Former President Donald Trump—the presumed 2024 Republican nominee—has revealed how he plans on handling a potential loss at the polls in November.
Despite facing multiple criminal indictments, two of which involve election interference, and a slew of political drama, Trump was the GOP favorite out of the gate. November will likely be a re-match between Trump and President Joe Biden, the Democratic incumbent.
While campaigning in Wisconsin on Wednesday, Trump did not commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“If everything’s honest, I’ll gladly accept the results. I don’t change on that,” Trump said. “If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country.”
The former president continued: “But if everything’s honest, which we anticipate it will be—a lot of changes have been made over the last few years—but if everything’s honest, I will absolutely accept the results.”
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.
Mark Peterson-Pool/Getty Images
Trump’s rhetoric is similar to his speech on the Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021, before a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., to stop the certification of Biden’s 2020 election win.
“We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” he said during his speech. However, his lawyers argued his words were not a call for actual violence and have pointed to the part in Trump’s speech where he says that his supporters will “peacefully and patriotically” protest on Capitol Hill.
The Capitol riot erupted following months-long claims from Trump that the 2020 election was stolen from him via widespread voter fraud. This claim, which has no evidence to back it up, has continued to be told by Trump and his allies.
During his interview with the Journal Sentinel, Trump claimed that he won Wisconsin in 2020, despite there being no evidence of this. Biden beat Trump in Wisconsin by over 20,000 votes.
“If you go back and look at all of the things that had been found out, it showed that I won the election in Wisconsin,” Trump said. “It also showed I won the election in other locations.”
Since April 6, 2024, over 1,387 people have been criminally charged for their actions surrounding the Capitol Riot, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Meanwhile, Trump faces four federal felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
The former president was also indicted in Georgia for conspiring to overturn Biden’s 2020 election win in the state. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and claims all four of his criminal indictments are politically motivated.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.