Ted Olson, who successfully argued for then-candidate George W. Bush in the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore, said Thursday he believes the 2020 election is over and Joe Biden is the president-elect.
Olson, a partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher who went on to serve as solicitor general in the Bush administration, made the remarks during a panel on the powers of the presidency hosted by the Federalist Society, as he discussed checks against the president.
“The Framers, they separated the powers because they knew that individuals would be flawed. They put in lots of checks, and we just experienced one, the election,” Olson said. “To the extent that the citizens of this country did not like the manner in which President Trump spoke, or the manner in which he threatened people or the manner in which he executed the laws, they exercised their franchise. And we have—I do believe the election is over—we do have a new president.”
“And we do because a large number of people expressed disapproval, whether one agrees with that or not, of the manner, style and techniques of this particular president,” Olson continued. “So we do have a Constitution that works pretty well. At the end of the day, we are going to have flawed individuals holding that office, and the people ultimately have the responsibility and opportunity to make a change when they feel it’s appropriate.”