Debate moderator Chris Wallace asked President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden if they would urge their supporters to remain calm should it take longer than expected to count the votes in November and not declare victory early. Biden said he would, while Trump refused.
Trump repeated his baseless claims about mail-in voting fraud, and said he is "urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully." He also declared that if he sees "tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated, I can't go along with that." If there are disputes over mail-in ballots, Trump said he is counting on the Supreme Court to "look at the ballots, definitely. I don't think we'll — I hope we don't need them in terms of the election itself. But for the ballots, I think so."
Biden said that if he wins "that will be accepted, if I lose that will be accepted," and encouraged people to "vote whatever way is best for you," whether it's in person or by mail. Trump, he said, is trying to raise doubts about the veracity of mail-in voting, despite the fact that he "sits behind the Resolute Desk and sends his ballot to Florida," but it's clear why the president is doing this. "He's just afraid of counting the votes," Biden stated.
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