As vote totals propel Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden a certain victory, Donald Trump is refusing to accept defeat and has reportedly told those around him that he will not concede even if he loses the election, CNN reports.
The Trump campaign released a statement Friday morning making clear the president “will refuse to concede the election,” calling any projections of Biden as the winner “false” and the race “far from final.”
“This election is not over,” Trump campaign general counsel Matt Morgan said in a statement.
Trump, who spent much of the campaign claiming Biden was the worst presidential candidate in history and suggesting that losing to him would amount to abject humiliation, is facing a disappearing pathway to victory” as he continues to trail Biden in key battleground states. But he has offered little indication he was prepared to concede defeat, leading those around him to wonder who might be able to reckon with a leader who has given virtually no thought to leaving the White House.
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CNN pointed out that “Trump has been bolstered in his stance by those closest to him, including his senior advisers and his adult sons, who have mounted an aggressive effort in the courts to challenge the results and have pressured other Republicans into defending him.”
Trump has spent the days since election night hunkered down at the White House, angrily phoning allies and demanding that more people come out to defend him. He has complained that his legal team is ill-prepared to wage an effective battle in courts, one person who spoke to him told CNN.
At the same time, his legal team’s efforts have appeared somewhat slipshod. Some in the campaign questioned the Trump team’s decision to dispatch the likes of Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s sons to make unfounded allegations of voter fraud, arguing they likely diminished the President’s claims of wrongdoing and make matters worse.
