Romney: ‘Unthinkable and unacceptable’ to not commit to peaceful transition of power

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) pushed back on Wednesday against President Trump, who refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election in November.

“Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable,” Romney tweeted.

Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.

— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) September 24, 2020

Romney did not mention Trump by name in his tweet, but it came hours after Trump told reporters at the White House, when asked if he would commit to ensuring a peaceful transition of power if he loses in November, that he would have to “see what happens” and tried once again to sow doubt about the security of mail-in ballots. 

“Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation,” Trump said. “The ballots are out of control. You know it, and you know who knows it better than anyone else? The Democrats know it better than anyone else.”

Romney, who is one of the GOP senators most willing to publicly criticize Trump, is the first Republican lawmaker to weigh in on the president’s comments made from the White House on Wednesday. 

Trump has declined to commit to accepting the results of the presidential election, saying he will “have to see.”

He also has argued that an increase in mail-in voting will lead to fraud in the election. Experts say there is no evidence of meaningful fraud tied to voting by mail.