By Joseph Ax
(Reuters) – Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump of trying to “put his knee on the neck of democracy” by undermining mail-in ballots and sowing doubts, without evidence, about the legitimacy of the Nov. 3 election.
“He seems to have no compunctions at all about trying to rip apart the social fabric and the political equilibrium of the American people, and he’s strategically planting doubts in advance,” Gore, a Democrat, said in a virtual conversation with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler and Reuters Editor-at-Large Harold Evans.
Gore, who served as vice president from 1993 to 2001 during Bill Clinton’s presidency and lost the 2000 presidential election to Republican George W. Bush, called Trump’s actions a “despicable strategy.”
Trump has made unsubstantiated claims that voting by mail, a regular feature of U.S. elections that is expected to increase this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, will cause widespread fraud, while refusing to say he would accept the election result should he lose to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
Gore said he believes the rule of law and U.S. democratic institutions would hold fast, even if Trump does not accept the results. Trump is seeking a second four-year term in office.
“It’s not really up to him,” Gore said, noting that Trump’s term would end on Jan. 20, 2021, if he loses, under parameters set by the U.S. Constitution.
Whether or not Trump concedes, Gore said, the U.S. Secret Service and other military and security forces would answer to the new president as of that date.
Trump’s attacks on mail-in ballots, coupled with cuts to the Postal Service that already have caused delivery delays, have raised concerns among critics of the president that some Americans may not have confidence in the integrity of the election.
Gore said voters will need to prepare for the possibility that vote tallies will not be known right away, and that the candidate who appears to be winning in initial results may end up losing once all the ballots are counted.
Gore’s own 2000 presidential bid did not end until a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court more than a month after Election Day regarding disputed ballots cast in Florida resolved the contest in favor of Bush.
Gore echoed other Democrats who have suggested Trump is deliberately pushing postal cutbacks to undermine voting by mail.
“He’s attempting to put his knee on the neck of democracy,” Gore said.
(Reporting by Will Dunham)
