Despite Donald Trump’s continued assertion that the election has been rigged against him, his son, Donald Trump Jr., said Tuesday morning that his father would concede if he loses “and the vote is fair.”
On @Morning_Joe, @DonaldJTrumpJr says his father will concede tonight if he loses, and the vote is fair
— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) November 8, 2016
It’s still uncertain what exactly the Republican nominee considers to be a “fair” election, but he has at least twice refused to say whether he would submit to a result that would see his rival democratically elected as president. Trump has held, without providing concrete evidence, that the election has been fixed to see him lose.
When challenged on this at the final presidential debate, Trump squirmed but wouldn’t back down on his position. Democratic rival Hillary Clinton interjected, accusing him of disparaging the American democratic system: “Every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is is rigged against him.”
“He claims the court system and the federal judge is rigged against him,” she continued. “There was even a time when he didn’t get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row, and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged.”
Looking back, however, there was a very clear point at which Trump’s campaign momentum was stunted. It was at the beginning of October when a 2005 recording surfaced in which he told an Access Hollywood host that his fame allowed him to “do anything” to women, including “grab them by the pussy.”
In the audio, Trump also described a failed attempt to initiate sex with a married woman: “I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there.” The blatant misogyny and lewd boasting about predatory assaults on women immediately resulted in backlash and outrage, which some believe he has attempted to quell using the rigged election narrative
In a rare glimpse beyond the bravado and political posturing, the businessman himself expressed this morning how he would measure the disappointment of a loss as simply a waste, and it was much more in line with his son’s prediction:
Trump on Fox this morning: "If I don't win, I will consider it a tremendous waste of time, energy, and money." pic.twitter.com/a1LsQRvT0W
— Kendall Taggart 🕵🏼♀️ (@KendallTTaggart) November 8, 2016
Whether it’s the voice of disappointed entitlement or a strategic hedging of his movement in conspiratorial outrage, it seems that Trump, with few tricks left to turn, wants to hold the spotlight just a little longer as the music stops and business of voting starts.