'Wrong Charlie!' President Trump Fires Back At Baker After Mass. Governor's Criticism
BOSTON (CBS) – President Donald Trump took a shot a Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker on Twitter Friday morning, a day after Baker ripped the president for not committing to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose November's election.
"RINO Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts is unsuccessfully trying to defend Mail In Ballots, when there is fraud being found all over the place. Just look at some of the recent races, or the Trump Ballots in Pennsylvania that were thrown into the garbage. Wrong Charlie!," Trump tweeted, calling Baker a "Republican in name only."
Twitter later flagged the tweet with a link saying "Learn how voting by mail is safe and secure." The president has claimed repeatedly without evidence that there's fraud tied to mail in ballots.
Back on Wednesday, Trump said "we're going to have to see what happens" when asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition in case he loses. He added that he doesn't believe he will lose.
When asked about Trump's comments on a transition Thursday, Baker gave a fired-up response.
"Mail in ballots have been with us forever," the governor said.
"It is appalling and outrageous that anyone suggest for a minute, that if they lose an election they're not going to leave," Baker said, raising his voice. "That peaceful transfer of power is what the people in this country rely on when they go to vote."
Baker said following the will of the people is "fundamentally why there is a United States of America in the first place."
"How many times in an election have we heard the words, 'the people have spoken?'" Baker said. "A huge part of this nation's glory - to the extent it exists as a beacon to others - is the peaceful transfer of power, based on the vote of the people of this country."
Baker spokeswoman Lizzy Guyton responded to Trump's tweet Friday, saying, "The Baker-Polito Administration has complete confidence in Massachusetts' mail in voting system that worked as designed in the recent primary elections, and the Governor stands by his statements."