--- title: Trump Says He Will 'Have to See' About Accepting Election description: Donald Trump didn't clearly answer whether he would accept the 2020 presidential election results, saying, "I'm not just going to say yes." canonical: https://time.com/5868739/trump-election-results-chris-wallace/ author: Sanya Mansoor article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-07-19T17:12:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T09:01:06.463Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'I Have to See.' President Trump Refuses to Say If He Will Accept the 2020 Election Results og:description: Trump had offered a similar refusal during the 2016 election og:url: https://time.com/5868739/trump-election-results-chris-wallace/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce7f2f462f31f75d/698a1071929fad6501bf65c2/trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'I Have to See.' President Trump Refuses to Say If He Will Accept the 2020 Election Results twitter:description: Trump had offered a similar refusal during the 2016 election twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce7f2f462f31f75d/698a1071929fad6501bf65c2/trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Have to See.' President Trump Refuses to Say If He Will Accept the 2020 Election Results > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Sanya Mansoor](https://time.com/author/sanya-mansoor/)  ## Sanya Mansoor Jul 19, 2020 5:12 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on July 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on July 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images  by [Sanya Mansoor](https://time.com/author/sanya-mansoor/)  ## Sanya Mansoor Jul 19, 2020 5:12 PM UTC President Donald Trump refused to give a clear answer on whether he would accept this year’s presidential election results in an [exclusive wide-ranging interview with Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-pushes-back-against-critics-on-coronavirus-addresses-whether-he-will-accept-election-results-in-exclusive-interview), which aired Sunday. _Fox News Sunday_ host Chris Wallace pressed Trump to “give a direct answer” on whether he would accept the Nov. 3 election results or not. “I have to see. Look, you — I have to see. No, I’m not going to just say ‘yes.’ I’m not going to say no and I didn’t last time either,” Trump said. > [](https://twitter.com/TPM/status/1284872966594015233) The exchange came shortly after Wallace asked whether Trump was “a good loser” or gracious. Trump said that he wasn’t a good loser and that he thinks “mail-in voting is going to rig the election.” This led Wallace to ask whether Trump may not accept the results of the election. Wallace referenced that he had asked Trump a similar question during a 2016 presidential debate in which Trump had faced off against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Wallace had asked then whether Trump was prepared to concede to the winner, if he didn’t win. “I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense,” Trump had said in 2016. Election experts say Trump’s critiques of mail-in voting as a pathway to voter fraud are [largely unsubstantiated](https://time.com/5843978/donald-trump-vote-by-mail/). Instead, they say mail-in voting is expected to improve voter turnout on the whole and there is little evidence that it will have a partisan effect by benefitting one party over the other. Democrats are rallying behind increased access to voting, including mail-in voting, as the coronavirus pandemic has led some citizens to risk their health in order to vote in-person. Some Republicans have voiced support for mail-in voting as well. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5868739/trump-election-results-chris-wallace/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5868739/trump-election-results-chris-wallace/"},"headline":"'I Have to See.' 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