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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s allies hope Wednesday will mark his last fight in a week of efforts to challenge the November election results, with several people close to Trump privately admitting his options will be exhausted once Congress compiles the votes of the electoral college.
“It’s hard to see anything beyond tomorrow,” a senior administration official said Tuesday, adding that already everyone, including Trump, was considering the efforts of dozens of Republicans in Congress to stop or delay classification as “uphill”.
Yet those close to Trump also say he still cannot give in after this final stage of the electoral process, given that his resolve to reverse the results has only intensified despite his failure on multiple occasions – including certifications. state and constituency meeting last month – and dozens of legal defeats.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said one of Trump’s allies. “He lost his reelection. So for someone who has no feelings of shame, there is nothing wrong with him letting all the crazy people out.”
There is no serious discussion about using the military in any way to block President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination on Jan.20, officials said. But some of Trump’s allies pushed the idea, and people close to him said they couldn’t rule out that he will consider Hail Mary’s options to hold on to power as the end of the year approaches. his presidency.
“He’s not going to stop,” said a Republican linked to the White House, suggesting that Trump will continue to present his grievances beyond Wednesday’s process in Congress. “He’s embarrassed.”
Trump’s ally described him as “increasingly desperate.” And another person close to Trump said his behavior in recent days, particularly in urging the Georgian Secretary of State to find voices for him, “shows in his own words that there is no way forward. victory in these electoral challenges “.
Already, those close to Trump have said he has taken his election fraud allegations much further than they realize.
After the election, they believed that over the next few days and weeks he would move closer to accepting the results, although he was never expected to give in. But instead, he moved away from accepting his loss, began to grasp wacky theories, and froze allies who weren’t fully on board, they said.
Trump is expected to speak at a rally in Washington on Wednesday to support his efforts. But his aides and allies said there was no clear plan for how he would proceed in his last two weeks in office. The only thing they said they were certain is that Trump will leave the White House on January 20, when Biden takes office.
What happened before that, they said, is unclear – although Trump is considering issuing a series of pardons.
The few remaining Trump re-election campaign staff see Wednesday’s work on Capitol Hill as an end point and a form of closure of the 2020 cycle, despite Trump’s continued refusal. They expect him to never admit losing the race, a fact he previewed at a rally in Georgia on Monday: “No, no, I won’t concede.”
Trump is not expected to attend Biden’s inauguration, and instead he discussed holding a campaign-style rally, as NBC News previously reported. Trump has also considered announcing a 2024 presidential bid on or before January 20, but some of his allies are urging him not to officially announce his candidacy until 2022.
There is no infrastructure to officially launch a 2024 campaign in the coming weeks, as was already discussed immediately after the November elections. Some allies expect Trump to spend the next two years putting the prospect of another White House offer on hold before making a final decision.
Either way, the senior administration official said, “the president is not leaving.”
Some of Trump’s allies are questioning whether he will actually run for 2024 and see his discussions on this as more geared towards staying relevant. They also wonder if Trump would have the “emotional discipline,” as one of them put it, to hand the spotlight entirely to Biden on January 20.
White House officials said they viewed Wednesday’s congressional work as a “struggle for process” and “integrity” of the electoral system. And they point out that Trump firmly believes the Nov. 3 election was unconstitutional, although he has not been able to prove it, despite two months of allegations that even some of his closest allies dispute.
“It’s going to take a few days, but it will literally be his last breath,” Trump’s ally said of Wednesday’s procedure, which could last until Thursday. “There’s nothing he can hang on to after this.”
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