The Trump campaign can't quite settle on a consistent message about the state of the race in Pennsylvania.
Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien on Thursday told reporters "we still have confidence in Pennsylvania," and he predicted that "we will win" the state," reports The Daily Beast's Sam Stein. Pennsylvania is among the crucial battleground states where votes continue to be counted, and with 91 percent of the votes in, Trump currently has a lead over Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. No news networks have projected a winner in Pennsylvania, however.
But Stepien's confidence in Trump's eventual Pennsylvania win comes after on Wednesday, Trump's campaign already prematurely claimed victory in the state.
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.
Stepien now says "we will win Pennsylvania" after declaring yesterday they had already won PA— Tom LoBianco (@tomlobianco) November 5, 2020
"We are declaring a victory in Pennsylvania," Stepien said on Wednesday. "This is not based on gut or feel. This is based on math."
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany had also previously tweeted, "VICTORY for President @realDonaldTrump in PENNSYLVANIA," while the president's son Eric falsely claimed, "We have won Pennsylvania!" Twitter attached warning labels to both of these tweets, noting that "official sources may not have called the race" yet. The Trump campaign also claimed in a fundraising email on Wednesday, "We have won Pennsylvania!"
Even on Thursday, though, not everyone in the campaign was exactly on the same page about this, as Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller again falsely claimed Trump has won Pennsylvania. While the race remains tight, The New York Times' Nate Cohn writes that Biden "remains on track" to pull ahead in Pennsylvania after Trump's lead "plummeted to two percentage points" by Thursday morning.
The Trump campaign on Thursday also generally expressed confidence that the president will win re-election after Biden said Wednesday he believes he will win. Stepien told reporters, "Donald Trump is alive and well."
-
Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
-
Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
Crossword: October 26, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Bolivia elects centrist over far-right presidential rivalSpeed Read Relative political unknown Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, was elected president
-
Madagascar president in hiding, refuses to resignSpeed Read Andry Rajoelina fled the country amid Gen Z protests and unrest
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a weekSpeed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime ministerSpeed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
