(OPINION) President Biden told reporters Friday he is confident the election will be free and fair, but he said he was concerned about the potential for violence if former President Donald Trump again refuses to accept the will of the voters.
“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it’ll be peaceful,” Biden said during a surprise appearance at the White House daily briefing. “The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out, when he didn’t like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous.”
Biden noted that during this week’s vice presidential debate, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, would not say whether Trump would accept the outcome of the election.
When asked if he and Trump would challenge the election results — even if every governor in the nation certified them — Vance demurred, saying he and Trump were “focused on the future.”
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on Oct. 1, 2024 in New York City.
“I don’t know anything about what [Biden] said,” Trump told reporters in Georgia on Friday following the president’s remarks. “I only can hope that it’s going to be free and fair, and I think in this state it will be, and I hope in every state it will be, and I think we’re going to do very well.”
Trump often links himself winning with fairness.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Trump said, “All I want is a fair election. That’s all. Just a fair, honest election. I hope we’re going to get that.”
But when pressed on whether he trusts the process this year, he responded, “I’ll let you know in 33 days.” Two days later, in Michigan, Trump again lied about the results of the 2020 election.
“We won. We won. We did win,” Trump said. “It was a rigged election. It was a rigged election. You have to tell Kamala Harris. That’s why I’m doing it again. If I’d thought I lost, I wouldn’t be doing this again.”
This photo shows special counsel Jack Smith from the shoulders up in August 2023. He has brown hair, including a beard, and is wearing a white shirt, blue suit jacket and dark tie.
