One former White House staffer has revealed President Donald Trump's refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power is actually a previous concern now coming to fruition.
Olivia Troye — former aide for Vice President Mike Pence who also served as a member of the coronavirus task force as an advisor on counterterrorism and homeland security — shared details about concerns surrounding the possibility of Trump refusing to leave office at the end of his presidential term.
During an interview with CNN on Friday evening, Troye weighed in on Trump's words that sparked a media firestorm this week as she recalled conversations she had behind closed doors with other White House staffers.
"It's frightening to me, because to be honest, during my tenure at the White House, I've had conversations behind closed doors with White House staffers and other government officials, including people in the intelligence community, where we've actually discussed what if, what if he loses and refuses to leave, or better yet, what if his plan is four more years of Donald Trump should he win, and would he leave after that?" she said on CNN.
For months now, Trump has been building his arguments against mail-in voting and setting the tone to dispute if he loses to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
The president has repeatedly told his supporters the only way he can lose is if the election is rigged. By disregarding the real possibility that he could legitimately lose the election, Trump is setting the stage to contest the election regardless of how he loses.
Troye's latest remarks come just days after Trump sparked a media firestorm with his take on the upcoming election.
When asked if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, Trump said, "We're going to have to see what happens, you know, but I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots. The ballots are a disaster," Trump told reporters at a White House briefing Wednesday.
He also insinuated that he would be guaranteed to win if you "get rid of" the mail-in ballots. "Get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very peaceful — there won't be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation," Trump said, adding, "The ballots are out of control. You know it, and you know who knows it better than anyone else? The Democrats know it better than anyone else."
Despite Trump's war on mail-in voting, he is voting by mail and he's also encouraged his supporters in Florida and Michigan to also vote by mail which suggests voting by mail is perfectly fine as long as voters are casting ballots for him.