Refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, saying "get rid of the ballots"

Asked at a White House press briefing whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost the election, Trump declined: "Well, we're going to have to see what happens. You know that." He tied the refusal to unsubstantiated claims about mail-in ballots, saying, "We want to have -- get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very peaceful, there won't be a transfer, frankly. There'll be a continuation." The remarks drew bipartisan condemnation, including from Sen. Mitt Romney, who called any suggestion a president might not respect the constitutional guarantee "unthinkable and unacceptable." Observers characterized the statement as a sitting president conditioning acceptance of the election result on discarding lawful votes, groundwork for the post-election delegitimization arc that culminated on January 6.

"We want to have -- get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very peaceful, there won't be a transfer, frankly. There'll be a continuation." Quote verified against source