Trump thought he'd won on election night but started 'yelling at everyone' when Fox called Arizona for Biden
A behind-the-scenes look at President Donald Trump's attempt to overthrow the election results has revealed that he truly believed that he would emerge as the winner on election night, in a repeat of what had happened in 2016. However, when Fox News, a network that had been loyal to Trump throughout his presidency, called Arizona for President-elect Joe Biden, it hampered Trump's path to victory and the 270 electoral voted that he required to win the re-election.
According to a report in The Washington Post, Trump had gathered in a war room in the White House to watch the updates regarding election results along with his top aides, campaign manager Bill Stepien, and son-in-law Jared Kushner. When he was informed regarding the poll results that indicated that he may lose to Biden, he had remarked many times "Oh, wouldn't it be embarrassing to lose to this guy?" At the end of their campaign run, Trump and his top aides had believed that they would win because in 2016 too, the polls had indicated that his then-rival Hillary Clinton would win.
Early on electoral night, what gave Trump confidence was the early lead he took in the swing state of Florida. But once Arizona was called for Biden, Trump "was yelling at everyone", said a senior official, according to The Post.
He added, "He was like, 'What the hell? We were supposed to be winning Arizona. What's going on?' He told Jared to call [News Corp. Executive Chairman Rupert] Murdoch." His attempts at convincing Fox to retract their projection was unsuccessful. And Fox deemed to have been right as Arizona's Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is expected to certify Biden's win in the state on November 30.
Since election night, Trump has continued to claim that the election was stolen from him due to widespread ballot fraud. For instance, in a recent tweet, Trump also stepped up on his smear campaign against Fox News and said, ".@FoxNews daytime is virtually unwatchable, especially during the weekends. Watch @OANN, @newsmax, or almost anything else. You won’t have to suffer through endless interviews with Democrats, and even worse!"
However, hours later, he also updated that he will be giving an interview to the channel. He tweeted, "Will be doing an interview with @MariaBartiromo at 10:00 A.M. on @FoxNews. Enjoy!"
Will be doing an interview with @MariaBartiromo at 10:00 A.M. on @FoxNews. Enjoy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2020
.@FoxNews daytime is virtually unwatchable, especially during the weekends. Watch @OANN, @newsmax, or almost anything else. You won’t have to suffer through endless interviews with Democrats, and even worse!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2020
In the case of ballot fraud, he claimed that there have been illegal votes in Wisconsin and tweeted, "The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday. We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!" He added, "Specific allegations were made, and we have massive proof, in the Pennsylvania case. Some people just don’t want to see it. They want nothing to do with saving our Country. Sad!!!"
He also spoke about Pennsylvania and said, "The number of ballots that our Campaign is challenging in the Pennsylvania case is FAR LARGER than the 81,000 vote margin. It’s not even close. Fraud and illegality ARE a big part of the case. Documents being completed. We will appeal!"
The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday. We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2020
Specific allegations were made, and we have massive proof, in the Pennsylvania case. Some people just don’t want to see it. They want nothing to do with saving our Country. Sad!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2020
The number of ballots that our Campaign is challenging in the Pennsylvania case is FAR LARGER than the 81,000 vote margin. It’s not even close. Fraud and illegality ARE a big part of the case. Documents being completed. We will appeal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2020