“We’re never leaving,” he vowed to another aide, says the book from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman titled Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America. “How can you leave when you won an election?”
Trump’s insistence he would not leave the White House – which had not been previously reported – added new details to the chaotic post-election period about his refusal to accept his election defeat.
The former Oval Office occupant’s manifold efforts to overturn the election result that led to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection by pro-Trump groups.
Haberman wrote that soon after the Nov. 3 election, Trump appeared to acknowledge he had lost, even calling for his aides to explain him what went wrong. Yet Trump’s mood changed and abruptly communicated to his aides he had no intention of leaving the White House at the end of January 2021.
The book reports Trump being overheard whining and asking Republican National Committee chairperson Ronna McDaniel: “Why should I leave (the White House) if they stole it (the elections) from me?”
Trump’s promise that he would refuse to vacate the White House was historically unprecedented, warned Haberman, who claimed such a statement left his own aides unsure what to do.
Revelations pop up as House investigators and the Justice Department try to shed light on Trump’s refusal to relinquish power after losing the election.
Plus, the former governor remains in the eye of public scrutiny for other inquiries. The House Select Committee plans more hearings this month on the Capitol assault issues in order to issue a final report this fall.
Separately, the FBI search in his Mar-a-Lago property set off a political firestorm in Washington.
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