Stephanopoulos delivers ominous opening before Tuesday showdown: 'No election since the Civil War...'
ABC host George Stephanopoulos offered an ominous preview of Tuesday's general election at the outset of "This Week" on Sunday.
Several pundits have shared their concerns about the state of democracy in the weeks leading up to the showdown between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, with some worrying that there won't be a peaceful transfer of power. Stephanopoulos went so far as to say that the stakes haven't been this high "since the Civil War."
"Good morning, and welcome to 'This Week,'" Stephanopoulos said. "It is almost over. What comes next is anyone’s guess. What we do know is this: No election since the Civil War has posed such a test of our constitutional system. Whether to accept election results and the peaceful transfer of power has never been on the ballot like this. The stakes in this election are as high as it gets. The differences between the candidates are as stark as it gets, and as we emerge from the final weekend, the polls suggest that this election is as close as it gets."
Stephanopoulos also commented on the "abnormality" of the 2024 election back in April, before President Biden dropped out of the race to make way for Harris, citing Trump's legal troubles.
"Until now, no American president had ever faced a criminal trial," he said. "No American president had ever faced a criminal indictment for retaining and concealing classified documents. No American president had ever faced a federal indictment or a state indictment for trying to overturn an election, or been named an unindicted co-conspirator in two other states for the same crime. No American president has faced hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for business fraud, defamation, and sexual abuse."
Stephanopoulos added the "scale of the abnormality is so staggering."
ABC HOST ISSUES WARNING ON ‘MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF OUR TIME’: ‘NO MORE CRYING WOLF’
Other political analysts have delivered similar warnings about Tuesday's showdown. ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, for instance, said this election "really is" the most important election of our time.
"For as long as I’ve covered politics, politicians have said this will be the most important election of our lifetimes," Karl said in May. "They said that no matter how high or low the stakes actually were. Election Day 2024 is exactly six months from today, and this time the divisions in our country are so vast and the choice so stark, there’s little doubt this really is the most important election of our time. No more crying wolf. This is it."
KAMALA APPEARS ON ‘SNL’ IN FINAL EPISODE BEFORE ELECTION
Trump and Harris are neck-and-neck in key battleground states just days away from the vote as the candidates make their final push. Trump held rallies in Wisconsin, Virginia and North Carolina this weekend, while Harris made a surprise, last-minute appearance on "Saturday Night Live."
Her cameo is currently under scrutiny after being blasted by FCC commissioner Brendan Carr for alleged rule violations.
Carr said Harris' appearance on SNL may have broken the equal-time rule if NBC did not also send an invitation to former President Trump.
Trump campaign Senior Advisor Jason Miller told Fox News Digital that Trump did not receive an invitation. An NBC News report also stated that a spokesperson for SNL "did not return a request for comment on whether it invited Trump to appear."
Fox News Digital's Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.