Fox and Friends, one of the president’s regularly watched shows, Graham told hosts that any transition of power would be peaceful.
“And people wonder about the peaceful transfer of power. I assure you, it will be peaceful,” Graham said. “Now, we may have litigation about who won the election, but the court will decide, and if the Republicans lose, we will accept that result.”
South Carolina’s senior senator added that it would be important for the Supreme Court to have a full compliment of nine justices if a challenge were to take place.
If the results of the 2020 election, which already promises to be abnormal due to the coronavirus, are contested, the Supreme Court could play a vital roll in shaping a victory. In 2000, the court ended a vote recount in Florida, which swayed the election in favor of George Bush.
“A four-four Supreme Court is not a good deal for America,” Graham said on Fox and Friends. “We need a nine person Supreme Court.”
Senate Republicans are making plans to try to rush through a court nomination before the election, choosing a person to fill the seat left behind by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last Friday. Trump is expected to name a nominee over the weekend, and Graham has signaled he is working to hold hearings in the judiciary committee, which he chairs, throughout October.
“We need a full court, and I think that’s possible before the election,” he said on Fox and Friends.
Graham’s comments came a day after Trump was asked during a Wednesday press conference whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election to the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden.
In response, Trump said, “We’re going to have to see what happens” and went on to cast doubt, again, on the integrity of mail-in voting, according to media reports.
Trump has long pushed the idea that absentee and mail-in voting can allow fraudulent behavior. Trump himself, however, votes by mail, and studies have shown that voter fraud is extremely rare.
Across the country, states, including South Carolina, are expecting to see a record number of absentee ballots cast as the coronavirus continues to spread and people are asked to socially distance and not gather in large groups.
In response to Trump’s comments Wednesday, Biden’s campaign said: “The American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”
The Associated Press contributed.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 10:04 AM.
