Giuliani reportedly drunkenly pushed Trump to 'just say we won' on election night


Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani reportedly "infuriated" former President Donald Trump's advisers by urging him to simply declare he won on election night 2020 "based on nothing."
An excerpt from the book I Alone Can Fix It published in The Washington Post Tuesday recounts election night 2020 inside the Trump campaign, describing how Giuliani started telling other guests at the White House's viewing party that he had "come up with a strategy for Trump and was trying to get into the president's private quarters to tell him about it." Some "thought Giuliani may have been drinking too much," according to the book.
Giuliani reportedly then presented this strategy to Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and senior adviser Jason Miller, urging them to prematurely declare victory in multiple states even though votes were still being counted and projections hadn't been made.
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.
"Giuliani's grand plan was to just say Trump won, state after state, based on nothing," the book says. "Stepien, Miller and Meadows thought his argument was both incoherent and irresponsible."
In fact, Meadows reportedly raised his voice as he told Giuliani, "We can't do that. We can't." Later, though, Giuliani reportedly directly pushed Trump to deliver a premature victory speech, telling him, "Just go declare victory right now." Trump advisers, the book says, were "infuriated," but Trump ultimately did deliver a speech in which he falsely claimed to have won the election.
"It's hard to be the responsible parent when there's a cool uncle around taking the kid to the movies and driving him around in a Corvette," a Trump adviser said. "When we say the president can't say that, being responsible is not the easiest place to be when you've got people telling the president what he wants to hear. It's hard to tell the president no. It's not an enviable place to be." Read more at The Washington Post.
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.
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportations
Speed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US