President Trump is reportedly challenging the 2020 election results primarily just as "theater," as he puts on a "performance" for his supporters despite knowing he will not begin a second term in January.
Trump has still yet to concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden, and by Thursday morning, he was continuing to fire off baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud. But NBC News' Peter Alexander reports, citing a White House aide, that Trump is "very aware there is not a path to victory" for him and is putting up legal challenges as a kind of "theater" for his supporters, believing that they "deserve a fight."
Similarly, The Washington Post reports that Trump's team, which is mounting legal challenges in battleground states, has "no grand strategy to reverse the election results," and The Associated Press writes that Trump has a "greater understanding of his predicament" than you might think but thinks he "needs to keep fighting almost as performance."
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.
Looking beyond the legal challenges that Trump evidently understands are doomed, he's reportedly interested in launching a digital media company to rival Fox News, and according to Reuters, he has told allies "he planned to run for president in 2024 and could announce it by the end of the year." The Post is reporting the same, writing, "Rather than talking about a second term, Trump has been matter-of-factly discussing a possible 2024 campaign — an indication that he knows his time as president is coming to an end, at least for now."
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government buildingSpeed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to USSpeed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
What is Tony Blair's plan for Gaza?Today's Big Question Former PM has reportedly been putting together a post-war strategy 'for the past several months'
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peaceSpeed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
