Trump will reportedly start reading obituaries of dead people who almost certainly didn't vote

(Image credit: Al Drago/Getty Images)

published 9 November 2020

President Trump is reportedly getting conflicting advice on whether he should concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden or continue fighting his apparent loss in a series of court battles that, collectively, are unlikely to reverse Biden's electoral victory.

There's mixed reporting on what Trump son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner is counseling. Kushner and first lady Melania Trump "have been urging the president to think seriously about an exit strategy," while Trump sons Don Jr. and Eric "have continued pugnaciously tweeting away," Politico reports. The New York Times says Kushner has been encouraging Trump to pursue "legal remedies," and CNN reports that Kushner has joined fixer Rudy Giuliani and campaign adviser Jason Miller in pushing Trump to not only spring for recounts but also hold rallies to back the recount effort.

Alayna Treene at Axios, citing four Trump advisers, also reports that the president plans to hold campaign-style rallies to support the recount litigation and "prolong his fight against apparent insurmountable election results." Trump also intends to "brandish obituaries of people who supposedly voted but are dead," Treene reports, despite those dead-voter allegations raised by Trump and his allies being tracked down to confirmed common clerical errors.

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Some people in Trump's "inner circle have encouraged him to battle the election results until the bitter end, while others privately insist he should simply concede to protect his legacy," Politico reports. "Others, like Vice President Mike Pence, have simply gone dark, raising eyebrows among Trump allies."

All this has left Trump in "an increasingly lonely environment," Politico says, and so on Sunday, "for the second time this weekend, the president left the White House in the morning for an outing at his Virginia golf club — a 'safe space,' as one administration official described it — for him to weigh his next steps." Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.