Former President Donald Trump searched high and low for ways to remain in office despite his election loss.
The former president asked around the White House for advice and suggestions for sticking around, and even considered just staying there after Inauguration Day, according to a new book by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who reports that Trump asked for help from high-ranking officials and low-ranking staffers alike.
"Haberman's book reporting that Trump told an aide, 'I'm not going to leave,' and saying to another, 'We're never leaving, how can you leave when you won an election?'" said CNN's Kristen Holmes on Monday, reporting on leaked excerpts of Haberman's book. "Trump's insistence he would not leave the White House has never before been reported and shines light on the chaotic days in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Trump seemed to recognize the loss, comforted one adviser, saying, 'We did our best,' and told junior press aides, 'I thought we had it,' seemingly almost embarrassed by the outcome."
Trump was asked if he would leave the building if Joe Biden was elected, and he assured reporters that he would, but that began to change as the clock ticked down on his presidency.
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"But Trump's mood shifted, and he was heard saying he would not leave, and he was overheard asking the Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, 'Why should I leave if they stole it from me?'" Holmes said. "Haberman, who is also a CNN contributor, reports Trump quizzed everyone around him how to stay in power, among those asked, the valet that brought him a Diet Coke. She said his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner was reluctant to confront him over the election loss. When asked why he wasn't attending a briefing, he likened it it to a deathbed scene, saying the priest comes later."
\u201c\u201cHaberman reports Trump quizzed nearly everyone around him on how to stay in power. \n\n\u201cAmong those he reportedly asked: The valet who brought him Diet Coke when he pressed the red button on his Oval Office desk.\u201d \u201d— Bill Grueskin (@Bill Grueskin) 1662982663
