Trump intended to stay in White House despite 2020 loss, new book alleges
Former President Donald Trump told multiple people that he had no intention of vacating the White House in the days following his 2020 presidential election loss, New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman claims in a forthcoming book, as reported by CNN.
In the soon-to-be-released book, Haberman reveals conversations between Trump and his aides and shows the trajectory of Trump's response to losing his re-election campaign. Haberman writes that Trump initially seemed to acknowledge that he had lost the election to Joe Biden and that he reportedly asked his advisors what went wrong, going as far as to comfort them by saying, "We did our best."
At some point, Trump's sentiments shifted, and he began questioning the legitimacy of the results. He told his team that he was "never leaving" the White House, apparently intending to refuse to cede the residence to Biden on Inauguration Day. Haberman reports that Trump was overheard asking Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, "Why should I leave if they stole it from me?"
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.
CNN notes that the fact that Trump refused to vacate the White House had been speculation until now. Haberman's revelation clarifies another detail of the chaos that erupted in the weeks following the 2020 presidential election. Notably, Trump's refusal to step down from his position led to the infamous storming of the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The riot, led by pro-Trump supporters, is currently being investigated by a House select committee.
Haberman's book, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, will be released on Oct. 4.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Metal-based compounds may be the future of antibioticsUnder the radar Robots can help develop them
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Does standing up to Trump help world leaders at home?Today’s Big Question Mark Carney’s approval ratings have ‘soared to new highs’ following his Davos speech but other world leaders may not benefit in the same way
