On July 23, US President Donald Trump floated delaying the Presidential Election in November, leading to numerous lawmakers expressing their concern that he might seek to circumvent voting as his poll numbers continue to drop.
Delaying election
President Trump does not have the authority to delay the national election, and the Constitution gives Congress the power to set the exact date for voting. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers immediately said that there was no chance that the Presidential Elections this year would be delayed.
However, Trump's message is one that is feared by Democrats, he and his supports might refuse to accept defeat if he ends up losing the election. Months before the election, Trump is already priming his camp and supporters to doubt the legitimacy of the outcome if it is not in his favor.
In Trump's tweet on July 23, which marks the 96 days before the Presidential election and minutes after the federal government reported the worst economic contraction in US history, Trump suggested delaying the election with the claim that the contest will be flawed, but he did no show any evidence.
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote??? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
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Stoking fear
President Trump has stoked fear in the past and he did lay the groundwork to question the results as he promoted the idea that the proposed mail-in votes could lead to widespread fraud and rigged election results.
Democratic lawmakers have already warned the public about Trump's efforts to suppress voting and to use the results as an excuse not to leave the White House if he loses.
Meanwhile, Trump's team denied the suggestions of the Democrats and claimed that everything is just conspiracies with no basis. Trump's tweet on July 23 was his first time raising the idea of moving the date of the election.
On the same day of the tweet, Trump's campaign said that President Trump was offering a query. Campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley stated that Trump is just raising a question about the chaos that the Democrats have created with their insistence on mail-in voting.
Trump's tweet came after a recent poll showed that he is not getting the desired numbers of his camp in states that he won back in 2016, and that he is trailing behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who is the democratic nominee.
Trump's approval rating is also the lowest it has ever been because of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported by Business Insider.
During the peak of the pandemic back in April, Trump encouraged states to prevent lockdowns, and how he is encouraging states to open businesses and resume school, threatening that schools that won't reopen won't receive any funding from the government.
Trump's campaign in 2016 promised Americans a great economy, and how that he is up for reelection, the economy has tanked.
On July 23, the numbers showed that the US economy contracted a 32.9% annual rate from April to June, which is the worst decrease on record, as reported by CNN.
Despite everything that the country has been through this year, Congress assures the public that the election will not be moved, even if President Trump had suggested that it should.
