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Trump didn't simply refuse to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses in November. He admitted to one of his plans to overturn the election results.
"Well, we're going to have to see what happens," Trump said when first asked if he would "commit here today for a peaceful transferral of power after the November election." He continued, "You know that I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster." But it's when the reporter, Brian Karem of Playboy magazine, pressed again, that Trump really laid it out.
"Get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very peaceful -- there won't be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation."
Get rid of the ballots. As in, throw out the votes. There won't be a transfer. That's the plan. Win or lose, Trump plans to find a way to stay. In the past, we've been lectured about whether to take Trump literally or seriously. In this case, the answer is both, but either one would be a terrifying move to authoritarian dictatorship.
Getting rid of the ballots isn't the only component of Trump's plan to steal the election. The Trump campaign is also looking into using state legislatures to overturn results by selecting electors who will support Trump despite the voters choosing Biden. And of course Trump has already conducted test runs of state violence against protesters.
Once again, like the villain in a bad movie, Trump is pausing in the middle of his nefarious plan to explain the nefarious plan. Even though he's not telling us anything we couldn't have guessed he was thinking, the fact that he's saying it is significant -- a true emergency for democracy, already.
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