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Nancy Pelosi says "of course" she would accept election results if Trump wins

23 August 2020
Dan Ackermann

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that "of course" Democrats would accept the results of the 2020 election if President Trump defeats Joe Biden.

Why it matters: Trump has refused to say whether he would accept the results of the election if he loses — especially with the rise of mail-in voting, which he has baselessly claimed will lead to a "rigged" election. His rhetoric has prompted concerns that there will not be a peaceful transition of power.

  • At the Democratic National Convention last week, Hillary Clinton called for voters to turn out for Joe Biden in "overwhelming" numbers so that Trump can't "sneak or steal his way to victory."
  • Former President Barack Obama warned Americans in his address not to let Trump "take away your democracy," and said that the president has threatened democratic institutions "like never before."

What she's saying: Pelosi accused Trump and Republicans of "undermining the integrity of our election" by straining the U.S. Postal Service and ignoring Russian interference.

  • "But that doesn't mean that we will not shout out against his initiatives, whether it's to tie up the Postal Service so that we will not have the opportunity for people to vote by mail, not having to choose between their health and their vote," she added.
  • "It isn't a question of accepting the result. The question is making sure the public knows that they must vote, they must have a plan to vote, they must vote early because their playbook is one that has all kinds of obstacles to participation in our country."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.