Trudeau refuses to wade into U.S. election political minefield

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday once again refused to comment on the U.S. election process as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden inched closer to the White House while U.S. President Donald Trump falsely claimed the Democrats were “trying to steal” the election from him.

At a press conference in Ottawa, Trudeau was asked to comment on a preliminary report by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observation mission, which found that while the Nov. 3 general elections were “competitive and well managed,” they were “tarnished” by legal uncertainty and Trump’s “unprecedented attempts to undermine public trust.”

“I’m not going to comment on a preliminary report, I’m also not going to comment on an electoral process that is unfolding in the United States as we speak,” Trudeau told reporters. “My focus is on ensuring that we are there to protect Canadian interests, to stand up for Canadian values, we will continue to do that.”

The preliminary report by the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the organisation’s parliamentary assembly found that “baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions.”

‘We will continue to have confidence in the American institutions’

In subsequent comments in French, Trudeau said he has confidence that the electoral process in the U.S. is unfolding as it should.

“Obviously, we are watching – as everyone is – the processes in the United States unfold as their electoral process is underway,” Trudeau said.

“We will continue to have confidence in the American institutions that have managed their electoral processes over many decades, indeed centuries, but we will continue to be alert so we can ensure we’re protecting Canadian interests and Canadian values in regards to our closest trading partner and nearest neighbour.”

Trudeau also dodged a question about what the government of Canada needs to see before it congratulates the winning candidate.

“I think it is extremely important in electoral processes around the world that they’d be able to unfold in an appropriate way without foreign interventions or interference with the elections,” Trudeau said.

“We also think about the concern about hostile actors interfering or intervening in electoral processes but even friends can have an influence on public discourse around internal processes that are key to defending democratic institutions and that’s why we’re going to remain very cautious about making any pronouncements in regards to the electoral processes in the United States until the outcome is sufficiently clear.”

Trudeau’s comments came as Biden opened up narrow leads over Trump in the critical battlegrounds of Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Those put Biden in a stronger position to capture the 270 Electoral College votes needed to take the White House. The winner will lead a country facing a historic set of challenges, including a surging pandemic and deep political polarization.

The focus on Pennsylvania, where Biden led Trump by more than 9,000 votes, and Georgia, where Biden led by more than 1,500, came as Americans entered a third full day after the election without knowing who will lead them for the next four years. The prolonged process added to the anxiety of a nation whose racial and cultural divides were inflamed during the heated campaign.

Biden was at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, as the vote count continued and aides said he would address the nation in primetime. Trump remained in the White House residence as more results trickled in, expanding Biden’s lead in must-win Pennsylvania. In the West Wing, televisions remained tuned to the news amid trappings of normalcy, as reporters lined up for coronavirus tests and outdoor crews worked on the North Lawn on a mild, muggy fall day.

Trump’s campaign, meanwhile, was quiet — a dramatic difference from the day before, when it held a morning conference call projecting confidence and held a flurry of hastily arranged press conferences announcing litigation in key states.

With his pathway to reelection appearing to greatly narrow, Trump was testing how far he could go in using the trappings of presidential power to undermine confidence in the vote.

On Thursday, he advanced unsupported accusations of voter fraud to falsely argue that his rival was trying to seize power in an extraordinary effort by a sitting American president to sow doubt about the democratic process.

“This is a case when they are trying to steal an election, they are trying to rig an election,” Trump said from the podium of the White House briefing room.

With files from The Associated Press