AFTER (November)

This section is a list of broken norms from the transition period, starting on November 7, the day fortuitously Joe Biden was declared the president-elect and we reach the four-year mark (Week 208). The AFTER section will have separate lists for what remains of the month of November, the full month of December, and January through Inauguration Day.

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We end the month of November, four weeks after Election Day, without Trump conceding. As Mary Trump’s book aptly warned us, Trump is seemingly unable to admit defeat, and, as has been typical over the past four years, a compliant, cowardly Republican Party quietly continued to enable an unprecedented time in our democracy — one that even the Founding Fathers did not account for. As we end November, only Republican leadership and most of its rank and file, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, have yet to recognize Biden as the 46th president.

Trump has tried everything to steal the election. If the outcome had been closer, he may well have succeeded as we entered uncharted territory. Trump’s election fight included 41 lawsuits in six battleground states, 27 of which were denied, dismissed, settled, or withdrawn, and none finding any evidence of the widespread fraud he claimed. As the month went on, lawyers and law firms gradually dropped their representation, leaving it to Rudy Giuliani and a crew of misfits in what was truly an embarrassment for our country and world to witness. Trump requested recounts in Georgia and Wisconsin to prolong matters, and courted Michigan and Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers to ignore the will of the people and simply give him their state electors — despite his losing by wider margins than he won in 2016. This month, again fortuitously, ended as all six of these challenged states certified their votes.

Constitutional scholars noted the Founding Fathers did not envisage a president refusing to concede, or so openly mock our democracy and put self-interests ahead of country. Trump, who had always been a friend of conspiracy theories and lies, this month descended to a new crazed low, drawing comparisons to a “Mad King George” claiming “he won, he won” to a shrinking but compliant inner-circle willing to feed his alternative reality.

A positive side, and one I dare not tweet to draw attention to, is that while Trump is consumed in his efforts to steal the election (and play golf), not only has he abdicated his role as president — even as the U.S. recorded more than 4 million coronavirus cases while the pandemic raged out of control — but as well, he has accomplished little damage so far in November other than delaying Biden’s transition, a pardon, and some retaliatory firings. That might be the best we can hope for as we run out the clock of this nightmare in its final days. But noteworthy for the after period, had Trump been more competent and organized, he may well have pulled off overriding the will of the voters in some states and completing more destructive acts

