Yahoo Finance Trump walks back calls for election delay
Just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of delaying the 2020 election, he told reporters he doesn't want to put it off.
Trump tweeted earlier on Thursday (July 30) suggesting that the upcoming presidential election in November be delayed over concerns about mail-in voting, but not absentee, which is also done by mail.
The idea promptly set off a firestorm from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress, the sole branch of government with the constitutional authority to make such a decision.
Later at his daily task force briefing, Trump did not repeat his call for an election delay -- but again made claims about potential voter fraud and a long wait for results because of mail-in ballots.
"Do I want to see a date change? No. I don't want to see a crooked election. This election will be the most rigged election in history if that happens."
Critics and even some of Trump's own allies dismissed his election tweets as a only an attempt to distract from devastating news about the economy.
On Thursday morning the U.S. reported its worst contraction since the Great Depression.
The country is grappling with the triple threat of the global health crisis, a crippling recession, and nationwide anti-racism protests.
But legal experts warn that Trump's repeated attacks on the electoral process could actually cast doubt among his supporters on the integrity of the election -- if it were to go forward as scheduled.
The United States has held elections for more than 200 years, including during the Civil War, the Great Depression and two world wars.
