Republicans shoot down Trump's idea of delaying the election: 'He can't do it'
President Trump's idea of delaying the presidential election is being quickly shot down by Republicans in Congress.
Trump in a tweet on Thursday once again baselessly suggested mail-in voting will lead to widespread voter fraud this November and floated the possibility of delaying the election, though that's not something he has the power to do and would require action from Congress. But in Congress, prominent Republicans certainly weren't on board.
"I do not support delaying the November election," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted, while Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told CNN Trump's suggestion is one that likely won't get "any serious traction," and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also told CNN, "Never in the history of federal elections have we ever not held an election and we should go forward with our election."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One Republican, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), even speculated that Trump wasn't being serious with the tweet and only wrote it "so all you guys in the press, your heads will explode," per CNN. Cornyn added, "I don't know what his motivation is. He can't do it."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas.) also told CNN that "no, the election should not be delayed," and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in an interview with WNKY, "Never in the history of the country, through wars, depressions, and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time, and we'll find a way to do that again this Nov. 3."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Political cartoons for November 29Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Kash Patel's travel perks, believing in Congress, and more
-
Nigel Farage: was he a teenage racist?Talking Point Farage’s denials have been ‘slippery’, but should claims from Reform leader’s schooldays be on the news agenda?
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
