Trump advisers pour cold water on US president’s calls to delay election date

Donald Trump’s advisers say the US presidential election will go ahead as planned on November 3. The confirmation comes as Trump’s campaign and White House staff try to shut down speculation by the US President to delay the vote. Trump continues to cite concerns about the mail-in ballot system, which even his critics dismiss as unfounded and without evidence.

The White House is officially taking an optimistic tone, with Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, telling CBS the election will not be delayed.

“We’re going to hold an election on November 3 and the President is going to win.”

Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Trump’s campaign adviser Jason Miller appears to contradict the idea that the President has been calling for a delay.

“The election is going to be on November 3 and President Trump wants the election to be on November 3.”

Both Democrats and many Republicans in Congress have completely rejected delaying the election, in a rare show of unity. Meanwhile President Trump’s critics have slammed Mr. Trump’s suggestion as an attempt to take the focus away from an economy devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic under his leadership.

There are concerns, however, that Trump supporters could lose faith in the election process as a result of the President’s attempts to undermine the mail-in ballot system. He continues to allege that the system cannot be trusted and may lead to voter fraud, despite there being no evidence to back up such claims. The Chief of Staff has jumped into the fray, siding with his boss when asked if he considered Trump’s comments irresponsible.

“It is responsible for him to say that if we try to go to 100% universal mail-in ballots, will we have an election result on November 3? Now I would suggest we wouldn’t even have it on January 1.”

The Republican Governor of the state of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, insists the election must go ahead as planned, adding that it’s up to individual states to ensure mail-in ballots are processed correctly.

“It’s not helpful for the President to think out loud in a public fashion and express some frustration.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a tremendous toll on the US, with the country recording the highest number of deaths in the world at over 158,000. The fallout is expected to drive a significant number of voters to the polls come November, with state officials working to get mail-in ballots out to voters in time to be cast and returned.

Legally, an act of Congress would be required with a 2/3 majority to change the date of the US presidential election.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World