‘He won’. Delayed and throwaway words that have come more than two weeks after the US election result, more than a week after the result was officially declared, but significant words nonetheless. Donald Trump has finally indicated that he lost the 2020 election.
Speaking on Twitter, Donald Trump’s latest barrage of tweets contained the statement: “He [Biden] only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA”, before going on to suggest that whilst he accepts he lost, he does not want to leave; “I concede nothing”.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1327979630477922304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November
A small win for many – he is still maintaining claims of illegitimacy of the Biden victory – but Donald Trump has finally acknowledged that he did, in fact, lose the election. It may be with great difficulty that he is physically removed from the White House in January, but the path to a peaceful transition of power finally seems a little clearer.
With almost all the votes now counted, Joe Biden not only smashed through the 70 million vote barrier – being the first to do so in history, before Donald Trump also surpassed that total – but was fast closing in on 80 million. There are not enough votes left to be counted for him to tip over that milestone, but Joe Biden has secured the most votes of any presidential candidate in history and an Electoral College total identical to the one Trump received in 2016.
Back in 2016, Trump called that a ‘historic result’ and a ‘landslide’; this time he calls it illegitimate. His Twitter tirade this afternoon also claimed (in full caps) that it was a “RIGGED ELECTION” and that “WE WILL WIN”.
Unsurprisingly, Twitter has been quick to label all of his tweets as misleading, with the tag: “This claim about election fraud is disputed”. It would, however, be more accurate to state that the Tweet was one only believed by the president himself and a small section of his base.
Trump has also spent the last few hours retweeting baseless conspiracy theories and claims about voter fraud in the United States; this comes against a backdrop of his litigation being thrown out in several courts.
He also tweeted that Rudy Giuliani, his personal attorney – and in recent weeks, conspiracy theorist in chief – would soon be taking to national television, likely to outline once again why the president and his team believe that the election was rigged, despite the absence of any evidence.
Reports in recent weeks have claimed that the president has been depressed and worried about what might happen to him once he leaves office. There have been reports of potential lawsuits and that the president is unable to repay many of his substantial debts. The reports have suggested that his reluctance to leave the White House is entirely motivated by a fear of bankruptcy, prosecution and humiliation.
There have been further suggestions that Donald Trump had privately accepted the result, with many White House staff allegedly leaking his intention to run again in 2024. As United States presidents can only serve a maximum of two terms, there must be a clear acceptance that he was defeated fairly by now president-elect Biden.
Donald Trump may still protest that the election was illegitimate, but it seems as though he is finally accepting that he lost.
