Would/will Trump cancel elections if he's in trouble?

[TDale313]

There was a point when I would have said it couldn’t happen... but, well, lots of things I thought were unthinkable have been happening. The right loves to project. Were screaming about FEMA camps- now we have babies in detention centers. They also loudly floated the idea that Obama would cancel the 2016 elections or find a way to run for a third term. Is it crazy to worry Trump may just find and excuse to cancel elections or just refuse to leave office. He has already said he’d like to be President for life. May be tin foil, but but yeah, part of me worries he’s crazy enough to try.

[MFM008]

1. If he wants

This country to explode in rage.

[msongs]

2. elections are run by states. he has no authority to cancel them nt

[pangaia]

29. Uhhh, don;t bet on it....

I believe it is very possible elections cold at the least be voided in some way..

[LiberalFighter]

36. It would require a nation wide catastrophe.

[tonyt53]

43. Yep, but what? We had elections in different states/localities in Nov. of 2011.

Maybe trumpee will say that Canada will attack us because we will be distracted.

[DavidDvorkin]

3. Are we going to hear this every four years from now on?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. I use to scoff at these scenarios but Trump is sui generis.

That being said it would be the end of the United States if it happened and therefore it won't. We had elections during the Civil War.

[elleng]

4. He'd surely like to,

but THAT's cause for revolution! (And, as others have said, he has no authority as elections are run by the states.)

[vercetti2021]

5. Won't happen

Even if it did, it would cause civil war

[Mike Nelson]

6. With the...

… Supreme Court and Congress, I suppose he could... new laws or amendments to the constitution... hopefully, voters will make sure it does not happen.

[drray23]

10. Supreme court has nothing to do with it.

The constitution can't be amended by the supreme court. It requires 2/3 of house and Senate to propose an amendment. It then has to be voted on and ratified by 3/4 of the state's.

[Mike Nelson]

12. Laws and amendments...

… the Supreme Court could opine on new or existing laws. They picked George W Bush as President, I believe - five votes in the Supreme Court could be a very powerful thing...

[Takket]

15. there are no exisitng laws they could opine on to cause an election to be canceled.

[Mike Nelson]

19. That is true...

… I said - or thought I said - he would a friendly Congress for amendments. With laws, amendments, Congress and the Supreme Court, he could remain President indefinitely. Unlike Bush or Obama, I think he might like the idea.

[jberryhill]

22. And these have WHAT to do with your state's election department

It would be nice if trollish conspiracy mongers at least knew how elections in the US are run.

However, given how fucking stupid Americans are in general about their own political system and how it works, I suppose there is no shortage of people without the first god-damned clue that the federal government DOESNT EVEN RUN ELECTIONS.

[Mike Nelson]

24. jberryhill...

… I do not consider myself a "trollish conspiracy monger" and am not "fucking stupid." I only share an opinion about The Donald. If he had a Congress and Supreme Court full of Stephen Millers and Steve Bannons, he could do a lo to change his term as President. State elections could be affected ( see Bush v Gore). He would have to have solid control of all branches of power because amendments are, by design, difficult to enact. I do not consider this likely, by the way.

have a nice evening

[pangaia]

31. When this goes far enough, laws as we know them will cease to exist.

There will be totally new 'laws.'

[wonkwest]

8. No. We got this with W. Bush, too.

A lot of people on our side were convinced Dubya would cancel elections and declare martial law.

Any President who even lightly attempt it would face impeachment, a coup, or revolution.

[cynatnite]

9. Better question: Would he leave willingly? n/t

[briv1016]

11. With the Supreme Court saying voter purges are okay, why would he?

Along with help from his comrades (along with voter ID laws, ending early voting, etc) November may not go the way everyone here thinks it's going to go.

[TDale313]

13. Actually, good point that he may not have to.

Many Authoritarian regimes technically have elections. It’s not who votes that counts, it’s who counts the votes...

[Johnny2X2X]

14. He will try it

But it won’t be 100% obvious. They’ll have some crisis they invent to justify it.

America is descending into fascism before us. The truth is under constant assault. This is a death spiral for our Democracy and I’m not sure we will pull out.

[Snackshack]

16. IMO

It is absolutely a valid concern. Maher said in his show on Friday he already does not think trump is going to leave the office. If he could find a way I think he would.

It is clear that trump would very much like to wield the type of power Putin, Jong-Un have. If he had his druthers he would go full on dictator. The man who ghost wrote his book Tony Schwartz tweeted this today:

“To Republican legislators: If you oppose Kim Jung Un and Putin, you must now stand up to Trump. He deeply admires and envies these men and fully intends to emulate their behavior as soon as he's certain you won't oppose him. Time is running out. The whole world is watching.”

