Trump's Remarks on Postponing the Presidential Election: A Cover for the Worst Economic Growth Rate?

Biden Camp Raises Possibility of Redirecting Attention from Worst Economic Growth Rate
Republican and Democratic Lawmakers Emphasize No Postponement
Obama Denounces "Powerholders Trying to Frustrate Presidential Voting"

U.S. President Donald Trump is attending a roundtable at the Red Cross near Washington DC on the 30th. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The Washington political circle was thrown into turmoil by U.S. President Donald Trump's sudden claim to postpone the presidential election. The opposition Democratic Party as well as the Republican Party rejected the idea. There is even suspicion that President Trump's remarks are a move to cover up the worst economic growth rate in history.

On the 30th (local time), President Trump's sudden remarks seemed somewhat successful in diverting public attention from the historically worst economic growth rate. He succeeded in shifting the focus to himself amid the collapse of his economic achievements to the worst situation. The U.S. economic growth rate for the second quarter, announced that day, recorded -32%, the worst level since statistics began to be compiled.

A camp official of former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, said that President Trump has no authority to change the election date and that it is a clear tactic to divert attention from the terrible gross domestic product (GDP) performance. The official said, "We will continue to closely monitor the situation."

President Trump has attracted attention to himself with sudden actions during political crises and has overcome them. A representative example is last year's second North Korea-U.S. summit. When Trump's aide Michael Cohen testified unfavorably against him in Congress, President Trump succeeded in regaining public attention by breaking off the North Korea-U.S. negotiations.

In fact, on that day, the U.S. political scene was noisy with controversy over the election postponement rather than criticism of the economic slump. Mitch McConnell, Republican Senate Majority Leader, said the November 3 election is fixed and unchangeable, and elections have been held even during past crises. Kevin McCarthy, Republican House Majority Leader, also stated, "We have never postponed an election in federal election history. It must proceed as scheduled."

Lindsey Graham, a prominent pro-Trump senator, told reporters, "I am concerned about mail-in voting becoming the only voting method, but the election..."

According to U.S. media, Senators Chuck Grassley, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz, members of the Judiciary Committee, also opposed the election postponement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing held that morning. When asked about the election postponement theory, he broke a sweat and passed the ball to the Department of Justice. He said, "We all want an election that everyone can trust," but added, "I am not going to make a legal judgment here. The Department of Justice and other officials will make legal decisions."

Among Democratic figures, former President Barack Obama attended the funeral of Congressman John Lewis held in Atlanta, Georgia, and sharply criticized President Trump's claims in his eulogy. He said, "There are those in power who are desperately trying to frustrate the people's (presidential) vote by undermining mail-in voting," directly criticizing President Trump and receiving a standing ovation from attendees.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a eulogy at the funeral of Senator John Lewis on the 30th.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Former President Obama targeted President Trump, saying, "Even as we sit here at this funeral, those in power are trying to close polling places and impose restrictive voter ID laws on minorities and students."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat, retweeted President Trump's tweet on Twitter and posted Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution, which states that the authority to decide the election date lies with Congress.

Senator Kamala Harris, one of the leading candidates for former Vice President Biden's vice-presidential running mate, tweeted, "Donald Trump is scared. He knows he will lose to Joe Biden," sharply criticizing him.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.