Biden predicts Trump will attempt to delay the 2020 presidential election

Joe Biden
(Image credit: JoeBiden.com via Getty Images)

Former Vice President Joe Biden is predicting President Trump will attempt to delay the 2020 presidential election.

Biden, the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president, made his claim during an online fundraiser on Thursday, saying, "Mark my words, I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held."

As numerous primary elections were postponed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Biden has been saying in recent weeks that the presidential election has to go forward in the fall, telling NBC earlier this month, "We can not delay or postpone a constitutionally required November election," although whether there should be in-person voting will depend "on the state of play," he said. He also said this week that "we have to make it easier for everybody to be able to vote," which will "require us to provide money for states and insist they provide mail-in ballots."

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Trump doesn't have the power to delay the November election and hasn't said he would want to, NBC notes, and The New York Times writes, "It would be virtually impossible for Trump to succeed with such a move."

Asked in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March if Trump could postpone the election, Biden said, "No, he doesn't have the authority to do that," but added, "it is possible they may start a drumbeat saying it should be postponed."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.