Donald Trump, who does not accept defeat, is determined to continue his fight
Donald Trump never admits his defeats. Now that Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won the presidential election, the president will have to make a choice: to concede victory to his opponent for the good of the nation, or not to, and be kicked out of the White House regardless. .
After four endless days of counting the votes that ended in Joe Biden's projected victory, Mr. Trump was still clamoring that the race was not over. He made numerous unsubstantiated allegations that the election was not fair and that "illegal" votes were counted. He also vowed he would bring a slew of lawsuits, while continuing to post on Twitter to say he had "WON THE ELECTION, BY MANY."
While some members of his bodyguard tried to convince him to concede victory to his opponent, several of his Republican allies - including some elected from Congress - encouraged him to maintain his speech, or gave him time to accept his defeat - at least for now.
“Trump didn’t lose,” said South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who was on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Future. “Don't concede victory, Mr. President. Fight, ”he added, refusing to accept the truth.
According to people close to the president, Mr. Trump has no plans to formally concede victory to Mr. Biden, but he would still have to leave the White House on his own at the end of his term. His numerous efforts to portray the election as unfair are seen as an attempt to ease his ego. He would also seek to show his loyal base that he is fighting, which could energize his supporters to keep fighting as well.
"He intends to fight," said President financial adviser Larry Kudlow, as defeat seemed increasingly inevitable.
Will Mr. Trump ever concede victory? "I doubt it," replied his longtime advisor and friend Roger Stone, on whom Mr. Trump posted bail to get him out of jail in July. Mr Stone assured Mr Biden will always have "a cloud over his presidency that reminds him that half of the locals believe his election was illegitimate."
Media Empire
Some of Mr. Trump's supporters believe that if he wants to build his own media empire, it is in his best interest to prolong the suspense. The same is true if he intends to run for the Republican nomination for the next presidential election in 2024 - then he would be a year older than Joe Biden today.
Several people from his close entourage, such as his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, continue to support him in his efforts. The former New York mayor has promised to provide the president with evidence of electoral fraud, but he has found very little so far.
Mr. Trump's sons Donald and Eric also called on their father to continue his fight, while asking Republicans to join the fight, just as elected officials like Senator Graham did.
“What I would say to the president is not to give up. My advice is he shouldn't concede the victory, said Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona in a podcast interview. Let's go all the way. It's important not to let go. "
Some people close to Mr. Trump are watching with nervousness the reactions of other Republican elected officials. But for now, most of them seem to give the president more time to react.
“I can't wait for the president to respond; he has to deal with this file, ”said Republican Senator from Missouri Roy Blunt. That said, the senator added that it was time for the president "to talk to his lawyers, to let his lawyers present their case to the courts and to the American people, and we will have to live with the facts they present. It has to happen, and then we'll move on. ”
“At this point, we don't know who actually won the election,” said Texas Senator Ted Cruz. He told Fox News that Mr. Trump "always has a chance to win."
A non-existent unanimity
Other of his political allies and White House staff, however, have called on the president to change his rhetoric and commit to working for a smooth transition of power. They stressed to him that history will be a harsh judge for any action he takes that could harm his successor. They also advised him to give a speech in which he would pledge to support the transition of power in the coming week.
Mr. Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner said he was among those who suggested the president accept the results - even though Mr. Trump still has doubts about the electoral process that led to his defeat.
On Fox News, where news heads have repeatedly supported the president, Laura Ingraham recalled that the president maintained that the election was unfair, but recommended that he step down without making waves. to maintain his reputation and that of the Republican Party.
"President Trump's legacy will be more recognized if he puts the country's interests first," she said Thursday.
This report is based on interviews with a dozen of Trump's advisers and supporters, many of whom agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.
This questioning of the peaceful transition of power shows that the defeated president continues to defy established norms. In fact, he never admitted that in 2016, even though he won the election, he got fewer votes than his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Several advisers have indicated that the president is likely to take the weekend to define his plan, which is sure to involve many legal challenges. Some of them believe, however, that the real goal of this legal battle would be to project an image of a fighter who will not give up, rather than to seek to produce results.
There were indications that Mr. Trump could take a less tumultuous path in the future, even if he continued to complain to those close to him, recalling the investigation into Russian interference that began during of President Barack Obama's tenure.
On Sunday, the White House clarified that the president "will accept the results of a free and fair election" and that the administration "meets all its legal obligations."
Fears
Several still feared that the president's remarks would ignite the powder and ignite the tensions already high between Republican and Democratic supporters during the electoral campaign. Some minor events occurred near the vote counting offices in Philadelphia and Phoenix.
Pro-Trump supporters - who sometimes carried their firearms with them - gathered outside counting offices in several cities across the United States.
Mr. Trump’s campaign team and the Republican National Congress have bombarded their supporters with requests to raise funds. According to people familiar with the matter, tens of millions of dollars have been raised since Tuesday. Some of the money should be used to pay off debt incurred during the campaign, but the rest could be used to mount a public campaign to question the validity of the vote result.
