Trump’s adult children are reportedly giving their father, the unrelenting President who continues to wage unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, conflicting advice on whether he should finally let his guard down and concede his loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
According to CNN on Thursday, a divide has emerged among Trump’s adult children in advising their father on his next steps following his election loss to Biden. The sitting president is still in denial over his election loss as he mounts legal battles based on unfounded election fraud claims.
CNN reported that while Trump’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are egging their father on to stay in the fight, Ivanka Trump — who is the only one among the President’s adult children to land a role in the West Wing — is taking a more measured post-election loss approach.
Sources told CNN that Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner are contemplating ways that the President can save face as he considers his next steps.
According to CNN, Ivanka Trump and Kushner would prefer the President to concede as early as next week following the conclusion of Georgia’s recount on November 20. On the other hand, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. would prefer to drag it out as long as possible.
A source familiar with the situation told CNN that Ivanka Trump and Kushner are against the belief that legal battles will change the election’s outcome, but are nevertheless pushing for a more measured approach to let the President’s legal fight and recounts continue. The President’s eldest daughter and her husband reportedly want to “ensure future election integrity while allowing them to appear sensitive to Trump.”
A source told CNN that Ivanka Trump is privately realistic about her father’s election loss and has asked the President whether it’s worth endangering his and his businesses amid his refusal to concede. The President’s daughter is also mindful that her entire future is tied to her father’s, and must be handled delicately.
A source familiar with Trump’s thinking told CNN that the President appears to be heeding to his daughter’s advice.
“He knows he’s not going to win, but he also knows he holds all the cards right now because he knows that he won 72 million votes and founded a movement,” the source told CNN.
Additionally, the source told CNN that the sitting POTUS believes he was never seen as a legitimate candidate or President.
“He was investigated and impeached and people tried to destroy him and his family, so why should he rush to concede anything now when Georgia and Arizona still haven’t been called, and some people are telling him that they have some legitimate legal recourse in Pennsylvania?” the source told CNN.
According to CNN, when Trump eventually comes to terms with his loss to Biden, the soon-to-be former president is being urged to characterize this election as the “last final act of harassment,” but that he won’t abandon his trove of supporters and will make clear this won’t be the last they’ll hear from him.
