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Biden, post-Vance remarks, says he doesn’t know if election will be peaceful

by Alex Gangitano - 10/04/24 3:51 PM ET

President Biden said Friday he thinks the upcoming 2024 election will be fair but expressed skepticism over whether it will be peaceful.

In his first briefing room appearance of his presidency, Biden was asked about his confidence there will be a free, fair and peaceful election in November.

“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it’ll be peaceful,” he said.

“The things that [former President] Trump has said, and the things he said last time out — when he didn’t like the outcome of the election — were very dangerous. If you noticed, I noticed, that the vice presidential Republican candidate did not say he’d accept the outcome of the election. He hasn’t even accepted the outcome of the last election,” he added. “So, I’m concerned about what they’re going to do.”

Biden was referring to Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) answer about the 2020 election during the vice presidential debate earlier this week. Vice President Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), questioned Vance if Trump lost the 2020 election.

Vance replied, “Tim, I am focused on the future.”

“That’s a damning nonanswer,” Walz said in response.

The Harris campaign has since dropped an ad to hit Vance over the memorable campaign moment.

Trump was asked on Friday about Biden’s comments and expressed optimism about a free and fair election.

“I don’t know anything about what he said. I only can hope it’s going to be free and fair. I think in this state it will be, and I hope in every state it will be,” he said. “And I think we’re going to do very well.”

Biden in August similarly said he was “not confident at all” that there would be a peaceful transition of power if Trump loses the election in November.

“He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it. All this stuff about ‘if we lose, it’ll be a bloodbath,’” Biden said at the time, referencing comments Trump made in March that he and his allies insisted were about the economy.

Updated at 4:13 p.m. EDT