 "US President Joe Biden has warned that Donald Trump could resort to political violence if he loses election (Photo: Reuters)")
US President Joe Biden has warned that Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, may not allow a peaceful transition of power if he loses.
In his first interview since dropping out of the presidential contest, Biden has warned that Trump may resort to the violence that he has long promised.
In 2020, Trump and his far-right Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement false claimed that Trump had won the election and Biden stole it. Even after four years, they have maintained that claim.
On January 6, 2021, when the election result was being certified in the Senate, Trump egged on a mob of far-right supporters who attacked the Capitol housing the Senate in a bid to take over the certification proceedings and illegally overturn the result. Many of the attackers were armed with weapons and they had openly sought to kill prominent persons including Vice President Mike Pence.
There are fears that Trump may again provoke violence if he loses the 2024 presidential election. He has already openly threatened violence.
We should take his threats seriously, says Biden
In the interview with CBS News, Biden said that people should take Trump seriously when he threatens violence and invokes election denialism.
When asked if he was confident about a peaceful transfer of power, Biden said “if Trump loses, I am not confident at all”.
Biden further said, “He [Trump] means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it — all the stuff about ‘if we lose, there’d be bloodbath’.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBiden then went on to say about how Republicans have been appointing partisan election officials as part of their efforts to turn the result in their favour.
Biden said, “Look what they are trying to do now in local election districts where people count the votes — putting people who count the votes.”
The CBS has released a clip of the interview conducted by Robert Costa. The full interview will be broadcast on Sunday.
Trump has warned of bloodbath if he loses
Trump had warned of “bloodbath” in March — which Biden referred to in the interview.
There would be nationwide bloodbath if he loses, said Trump at a rally when he was warning of job losses.
“We’re going to put a 100 per cent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it,” said Trump, as per CNN.
Moreover, Trump has resorted to racist and hateful rhetoric throughout the campaign. Last year, he called his political and ideological opponents “vermin” and, on another occasion, said immigrants to the United States were poisoning the blood of the nation.