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Trump asked aides if he could pursue a wild plan to replace the Electoral College with loyalists who would ignore the vote, report says

Tom Porter
Nov 13, 2020, 6:35 AM

President Donald Trump has been asking aides about a plan to remain in office by subverting the Electoral College, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Under the scenario, GOP-controlled state legislatures would ignore the popular vote in swing states, appointing Trump loyalists to the Electoral College to secure the president a second term.

Business Insider reported earlier Thursday that the plan was gaining currency among some Trump supporters — despite how unlikely it is to work.

Experts say that the scenario, though technically possible, faces enormous legal and political obstacles. 

The sources who spoke to the Times stressed that though Trump asked about the plan, he did not seem to entertain it seriously. 

President Donald Trump asked top aides about a wild plan involving replacing electors in swing states with loyalists to secure himself a second term, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The Times report came hours after Business Insider noted that the plan was gaining currency among Trump allies.

The plan exploits an obscure loophole in US democracy, and hinges on state legislatures deciding to ignore the results in their state and instead send a new group of electors to the Electoral College who would cast their votes for Trump.

Such a scenario, while technically possible, has been widely dismissed by experts as unworkable in practice and an affront to US democracy. Business Insider’s post yesterday noted some of the problems with making it work.

The Times, citing sources familiar with Trump’s activities, reported Thursday that the president pressed his advisors about the scenario at a meeting on Wednesday. 

The report notes though that according to the sources “it was not a detailed conversation, or really a serious one” and did not reflect any “obsessive desire” of Trump to remain in office. 

Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Documents reveal Trump is building his own ‘deep state’ by leaving political appointees behind in government for the Biden administration

Since Biden’s victory was projected by Business Insider on the morning of Friday 6 November, and other major news organisations on Saturday, Trump has made no public statements.

Instead he spent time playing golf, watching cable news, and tweeting accusations of electoral fraud, many of which have been labelled misleading by the social media platform. 

According to reports, top advisors have admitted privately that Trump’s chances of winning a series of lawsuits challenging vote counts in swing states have little realistic prospect of success. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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