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In a “60-minute” interview scheduled for Sunday, former President Barack Obama said Republicans who support President Trump’s allegations of fraud and his refusal to concede the election are on “a dangerous path” as the pressure is mounting on him to recognize Joe Biden as president-elect.
Obama was asked by correspondent Scott Pelley about the effect of Trump’s claims about widespread electoral fraud in the country. No significant evidence has been presented to support these claims, and some of them have been mine by Trump’s own lawyers in court.
Obama said the allegations were the result of Trump “disliking to lose,” but the former president said Trump’s actions are not the most concerning part of the fraud allegations.
“I’m more troubled that other Republican officials who clearly know better are okay with this, pleasing him in that way,” Obama said. “This is one more step in the de-legitimization not only of the new Biden administration, but of democracy in general. And it is a dangerous path.”
OBAMA SAYS ‘THE JURY IS ALWAYS OUT’ ON THE POSSIBILITY OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY TO WORK IN PRESIDENTIAL MEMORY
The interview comes as Biden’s transition is in a kind of limbo, as she sets up agency review teams and appoints officials such as Chief of Staff Ron Klain, but still has not been officially recognized as the winner by the General Services Administration (GSA).
The GSA audit would unlock public funds for the transition and allow Biden’s transition organization to use government offices and obtain intelligence reports, among other things. According to reports, the White House and those appointed by Trump have told career officials that they will not be working with Biden’s transition team until the GSA verification is formally completed.
The GSA said it was following precedent by not determining the winner of the election, as it did not do in 2000 until the legal saga between former President George W. Bush and his Democratic opponent Al Gore.
But a delayed transition in 2000 was accused of putting the United States more at risk in the run-up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the 9/11 Commission report, because it hampered Bush’s ability to appoint national security personnel.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the White House, Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Washington. Trump still has not conceded the presidential election and has made unsubstantiated allegations of widespread fraud. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
Others also say the GSA should quickly certify that Biden is the president-elect, as it is increasingly clear that Trump’s court challenges and recounts do not reveal suspected fraud on the scale it would take to shut down tracks Biden owns in multiple states.
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In recent days, several Republican senators have also called on Biden to begin receiving the Presidential Daily Brief, the highly confidential intelligence and national security report intended to keep the president up to date on key issues affecting the nation’s defense.
Obama’s interview also comes as the former president promotes his upcoming memoir. In an excerpt published Thursday by The Atlantic, Obama wrote that “the jury is still out on” whether the United States can live up to its founding ideals.
“I am encouraged by the record number of Americans who made it to the election last week who have unwavering confidence in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, in their character and their ability to do the right thing,” continued Obama. “But I also know that no election will settle the matter.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Thomas Barrabi contributed to this report.
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