Barr says rumors Trump would refuse to leave office if he loses election are 'crap'

Attorney General William Barr went after Democrats this week on a range of issues, including rumors that President Trump would attempt to stay in office if he loses the general election in November.

“You know liberals project,” an uncharacteristically salty Barr told the Chicago Tribune's John Kass on Monday. “You know the president is going to stay in office and seize power and all that s---? I’ve never heard of that crap. I mean, I’m the attorney general. I would think I would have heard about it.”

Though the focus of the interview was crime and corruption in U.S. cities, particularly in Chicago, Barr also used the opportunity to address several issues that have dominated the news cycle leading up to the presidential election.

“There undoubtedly are many people in the government who surreptitiously work to thwart the administration,” the attorney general said in the interview.

Barr also said the U.S. was nearing a “ruled by the mob” approach to governance.

“Increasingly, the message of the Democrats appears to be ‘Biden or no peace’,” he said.

Barr said he agreed the upcoming election would be the “most significant election of a lifetime” -- a position taken by both Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“As an attorney general, I’m not supposed to get into politics,” Barr told Kass. “But…I think we are getting into a position where we’re going to find ourselves irrevocably committed to a socialist path. And I think if Trump loses this election -- that will be the case.”

The conversation diverted to voting rights and the safety of mail-in voting, with the attorney general suggesting that postal workers will be able to be paid off in order to buy the blank ballots that are routinely distributed for presidential elections.