That is probably his reasoning; but if the election is in doubt, he ceases to be President at noon, January 20, 2021 and Pence ceases to be Vice President. Nancy Pelosi would take over as acting President until the mess got sorted out. He might not enjoy what happens if he resists. I've been watching Pelosi for years. She can be nice, very nice, but she can also be tough, very tough. She was talking about fumigating the White House if need be. I was wondering if she meant she'd use pepper spray if necessary.
July 20, 2020
Pelosi says Trump will be 'fumigated out' if he refuses to leave after White House loss
The top U.S. Democrat said on Monday that Donald Trump might not like the outcome of the Nov. 3 presidential election but reminded the Republican president that he will have to vacate the White House if he loses.
“There is a process. It has nothing to do with if the certain occupant of the White House doesn’t feel like moving and has to be fumigated out of there because the presidency is the presidency,” House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC.
The military would back her up if need be. They would not obey any orders given by Trump that are unlawful and certainly no orders after noon, January 20, 2021 if the results of the Electoral College were still in question. They won't be in question. Trump may like to talk about voter fraud in California and so on, but the truth is he's going to lose California anyway. It wouldn't matter a bit if they added millions of votes for Biden. California's result won't be in question. He lost by 30% in 2016 -- what's it matter if it's 20% or 40% this year. He'd still get zero electoral votes.
My own tally is close to what I find on other sites: Biden 353, Trump 185. There are some states where Biden's lead isn't that big. If Trump could swing things 5% to his side away from Biden, he could pick up 65 votes. Biden would still win 288 - 250.
Trump's problem may be holding onto the states where he now has a slim lead: Alaska, Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas. If things shift 5% towards Biden in those states, Biden could pick up another 72 giving the result Biden 425, Trump 113. It's safe to predict some of the results from those five states may be in question for some time; but it won't matter since Biden would win even if Trump kept them all in his camp.
Republicans are fed up with Trump. The writing is on the wall, and Republicans know it. They expect Trump to lose, that's almost a given. So Republican leaders are more interested in how things go in Congress. McConnell is worried Democrats may take control over the Senate. So when we see McConnell contradicting the President, it tells us he thinks it a good idea not to be too chummy with Trump.
Republicans also aren't going to give Trump things he want included in the next stimulus package. They can already be accused of wasteful spending, and Trump wants more wasteful spending at a time of record debt and deficits. He wants
$377 million to remodel the West Wing of the White House. What's that have to do with coronavirus? He also wants (make sure you're sitting down when you read this) $1.75 billion to build a new FBI building -- across the street from the Trump Hotel.
Senate GOP coronavirus relief package includes $1.75 billion for new FBI headquarters near Trump hotel
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on Monday that the project is in the bill "so that the president -- nobody could build a hotel across the street."
. . . .
"That makes no sense to me," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsay Graham, R-S.C.
"I just don't get it," said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
"Even if the White House wanted it, I'd be against it because it's certainly not necessary," Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said Tuesday.
"I am opposed to non-germane amendments," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Tuesday after the Senate GOP weekly luncheon. "When we get to the end of the process I would hope that all of the non-COVID measures are out, no matter what bills they were in at the start."
McConnell was unaware on Monday that the provision made its way into the Senate GOP bill and told reporters to ask the Trump administration about it.
Several are facing close elections and are afraid Trump is going to hurt their chances. Can you imagine what Democrats would say about anyone who voted to include spending in the virus bill to remodel the White House and to build a new FBI building? They would say something like, "They voted to remodel the White House while refusing to give people the help they needed to . . . .." (fill in the blanks). Some Republicans secretly despise Trump too, so they love it when he proposes crazy stuff because then they can oppose him without losing too many votes from Trump supporters.