In response to Byron Donalds and Ben Carson refusing to commit to accepting this November’s election results, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“After hearing Donald Trump wants an extreme, election-denying vice president, Byron Donalds and Ben Carson jumped at the opportunity, taking to the airwaves and refusing to commit to accepting this November’s results while parroting lies about the 2020 election. Donalds and Carson are shamelessly putting Trump over our democracy, and the list of MAGA minions willing to do the same keeps getting longer. The American people know the stakes of this November’s election, and are ready to once again reject Trump and whichever MAGA Republican he chooses to run on anti-democracy extremism with him.”

NEW: Byron Donalds and Ben Carson BOTH refused to commit to accepting this November’s election results last night.

Abby Phillip, CNN: “If Donald Trump loses the election in 2024, will you accept the results of that election?”

Donalds: “My answer has been very clear on this.”

Phillip: “It’s a yes or no question.”

Donalds: *refuses to commit to accepting the results*

Phillip: “So your answer is conditional on– based on?”

Donalds: “My answer is always conditional.”

Laura Coates, CNN: “Will you accept the results of the 2024 election regardless of who wins, yes or no?”

Carson: “I will accept the results if it’s done in a fair and transparent way.”

Coates: “Do you have reason to doubt that it would be done in a fair and transparent way?”

Carson: “Well let me put it this way: In the 2020 election, there were a lot of irregularities.”

Donalds voted against certifying the 2020 election that Trump lost by over 7 million votes and continues to push baseless election-denying conspiracy theories. 

Axios: “Byron Donalds wouldn’t commit to certifying election results as Trump’s VP”

“Donalds also did not clarify if he would have certified the 2020 election results.”

UPI: “Rep. Byron Donalds voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona and Pennsylvania.”

Interviewer: “Do you believe the false claims by former President Trump that the 2020 election was rigged?

Donalds: “I think what happened is that in several key counties and key states, election law was not followed. That’s clear. It’s crystal clear.”

Interviewer: “Do you see [Trump’s] rhetoric as at least connected to the events that happened on January 6, even if you don’t see them affecting trust in the democratic system overall?”

Donalds: “No, I don’t.”

Carson has endorsed Trump’s baseless falsehoods about the 2020 election and refused to say if he would have certified the results.

Carson: “Well, there was plenty of fraud. There’s no question about that. And I think everybody acknowledges that it was fraud. Well, we have people that say, ‘Yes, there was fraud, but it wasn’t enough fraud.’ You’ll notice that the courts really haven’t looked at the evidence that exists. It’s almost as if they’re afraid to look at the evidence that exists.”

People: “Ben Carson… demurred when asked whether he would have done what Pence did in a recent Fox News interview. ‘Well, first off, people should know that Mike Pence spent a lot of time laboring over that decision,’ Carson responded. ‘I talked to him the night before and he was really torn over what was the appropriate thing to do.’  Carson continued: ‘I think it would have been appropriate, perhaps, to look at all of the alternative theories seriously because there was significant controversy about what had happened in the election.’… Asked again if he believed what Pence did was ‘right or not,’ Carson said, ‘I think the right thing would have been to try to focus on having a process that is legitimate.’”

Trump has made clear he wants an extreme election denier as a running mate, and his VP contenders are quickly falling in line, parroting his baseless lies about the 2020 election and refusing to commit to accepting this November’s election results.

Interviewer: “Do you have any regrets about picking Mike Pence as your vice president? And what will you do differently this time around when you’re vetting your VP?”

Trump: “Mike did a good job until the end when he didn’t have the courage to do what you have to do. … if he did that, I believe you would have had different election results.”

NBC News: “None of these potential vice presidential picks have committed to accepting the 2024 election results, whether Trump wins or loses.” 

Washington Post: “Top Republicans, led by Trump, refuse to commit to accept 2024 election results”

“The question has become something of a litmus test, particularly among the long list of possible running mates for Trump. … The GOP’s desire to appease Trump’s fixation on 2020 now appears to loom over his search for a running mate.”

New York Times: “Will You Accept the Election Results? Republicans Dodge the Question.”

“Less than six months out from the presidential contest, leading Republicans, including several of Donald J. Trump’s potential running mates, have refused to commit to accepting the results of the election, signaling that the party may again challenge the outcome if its candidate loses.”

MSNBC: “Potential GOP running mates hedge on accepting election results”

“Trump, obviously, is refusing to commit to honoring the election results — the same posture he adopted four years ago — but so are those hoping to be his running mate.”

Axios: “Republicans are increasingly joining former President Trump on hedging or dodging when asked whether they’ll accept the results of the 2024 elections.”

New York Magazine: “Is 2024 Election Denialism a Trump VP Litmus Test?”

Axios: “Trump and his allies will want a VP pick that is more willing to comply with the former president’s wishes, which former Vice President Pence rejected by certifying the 2020 results.”

CNN: “As Trump continues to focus on his false claims over election integrity, many of his potential deputies expressed their own concerns.”

Trump is refusing to commit to accepting the results of this November’s election as he doubles down on his dangerous election denialism.

NBC News: “Trump again won’t commit to accepting the presidential election results”

CNN: “Former President Donald Trump refused to unconditionally accept the results of the upcoming 2024 presidential election. … It’s the latest comment by Trump in which he has sought to undermine confidence in the American electoral system in the event he loses in November.”

Washington Post: “Top Republicans, led by former president Donald Trump, are refusing to commit to accept November’s election results  with six months until voters head to the polls, raising concerns that the country could see a repeat of the violent aftermath of Trump’s loss four years ago. … Trump also has suggested he may not accept the results of the next election.”

Politico: “Donald Trump suggested he may not accept the results of the 2024 election in the key swing state of Wisconsin in an interview with the state’s largest newspaper, where he also falsely claimed he won the state in 2020.”

Associated Press: “[Trump] is flooding the airwaves and his social media platform with distortions, misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories about his defeat.”

NBC News: “Re-litigating the 2020 election, repeating false claims it was stolen and casting aspersions on the security of mail voting remain major fixtures for [Trump] on the stump. … He regularly refers to the 2020 election as ‘rigged’ on his social media channels.”

Associated Press: “Trump, running for the White House for the third time, has signaled that the 2020 election will remain an integral part of his 2024 presidential bid.”