“HE’LL
BE LIKE A USED CAR COMING OFF THE LOT”: AS TRUMP CLINGS TO POWER, HIS ALLIES
QUIETLY ADMIT DEFEAT
Trump spent the weekend bunkered in the White
House, glued to the TV, and vowing to fight on. But around him, Republicans are
whispering “it’s over.” Even his family is seen as angling for a Biden future:
“Jared is taking care of Jared,” says one Trump adviser.
NOVEMBER
9, 2020
As Joe Biden widened his lead in Pennsylvania
late last week, Donald Trump seemed, for a brief moment, to
entertain the idea that he had lost the election. “Initially, Trump was
thinking through options,” said a Republican who spoke with the president about
the vote count. But Trump blew up any notion that he was a loser when the
networks called Pennsylvania for Biden, and declared him president-elect. Apart
from two golf outings, Trump bunkered in the White House glued to television,
fuming at the positive media coverage Biden was receiving, and vowing to fight
on. “As the weekend went on, Trump became more and more emboldened as he
listened to people on TV saying fawning things about Biden,” the Republican
said.
In recent days I spoke with a half dozen
Republicans close to the White House, and they uniformly agreed that Trump is
done. “It’s over,” said a campaign adviser. According to sources, even members
of Trump’s legal team have privately said there’s virtually no chance the
results can be overturned. “You have to be realistic,” said a prominent
Republican close to the White House. The challenge for the West Wing, then, is
finding a way to steer Trump to a place where he will accept reality. It won’t
be easy: Sources said West Wing aides and members of the Trump family are
scared to confront him directly. “People are explaining options to the
president in a way that opens the door to a conclusion,” a former West Wing
official said. “They’re telling him that it’s unlikely, but not impossible, to
change the result.”
Sources said a Lord of the Flies atmosphere
has enveloped the West Wing, with Trump advisers accusing each other of looking
out for themselves. Two sources speculated that a report saying Jared
Kushner had advised Trump to concede was a way for Kushner to position
himself to his New York friends as a rational voice. “Jared is taking care of
Jared,” one Trump adviser said. (Kushner and the Trump campaign did not respond
to requests for comment.) Another Republican suggested that Rudy
Giuliani and Steve Bannon are pushing the most
extreme election-fraud conspiracies because they want to curry favor with Trump
for pardons. (In August, Bannon pleaded not guilty after being charged with
fraud over his alleged role in a private border-wall scheme, while Giuliani has
reportedly been under investigation by the Southern District of New York.)
Bannon and Giuliani did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump, who has been pushing unfounded fraud claims, has a
financial incentive to continue the dubious legal challenges. The campaign is
trying to raise millions from donors and plans to use some of the
money to pay off its debts. There’s also a political imperative. “Trump is
trying to keep the MAGA movement going. That gives him a lot of leverage,” one
adviser said. “But what Trump is going to find out is that the minute he leaves
the White House, he’ll be like a used car coming off the lot. His value will
drop.”
Trump is girding for a protracted battle, but
his staff is losing patience. “Why put up with it anymore?” a campaign adviser
said, adding, “They are tired of his shit.”
