Democrat White House candidate Joe Biden said Donald Trump would "try to steal" the November 3 presidential election and that he could refuse to recognize the outcome if he was defeated, charges immediately described as "ridiculous" according to the White House.
Interviewed by host Trevor Noah, Joe Biden, 77, said he was concerned that access to the polls for Americans would be limited, for example by casting doubt on the validity of ballots sent by mail, including the usage is expected to increase due to the coronavirus pandemic. "This is my greatest concern. The president will try to steal this election, " he said on The Daily Show , broadcast on Wednesday. "It was the same guy who said that all the mail-in slips were fraudulent (...) as he sat behind his desk in the Oval Office and filled out his mail-in slip", he added in reference to the President's vote for the Florida primary in March.
Trevor Noah then asks him if he has thought about what he would do if Donald Trump lost the poll but refused to recognize the result. "Yes, I thought about it," replied the former American vice-president, adding that the army would certainly intervene: "I promise you, I am absolutely convinced that they would escort him very quickly out of the White House . "
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"This is an absolutely ridiculous assumption , " White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany reacted to Fox News on Thursday. " Let the Democrats do the demagoguery and relay these conspiracy theories ," she said. The American president has often joked about his desire to remain in power beyond the two authorized mandates. He also said on several occasions that the postal vote was necessarily "fraudulent" , which prompted Twitter to report in May for the first time one of his tweets as being misleading.
Already known for its long queues during election days, the United States faces the prospect of elections, the organization of which is likely to be even more complicated on November 3 by the coronavirus pandemic. Joe Biden told Trevor Noah that several states are putting in place measures to restrict access to the polls and that he plans to send observers "to all ridings in the country" .
As the role of the military is increasingly scrutinized in these troubled times, the Chief of the General Staff, General Mark Milley, made a rare statement on Thursday, saying he regretted being with him by Donald Trump after the dispersal of anti-racist protests outside the White House, a sign that the divide is widening between the Pentagon and the American president. "I shouldn't have been there," said the highest ranking US military official, who, like Defense Minister Mark Esper last week, publicly distanced himself from Donald Trump.
My presence at that time and under these circumstances gave the impression that the soldiers were intervening in domestic politics. It was a mistake I learned from and I sincerely hope we can all learn from it.
General Mark Milley, American Chief of StaffOn June 1, a peaceful demonstration in Washington DC was dispersed in order to free the field towards a church degraded the day before by demonstrators and allow the president to be photographed there, bible in hand. While the death of George Floyd under the knee of a white policeman vigorously relaunched the debate on racial discrimination, with monster demonstrations throughout the country, "my presence at that time and in these circumstances gave the impression that the military was intervening in domestic politics , " added the highest ranking American officer.
"It was a mistake I learned from and I sincerely hope we can all learn from it ," he said, looking serious. "We must scrupulously respect the principle of an apolitical army, which is deeply rooted in the quintessence of our republic." The footage showing him in camouflage with Donald Trump was immediately used by the White House in an election-style video, which shocked the general, according to a military source.
Former military officials, including ex-Defense Minister Jim Mattis, were moved by what they considered to be a politicization of the military. "I never imagined that soldiers who take the same oath could be ordered, whatever the circumstances, to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens - let alone to allow the elected commander-in-chief to Go and pose for a photo, absurdly, with the military leaders by his side, " wrote the former Marine General in the columns of The Atlantic magazine .
Read also: Trump's surprise visit to a degraded church next to the White House
The White House strongly defended the photo of Donald Trump outside the church, evoking his desire to "send a strong message" and even comparing him to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the Second World War. But this episode seems to have caused an awareness in the military hierarchy, which appeared to disagree with the executive for the third time in a few days.
While he still spoke on June 1 in the morning of the American streets as a "battlefield", and he had pre-positioned the following day "multiple units of active soldiers of the Army " Around the American capital, the Minister of Defense had publicly dissociated himself from the president on June 3. "I am not in favor of declaring a state of insurrection," said Mark Esper in reference to the only text that would have legally enabled the president to deploy active soldiers in front of American citizens, and no longer reservists from the National Guard. He too had expressed regrets. “I do everything I can to remain apolitical and to avoid situations that may seem political. Sometimes I get there, other times I can't. ”