President Trump's "full-frontal attempt to undermine the integrity of the vote" from the White House podium on Thursday night was swiftly slammed by Democrats, nonpartisan analysts, historians, and a handful of Republicans, The Associated Press reports. Trump "had spent months laying the groundwork for such a moment," and while his "diatribe was in line with his past misstatements about U.S. elections, it was still a watershed event to hear the president of the United States so thoroughly run down the conduct of an American election in real time, triggering fresh anxiety about prospects for a peaceful transition of power."
"On his darkest day, Richard Nixon would never have attacked democracy the way Donald Trump has now done," John Dean, who served as Nixon's White House counsel during Watergate, told AP. "At the potential of losing, Trump has shamed himself and soiled the American presidency. God save us when he actually loses."
Subscribe to 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.
-
7 drinks for every winter need possibleThe Week Recommends Including a variety of base spirits and a range of temperatures
-
'We have made it a crime for most refugees to want the American dream'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Was the Azerbaijan Airlines plane shot down?Today's Big Question Multiple sources claim Russian anti-aircraft missile damaged passenger jet, leading to Christmas Day crash that killed at least 38
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blastSpeed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
-
Why Assad fell so fastThe Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against RussiaSpeed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
-
Romania's election rerunThe Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
-
Russia's shadow war in EuropeTalking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
-
South Korea roiled by short-lived martial lawSpeed Read President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law was a 'clear violation of the constitution,' said the opposition parties who have moved to impeach him
-
Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensiveSpeed Read The rebels made gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war
