President Trump suggested postponing the U.S. presidential election, currently set to take place on November 3, 2020.
As Trump wrote in his Twitter account, “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???”
The President’s statement caused a wave of backlash both among his opponents and among fellow Republicans. Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy quickly dismissed the idea, highlighting that the U.S. has never delayed a federal election – not even during wartime.
"Never in the history of this country, through wars, depressions and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time. We will find a way to do that again this November third," Senator McConnell told WNKY.
Another Republican, Congressman McCarthy, expressed his disagreement as well. "Never in the history of the federal elections have we ever not held an election and we should go forward with our election," he stated.
It’s worth noting that President Trump doesn’t have the authority to delay the election. Theoretically, such a decision would have to be backed by the Democratic-led House of Representatives and Senate.
As of today, Donald Trump trails his Democratic opponent by an average of 8.3 points (Real Clear Politics average). Former Vice President Joe Biden also has a noticeable lead in most battleground states, such as Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, and others.