WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said on Friday he was confident the upcoming presidential election would be fairly conducted, but he warned that Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate could refuse to accept the outcome.

“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it will be peaceful. The things that Trump has said, and the things that he said last time out, when he didn’t like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous,” Biden said.

Biden said it was notable that Trump’s running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, would not confirm during this week’s vice presidential debate that he would accept the outcome of the vote next month.

Advises Israel against attacking Iran’s oil fields

Trump, visiting a Hurricane Helene response centre in Georgia on Friday, said he had not heard what Biden had said.

“I only can hope that it’s going to be free and fair,” he told reporters. “I think in this state it will be, and I hope in every state it will be.”

Prosecutors said this week that Trump had acted outside the scope of his duties as president when he pressured state officials and then-vice president Mike Pence to try to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

Their 165-page filing is likely the last opportunity for prosecutors to detail their case against Trump before the presidential election.

Asked by moderators during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, “Would you again seek to challenge this year’s election results, even if every governor certifies the results?” Vance responded by saying that he was “focused on the future”.

Vance then said: “Look, what Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020.”

Advice to Israel

In remarks to reporters at a White House press briefing, President Biden advised Israel to think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields, adding he thinks Tel Aviv has not yet concluded how to respond to Tehran.

“The Israelis have not concluded what they are going to do in terms of a strike. That’s under discussion,” Biden said. “If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oilfields,” the president added.

President Biden was also asked if he thought that by not engaging in diplomacy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to influence the Nov 5 US election.

“Whether he is trying to influence the election, I don’t know but I am not counting on that,” Biden said in response. “No administration has done more to help Israel than I have.”

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2024