WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s allies are hoping that Wednesday will be his last stand in a week-long effort to challenge the outcome of the November election, with several people close to Trump privately acknowledging that his options will be exhausted once Congress election college vote.
“It’s hard to see anything beyond tomorrow,” a senior administration official said Tuesday, adding that everyone, including Trump, called for efforts by dozens of Republicans in Congress to stop or delay the tabling. uphill ‘.
However, people close to Trump also say that he can still not rest after this last step in the election process, as his determination to reverse the results has only intensified despite the fact that it has failed several times – including state certificate and the election college past month – and numerous legal defeats.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” one of Trump’s allies said. “He lost re-election. So for someone who has no sense of shame, there is no harm to him in letting go of all the madness.”
There is no serious discussion of the use of the military in any way to stop the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, officials said. But some of Trump’s allies have rejected the idea, with people close to him saying they can not rule out that he will entertain Hail Mary options to stay in power as the end of his presidency approaches.
“He will not stop,” said a Republican with ties to the White House, indicating that Trump will continue to exercise his grievances after Wednesday’s process in Congress. “He’s ashamed.”
The Trump ally described him as ‘increasingly desperate’. And another person close to Trump has said that his behavior in recent days, especially by pushing the Secretary of State in Georgia to find votes for him, “in his own words” that there is no way to victory in these election challenges are not. ‘
People close to Trump have already said that he has taken his election fraud claims much further than they thought he would do.
After the election, they believed that he would come closer in the coming days and weeks to accept the results, although he would never be expected. But instead he moved further away from accepting his loss, he smeared understanding to strange theories and allies who were not quite on board, they said.
Trump is expected to speak during a rally in Washington on Wednesday to support his efforts. But his assistants and allies said there was no clear plan for how he would proceed during his last two weeks in office. The only thing they have said they are sure of is that Trump will leave the White House by January 20 when Biden takes office.
According to them, what will happen before then is unclear – although Trump does intend to issue a pardon.
The few Trump re-election campaign staff left see Wednesday’s proceedings on Capitol Hill as an end in itself and a form of closure of the 2020 cycle, despite Trump’s continued denial. They expect him to never admit he lost the race, a fact he predicted at a rally in Georgia on Monday: “No, no, I’m not giving up.”
Trump is not expected to attend Biden’s inauguration, and he has instead discussed holding a campaign-style rally, as NBC News reported earlier. Trump has also considered announcing a 2024 presidential bid on January 20, but some of his allies insist on not officially announcing his candidate until after 2022.
There is no infrastructure to formally launch a 2024 campaign in the coming weeks, as was once discussed immediately after the November election. Some allies expect Trump to spend the next two years hanging on to the prospect of another White House bid before making a final decision.
Either way, the senior administration official said, “the president is not leaving.”
Some of Trump’s allies are asking the question of whether he will run for a 2024 candidate and that his discussions on it are more aimed at remaining relevant. They also question whether Trump would have the ’emotional discipline’, as one of them put it, to cede the spotlight entirely to Biden on January 20th.
White House officials said they viewed Wednesday’s congressional proceedings as a ‘struggle for the process’ and the ‘integrity’ of the electoral system. And they stress that Trump firmly believes the November 3 election was unconstitutional, although he could not prove it, despite two months of allegations that even some of his closest allies dispute.
“It’s going to be a few days, but it’s going to be literally his last bite,” the Trump ally said of the proceedings Wednesday, which could continue until Thursday. “There is nothing he can cling to after this.”