Trump would absolutely like to do what he wants, when he wants, however he wants with no checks and balances. He already floated the idea of President for life. If you listen to some of the speculation by lawyers about if trump while president can be indicted or not the one thing they add is that an indictment/charges could be put in place but “on hold” so to speak until he is out of office. So “Yes” I think if he could find a way to keep republicans in the majority and stay in office no matter what way he would do it.

[eShirl]

17. As Bill Maher says, he ain't leaving unless he's forced to leave.

[LenaBaby61]

18. People forget that ....

The big, fat, racist, orange, lying turd is 72 years old and very UNHEALTHY.

I'll leave the REST to all of your imaginations to decipher ...

[GulfCoast66]

20. This is the left version of operation Jade Helm,

Where Obama was going to lock up gun owners.

Ridiculous.

[jberryhill]

23. +1

Oh, no, Trump is going to wave a magic wand, and the election departments in 50 states will just say, “oh, well, that’s that then.”

[uponit7771]

25. Obama was stupid enough to think he can lock up gun owners? Really ? Red Don is grade a stupid

... and there's nothing he should be given the doubt on.

[jberryhill]

21. Have you ever happened to notice that the federal government doesn't run elections

This is about the third or fourth time around for this suggestion, which clearly demonstrates an origin among persons who don’t know how elections are run in the US.

[pangaia]

33. You've said that several times now.

However, at the speed we are approaching a full on fascist dictatorship, I don't think states, SC, or whatever will matter...

[C_U_L8R]

26. Anyone who throws kids into concentration camps

is certainly capable of eliminating our democracy

[lame54]

27. What they are currently doing...

Is election suicide

So, yeah. You may be on to something

[NightWatcher]

28. I fucking dare him. Y'all will get to see me on the news that day, if it happens.

I would hope that several million would join me.

[Hoyt]

30. No. trump can make you question sanity, but he's not going to get away with that.

Just because they did it to Obama, we don't have to be like GOPers when it comes to spreading stuff like this.

[PoorMonger]

32. I feel like he wouldn't cancel them prior.

But when the results come in and he hates them? All bets are off. He could just resume his ‘it’s rigged’ talk and his fans would agree.

[budkin]

34. No

Because there would be a fucking revolution.

[no_hypocrisy]

35. 9-11-01 NYC. WTC, DC, and PA. Primary Day elections are scheduled and

postponed.

Rudolph Giuliani, mayor, strongly suggests that the election for a new mayor be indefinitely postponed, allowing him to remain as mayor into an extended (and unlawful) third term because he's the only one who can restore the damage and to return the city to normalcy.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/09/28/rec.giuliani.delay/index.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

41. But it didn't happen. Bloomberg was inaugurated on 1/1/02.

[no_hypocrisy]

44. My point was to show that Giuliani *tried* to extend his term in office predicated on a disaster,

a crisis, etc.

I wouldn't put it past Trump to try the same trick.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

45. Giuliani tried to do it by suggesting postponing the new mayor's inauguration,

not by canceling or postponing an election. Since the Constitution specifically prescribes when elections and inaugurations must occur, and that presidents can serve no more than two four-year terms, there are constraints that Giuliani didn't have. I understand that Trump would love to be president for life, but he can't make that happen by waving his tiny hands.

[no_hypocrisy]

46. I stand corrected, thank you.

[Cha]

37. Tony Swartz warning tweet..

Link to tweet

[LiberalFighter]

38. At best that could happen would be Republican states cancelling elections.

That would leave Democratic states opting to keep elections on schedule. States have a deadline to send in the results. All the more reason to elect a Democratic Congress so they couldn't deny the results.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

39. NO, BECAUSE HE CAN'T!

The management of most aspects of federal elections is specifically delegated by the Constitution to the states. Spanky can jump up and down and bang his tiny fists on the floor and hold his breath until he turns a bluer shade of orange, but he can't cancel any election anywhere. Article I of the Constitution, in the Elections Clause, directs and empowers states to determine the "times, places and manners" of congressional elections, subject to Congress’s authority to change state regulations. If Congress does attempt to alter state regulations it still must comply with other Constitutional provisions, including the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects the right to vote. The president*, in other words, can't do jack shit.

I wish people would read the damn Constitution before promulgating conspiracies.

[LiberalFighter]

40. Anyone in elected position suggesting such option would be risking a response.

[FreeState]

42. No, his Russian boss will have it hack if he's in trouble

If California's initiative to divide the state up passes and the House retains GOP control we are no longer the US. It will be time to take it to the streets or leave.