Trump is reportedly 'trying hard to recruit' supporters to his baseless August reinstatement theory


Former President Donald Trump reportedly does genuinely believe he will be reinstated as president this summer, and he's apparently "trying hard" to recruit people to spread the idea.
After The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reported this week that Trump has been telling people he "expects he will get reinstated by August," despite that not being possible after he lost the 2020 presidential election, National Review's Charles C. W. Cooke backed her reporting up.
"I can attest, from speaking to an array of different sources, that Donald Trump does indeed believe quite genuinely that he — along with former senators David Perdue and Martha McSally — will be 'reinstated' to office this summer after 'audits' of the 2020 elections in Arizona, Georgia, and a handful of other states have been completed," Cooke writes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Not only that, but Cooke also reports that Trump has been "trying hard to recruit journalists, politicians, and other influential figures to promulgate this belief — not as a fundraising tool or an infantile bit of trolling or a trial balloon, but as a fact."
Haberman previously said on CNN that Trump is "trying to get conservative writers to publish in a more mainstream way that this election was 'stolen' from him." The Washington Post also reported that Trump has told allies he believes he could return to the White House this year, though some advisers said the comments "appear to be just offhand musings." On Friday, Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, said that "as far as I know, there are no plans for Donald Trump to be in the White House in August."
Conservatives should "understand why this matters," Cooke writes. "The scale of Trump's delusion is quite startling" and represents a "rejection of reality, a rejection of law, and, ultimately, a rejection of the entire system of American government." Read more at National Review.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
5 hilariously heavenly editorial cartoons about the newly elected pope
Cartoons Artists take on the angel and the devil, music choices at the Vatican, and more
-
Celebrating 60 years of the Pennine Way
The Week Recommends This beautiful long-distance path immerses walkers in the beautiful British countryside
-
To ban or not to ban AfD? German democracy at a crossroads
Talking Point Germany's domestic intelligence agency has officially designated the country's main opposition party a right-wing extremist group
-
Trump touts ambiguous 'deals' as Middle East trip wraps up
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's whirlwind regional tour concludes with glitz, bravado and an unclear list of concrete accomplishments
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
'Haiti's crisis is a complex problem that defies solution'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans