Flashback: Trump accused Ted Cruz of election theft

With 72 days to go until Joe Biden is sworn into office as the 46th president of the United States, the country remains wrapped up in what CNN calls "the unprecedented spectacle of a president who has lost the election declining to accept reality." Rather than take his own advice — mockingly aimed at his political adversary, Hillary Clinton, in 2016 — to "lose with dignity," President Trump continues to assert, without any evidence, that the presidential election was "stolen" from him.

Trump has a long history of refusing to accept his losses with anything close to dignity, though. Take this tweet from when he was in the Republican primaries (which, of course, he went on to win), when he tested out the approach on Ted Cruz:

Sound familiar? As Chris Baker, a reporter for Syracuse.com, explained, the tweet proves "this is not a new tactic from the president," pointing out that in addition to Trump's denial about the Iowa caucuses, he also "got his political start by claiming Obama was an illegitimate president." Added Clayton Davis of Variety, "There is a tweet for every occasion no matter which party. Donald doesn't discriminate. He's just a sore loser."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Truly, Trump's denial of the election results is no surprise at all; in fact, he's even spelled out his thinking in another old tweet. "Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war," he encouraged his followers in 2014. "Don't ever get down on yourself, just keep fighting — in the end, you WIN!"

Only this time around, he might be disapointed.