Biden: U.S. won't 'stand for' Trump refusing exit

BIDEN: "If in fact we win this election, this president will step down."

After a chaotic first presidential debate where President Donald Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Wednesday said American voters "will not stand for it" if Trump loses the election and refuses to leave office.

BIDEN: "The American people will not stand for it. No agency will stand for that happening."

At a debate with Biden on Tuesday night, moderated by Fox's Chris Wallace, Trump would not commit to accepting the election result, reasserting unfounded complaints that an increase in mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic would lead to widespread voting fraud.

TRUMP: "I hope it's going to be a fair election. If it's a fair election I am 100% on board. But if I see tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated, I can't go along with that."

The president has now said several times that he would not necessarily accept the election result, raising the tension ahead of the November vote.

Biden urged Americans to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

BIDEN: "The American people will decide who the next president of the United States will be, period."

Biden has held a modest but steady lead in national voter surveys for months although opinion polls in the battleground states that traditionally decide elections show a closer contest.

Biden set off on Wednesday on a train for a campaign tour through western Ohio and eastern Pennsylvania, both "Rust Belt" battleground states. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll of Pennsylvania gave Biden a slight advantage there.

Trump went to Minnesota, one of the few states his campaign is targeting that voted Democratic in 2016.