President Joe Biden said in a new interview that he is “not confident at all” that there will be a peaceful transfer of power in January if former President Donald Trump loses the election this fall.
“If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all,” Biden said when he was asked in an interview with CBS News whether he was confident that power would be peacefully transferred in January.
Biden also said in the clip that aired Wednesday evening that people were not taking Trump’s past comments about a “bloodbath” seriously.
“He means it, all the stuff about if we lose there’ll be a bloodbath,” Biden said. “You can’t love your country only when you win.”
Reached for comment, a Trump campaign spokesperson did not address the clip directly.
“President Trump will win and take back the White House to Make America Great Again,” said the spokesperson, Steven Cheung.
Talking about economic policies, Trump said in March that “it’s going to be a bloodbath for the country” if he loses the election.
Three months later, during the June 27 presidential debate, Trump was asked whether he would accept the election results. After he repeatedly dodged the question, he responded, “If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.”
In the CBS News interview, Biden also referred to efforts that could complicate post-election certification processes.
“Look what they’re trying to do now in the local election districts where people count the votes,” he said.
The Republican-controlled State Election Board in Georgia voted this week to give local officials more power over the certification of elections results. Over the weekend, Trump praised the officials who later approved the rule change.
The full interview with Biden is scheduled to air Sunday morning.
Biden narrowly defeated Trump in Georgia in 2020. His victory, by just 11,779 votes, made him the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Trump has continued to draw concern over how he would respond to losing the 2024 race given his efforts nearly four years ago to overturn his loss. Trump has referred to Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol, as “a beautiful day,” and he has called those supporters imprisoned for crimes related to the attack “ unbelievable patriots” and “ hostages.”
Last week, he renewed his pledge to pardon those facing convictions related to the attack if he is elected in November.
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