Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walked a political tightrope on Friday as Democratic nominee and apparent winner Joe Biden pulled ahead in several key battleground states that will decide the 2020 election.
With President Trump alleging issues with the vote counting process in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Michigan, McConnell said that “every legal vote” should be counted before backing the legal system in the United States to “resolve disputes” that might arise following one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history.
“Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted. Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes,” he said. “That’s how Americans’ votes decide the result.”
Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted. Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes.
That’s how Americans’ votes decide the result.
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) November 6, 2020
McConnell, who retained his Senate seat with a comfortable victory against Democratic challenger Amy McGrath on Tuesday night, said he expects Trump to concede peacefully should he lose to Biden when all the votes are counted.
“Of course,” McConnell told reporters who asked if he thought Trump would step aside. “We’ve had a peaceful transfer of power going back to 1792, every four years, we’ve moved on to a new administration.”
Officials with the Trump reelection campaign said Friday in a statement that they were determined to fight what is likely to be declared a Biden victory as the former vice president stretches his lead on the third day of ballot counting.
“We believe the American people deserve to have full transparency into all vote counting and election certification, and that this is no longer about any single election. This is about the integrity of our entire election process,” read the statement. “From the beginning we have said that all legal ballots must be counted and all illegal ballots should not be counted, yet we have met resistance to this basic principle by Democrats at every turn.”
