Like ‘Mad King George:’ Trump spends days after vote muttering ‘I won, I won’
US President Donald Trump has spent the last few weeks since the election continuing to deny his loss, surrounded by those who would only tell him what he wanted to hear, with one adviser comparing him to “Mad King George.”
He’s like “Mad King George, muttering, ‘I won. I won. I won,’ ” the Washington Post, in an in-depth look at Trump’s state of mind, quoted one close advisor as saying.
The report, which was based on interviews with 32 people close to Trump, including senior administration officials, campaign aides and other advisers, describes how aides were happy to confirm Trump’s views despite his clear loss.
They were “happy to scratch his itch,” the report quoted the adviser as saying. “If he thinks he won, it’s like, ‘Shh . . . we won’t tell him.’ ”
But the report also detailed how Trump’s sycophants went to far, including lawyers Rudy Guliani and Sidney Powell who alleged that there was a conspiracy to rig the election led by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, who died seven years ago.
The press conference was mainly remembered for Guliani appearing to leak hair color down both sides of his face.
Trump thought the presentation made him “look like a joke,” one campaign official who discussed it with him told the Post.
Powell was dismissed soon after.
The report also detailed the problems caused to Republicans who refused to confirm his allegations of election fraud.
Trump continued with these attacks on Sunday, saying he was “ashamed” for endorsing the Republican governor of Georgia after he lost in the state to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump has seethed over losing the southern state, which hadn’t voted for a Democrat for president in nearly 30 years. In January, the state will decide whether the GOP retains control of the US Senate when voters decide two run-off Senate races.
Trump said on Fox News that Gov. Brian Kemp has “done absolutely nothing” to question the state’s results. Trump has made baseless accusations that illegal votes cost him the election in Georgia and beyond. His legal challenges have failed in several states.
President Donald Trump talks with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife Marty, right, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.,, center, and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., as he arrives at Dobbins Air Reserve Base for a campaign event at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump backed Kemp’s campaign in 2018, boasting that his “full endorsement” helped him edge rising Democrat Stacey Abrams.
In this month’s presidential contest, Biden beat Trump by about 12,670 votes.
Democrats hope for two other upset victories in twin Senate races on Jan. 5 against Republican office holders. That would deny Republicans their majority, keeping the GOP with 50 seats, while Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be available for tie-breaking votes.
Democrat Jon Ossoff is challenging Sen. David Perdue while Rev. Raphael Warnock takes on Sen. Kelly Loeffler. No candidate won at least 50% of the vote share in this month’s election, leading to the head-to-head runoffs.
Ossoff said Sunday that a Republican-controlled Senate will hit the Biden administration with the same “obstructionism” it mounted against former President Barack Obama.
“It will be paralysis, partisan trench warfare,” he told CNN. “At a moment of crisis, when we need strong action.”
Loeffler on Fox News said GOP victories would be a “firewall to socialism” and the Democratic policies of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. It is Loeffler’s first election cycle after Gov. Kemp appointed her to the seat in January when her predecessor resigned.
Trump on Saturday plans to arrive in the state he lost to campaign for the GOP incumbents.
“We’re making sure that Georgians are fired up to turn out to vote,” Loeffler said. “If we vote, we will win this election.”