In an interview that has sent ripples through the political landscape, former President Donald Trump has refused to discount the possibility of political violence if the 2024 election does not go his way, conditioning tranquility on the “fairness of an election.”
“I think we’re going to win,” Trump stated initially when asked about the potential for unrest linked to the upcoming November election. “And I think there will be no violence.” However, a follow-up on the subject yielded a more equivocal response. “And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election,” Trump elaborated.
Trump’s comments not only revisit the uncorroborated claims of a “rigged” 2020 election but also open the door to a repeat of the events leading up to the Capitol riot. The former President, while expressing confidence in a “big victory,” left an ominous “it depends” in the air.
Adding to this combustible mix, Trump has floated the notion of granting pardons to the more than 800 individuals charged in connection with the January 6 attack. “I would consider that, yes,” he said in response to whether he’d pardon every one of the participants.
Furthermore, the discourse surrounding Trump’s refusal to categorically rule out election violence, depending on the result, raises profound concerns. This ambiguity, particularly in light of the events following his 2020 defeat, where Trump’s persistent allegations of electoral fraud led to pressure on then-Vice President Mike Pencet.
In the years following the Capitol riot, the threat of political and election-based violence doesn’t appear to have diminished. The gravity of this issue is underscored by a poll conducted by the US Association of Former Members of Congress and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which found that a staggering 84% of ex-members of Congress are apprehensive about election-related violence in 2024. Moreover, 94% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans expressed varying levels of concern over the threat.
Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was attacked while defending the Capitol on January 6, told Business Insider in February that he was certain election-related violence would return this year, adding that it “never stopped after January 6.”
Relevant articles:
– Trump won’t rule out election violence if he loses to Biden in November: ‘It depends’, Business Insider, 05/01/2024
– Trump on political violence in 2024: ‘If we don’t win, you know, it depends’, NBC News, 04/30/2024
– Trump says he doesn’t think there will be violence in November but ‘it depends’, The Hill, 04/30/2024
– Trump doesn’t rule out political violence if he loses, and other takeaways from his Time interview, CNN, 04/30/2024
– Exclusive: Donald Trump Says Political Violence ‘Depends’ on ‘Fairness’ of 2024 Election, TIME, 04/30/2024