US Election 2024: Donald Trump says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 election loss

Amid his final push to secure maximum votes in key swing states for the November 5 US presidential election, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he believed he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after losing the 2020 election, which he has not conceded.

Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said, “We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left. I shouldn’t have left. I mean, honestly, because we did so, we did so well”.

Trump had claimed that his 2020 loss was a result of fraud. This inspired his supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“…So now, I mean every, every polling booth has hundreds of lawyers standing there,” Trump continued.

Following Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, reports indicate that Trump repeatedly told his aides he would remain in the White House, refusing to allow his Democratic successor to take over.

Multiple reports suggest that Trump may claim premature victory on election day, as he did in 2020. Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, the Republican candidate said he expects the winner of the presidential election to be declared on election day, even though the official declaration typically takes weeks.

When asked when he plans to address the country on election day, Trump said, “I’ll be out there at the right time.” He had previously told reporters that he hoped to be able to declare victory on November 5.

However, Democrats have stated that they are preparing to counter any premature victory claims by Trump. They are planning a rapid-fire response to flood social media and the airwaves with calls for calm and patience, according to Harris.

“We are sadly ready if he does and, if we know that he is actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the consensus of the American people … we are prepared to respond,” Harris said in an interview with ABC last week.

Donald Trump is locked in a razor-thin race with Kamala Harris in the November 5 election. Experts believe it could take several days for the final result to be known, especially if there are demands for vote recounts in key areas.