- Mary Trump, President Donald Trump’s niece, says that her uncle will go “farther than you can possibly imagine” to stay in power if he loses the election.
- Ms. Trump released a book about Donald earlier this year called “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.”
- Meanwhile, former Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says she doesn’t think Trump “expects to need to have any type of transfer of power,” because he’s going to win.
The reactions to Trump’s comments about whether or not he plans to peacefully step down from the highest office in the land should he lose the 2020 election have ranged from outright dismissal to utter panic. A number of Republican senators issued responses, ensuring their constituents that the election would proceed as planned, while others, like Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, chalked it up to the president just saying “crazy stuff.”
Republicans and Democrats alike, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, made it clear that they trust the process to play out fairly and legitimately, but one of the president’s own family members isn’t convinced. Speaking at a virtual fundraiser hosted by LPAC, Mary Trump, Donald Trump’s niece, made it clear that she believes the president will go to any lengths necessary to remain in power.
Mary Trump came into the spotlight earlier this year when she released her book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.” She’s been speaking out against her uncle in the months since the book’s release, and according to HuffPost, she said the following when asked at the LPAC fundraiser how far she thinks he’d be willing to go to dispute a loss this fall: “Farther than you can possibly imagine.”
Mary Trump went on to claim that the president is well aware that he could face criminal charges for tax fraud and for obstruction of justice were he to become a private citizen again. Plus, those closest to him could end up being caught in the crossfire (or turn against him) if they are no longer benefitting from his position of power.
“He’s cheating. He’s been cheating for a while now,” Mary Trump told the attendees of the LPAC fundraiser. “He’s cheating when he tells people that mail-in ballots are fraudulent somehow. He’s cheating when he started calling into question the legitimacy of the election before a vote was even cast. He’s cheating when he says if Joe Biden wins, it’s rigged. […] He’s also cheating when he tells people if we don’t get the results on November 3rd ― which, by the way, during the pandemic would be ridiculous ― if we have to wait, that it’s also rigged, somehow.”
Mary Trump filed a lawsuit this Thursday accusing Donald Trump and his siblings of defrauding her of her interest in the family business after her father died and costing her millions of dollars in the process.
Sarah Sanders, former White House Press Secretary, had a different take when she appeared on Fox News:
I think the president feels like many American, that it’s not going to matter because he’s going to win on election day and he’ll be serving another four years. So, I don’t think he expects to need to have any type of transfer of power. […] I think if Joe Biden doesn’t fall asleep on stage, the media will declare him the winner regardless of how well the president does.
Sanders seems to be taking the same tack as the president, sowing doubt about the results of the November election before any votes have been counted. She also added that due to the increase in mail-in ballots (something that Mary Trump spoke about), many Americans “will question that final result.”
