WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he is confident the upcoming presidential election will be fair, but he warned that Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate could refuse to accept the outcome.
‘I am convinced that it will be free and fair. I don’t know if it will be peaceful. The things Trump has said, and the things he said last time, when he didn’t like the outcome of the election, elections were very dangerous,” Biden said.
Biden said it was notable that Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, would not confirm he would accept the outcome of the vote in the Nov. 5 election during this week’s vice presidential debate.
Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president in a tight race that will come down to a handful of battleground states.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. prosecutors said this week that Trump acted outside the scope of his duties as president when he pressured state officials and then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Their 165-page dossier is likely the last chance for prosecutors to lay out their case against Trump before the presidential election.
Asked by moderators during Tuesday’s vice presidential debate: “Would you again try to question this year’s election results, even if every governor certifies the results?” Vance responded by saying he was “focused on the future.” Vance then said, “Look, what Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020.”
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Leslie Adler)
