Rep. Adam Schiff said former President Donald Trump would “absolutely” refuse to leave the Oval Office after his second term if he gets reelected.
The California Democrat said on MSNBC Tuesday that former Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican, is “absolutely right” with her take that Mr. Trump would never leave office on his own volition.
“And if anybody has any doubt about that, they should look at what he tried to do in the last presidential election that he lost. But they should listen to what Donald Trump has to say today,” he said. “He is making it clear again that when he loses, he will contest it. He will argue that it’s rigged and fraudulent. And he will terminate the Constitution if he’s allowed to.”
Mr. Schiff mentioned how the former president has said he plans to use the “military domestically” and tried to do that during his tenure.
“We need to take his threats seriously because we have seen him act on them. And this is who he is,” the congressman said. “I think part of what we’re seeing also is his team told him that he is frightening people with all of these anti-democratic talk and plans. And he is never one to back down in any way, so his response is, ‘I’m simply going to accuse them of what I’m doing.’”
He likened Mr. Trump’s actions to those of “autocrats the world over for a long time,” he said. “And that is accuse your opponents of what you do. You know, Donald Trump’s argument is really not that he is not corrupt or that he’s not a liar. Rather, his argument is, ‘Everyone is corrupt, everyone are liars, but I am your crook. I am your liar. You should be with me.’”
The Washington Times reached out to the Trump campaign for reaction.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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