Nov. 7: Even as Trump had not conceded, world leaders, including those who had been his allies like U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, publicly congratulated Joe Biden.
Much of the world saw Biden’s victory as toppling a dictator. German newsweekly Der Spiegel reworked its “America First” February 2017 cover of Trump severing the Statue of Liberty’s head to Biden putting it back on.
Nov. 7: After the race was called for Biden, Trump sent a series of tweets, falsely claiming he won, and airing baseless accusations of election fraud. The tweets were labeled as “disputed” by Twitter but not taken down.
Nov. 7: The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit claiming Maricopa County, Arizona election workers incorrectly rejected ballots from in-person voters “on a large scale.”
Nov. 8: Other leaders aligned with Trump called to congratulate Biden, including Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Nov. 8: Republican Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt said his office, which runs the vote count for the city, has received death threats from Trump supporters.
Nov. 9: Trump continued to file flimsy lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada, with little success after being unable to present evidence that points to any fraudulent results.
Nov. 9: Georgia GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue — both headed for runoffs — called for the resignation of Republican secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, citing “mismanagement and lack of transparency.”
Nov. 9: Ten attorneys general in states with Republican-led legislatures filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court backing Trump’s legal drive to challenge votes in Pennsylvania received within 3 days of the election.
Nov. 9: A team of international observers, invited by the Trump regime, followed events in several battleground states including Michigan and Georgia, and reported no evidence of any serious irregularities.
The 28-member delegation from the Organization of American States criticized Trump for making baseless allegations that the outcome resulted from systematic fraud.
Nov. 9: WAPO reported the White House instructed senior government officials working in federal agencies not to cooperate with the Biden transition team, and to not provide the briefing books they had prepared.
Nov. 9: Emily Murphy, the Trump appointed administrator of the General Services Administration, declined to sign standard paperwork allowing access to funds and buildings for Biden’s transition team.
Nov. 9: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson said he tested positive for the coronavirus. Carson attended the White House election night event, as had Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Nov. 9: Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who had opposed the use of U.S. troops against protestors. The move allowed Trump to take back the headlines after the media had largely been focused on Biden.
Nov. 9: Trump appointee John McEntee, director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, told executive branch departments to fire political appointees who sought out new jobs prior to Trump leaving office.
Nov. 9: Axios reported Trump is privately discussing running for president again in 2024. Later, NYT reported Trump formed a PAC, “Save America,” in hopes of helping him retain power over the GOP after he leaves.
Nov. 9: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell backed Trump not conceding, citing states that will recount and the ongoing lawsuits. Only four Republican Senators broke ranks to congratulate Biden on winning.
Nov. 9: Shortly after meeting with McConnell, Attorney General William Barr authorized the Justice Department to probe “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities, although no evidence of fraud existed.
Shortly after, Richard Pilger, head of the DOJ branch that prosecutes election crimes, resigned in protest. Barr’s memo allowed prosecutors to bypass career election crime officials and take investigative steps.
Nov. 9: WAPO reported under pressure from Trump, the Pentagon general counsel named Michael Ellis as NSA general counsel. Ellis was the former chief counsel to Rep. Devin Nunes, and is a staunch ally of Trump.
Nov. 9: In a court filing, the U.S. Postal Service said thousands of ballots for battleground states continued to arrive to facilities on Monday; however the numbers in the hundreds would not be enough to decide any race.
Nov. 9: NYT reported senior lawyers at Jones Day, the most prominent firm representing Trump and the GOP in legal challenges, worried advancing arguments without evidence could undermine the integrity of elections.
Nov. 10: Top Pentagon officials resigned after Esper’s ouster, including Acting undersecretary for policy James Anderson; undersecretary for intelligence Joseph Kernan; and Esper’s chief of staff Jen Stewart.
They were replaced by Trump loyalists: Anthony Tata, a retired Army general and frequent Fox News guest; Ezra Cohen-Watnick, former aide to Michael Flynn; and Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes.
Nov. 10: Biden has not started receiving the President’s Daily Brief because Trump refused to recognize him as president-elect. Normally the winning candidate would get a high level briefing immediately after the election.
Nov. 10: Asked at a news conference if the State Department was cooperating with Biden, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo smiled and said, “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”
Nov. 10: Biden received calls from heads of state from France, Germany, and Ireland to congratulate him; however, the State Department did not take on its typical role of being a go-between for such incoming calls.
Authoritarian leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stayed silent. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a NATO member, waited until Tuesday to congratulate Biden. China came Thursday.
Nov. 10: The Office of Management and Budget advised agencies to prepare budget proposals “going forward assuming a win” for Trump, despite the election having been called for Biden.
Nov. 10: all eight members of Georgia’s 2021 incoming GOP House delegation urged state officials in a letter to investigate baseless claims of fraud before certifying the election results.
Nov. 10: After saying on a Sunday show it was “unlikely” Trump’s legal fight would work, Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of GOP leadership, said Trump did not lose by “huge numbers” and “may not have been defeated at all.”
Nov. 10: In Pennsylvania, more than a dozen GOP state lawmakers held a press conference calling for “a legislative-led audit of the 2020 election” before election results are certified, citing “a lot of allegations.”
Nov. 10: In Wisconsin, after the state assembly speaker called on a committee to review results for any irregularities, a GOP state lawmaker raised the idea of having its electoral votes go to Trump if any are found.
Nov. 10: WAPO reported Pennsylvania postal worker Richard Hopkins admitted he fabricated allegations of ballot tampering in Erie County. The Trump campaign provided an affidavit to Sen. Lindsey Graham, who asked the DOJ and FBI to investigate.
Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe tweeted that Hopkins was “an American hero.” A GoFundMe page created under Hopkins’s name raised more than $136,000, before GoFundMe took it down after the Post story.
Nov. 10: Trump ally Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced he would pay up to $1 million from his campaign account to encourage people to come forward with information that leads to voter fraud convictions or arrests.
Nov. 10: NYT reported it had called top election officials in all 50 states, and found none who pointed to any fraud episodes in this year’s presidential election.
Nov. 11: Trump made his first public appearance in nearly a week for a Veteran’s Day ceremony at Arlington Cemetery, but did not speak. He and his entourage showed up late for the event meant to start at 11:11 a.m.
Nov. 11: CNN reported the State Department is preventing Biden from accessing dozens of incoming messages from foreign leaders, a normal process, because Trump refuses to recognize him at president-elect.
Nov. 11: Trump ally Sen. Ron Johnson tweeted, “My committee has jurisdiction over USPS and the federal workforce. I’m asking anyone who knows of irregularities related to mail-in or absentee” to share it with him.
Nov. 11: NYT reported lawyers in the Public Integrity Section of the DOJ said Trump appointee Deputy AG Jeffrey Rosen stalled a case relating to former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke over a land deal with David Lesar.
Nov. 11: Trump endorsed loyalist Ronna McDaniel to stay on as RNC Chair, in what allies described as part of his plan to announce he is running for president again in 2024 before the end of the year.
Nov. 11: longtime GOP strategist Karl Rove wrote in a WSJ op-ed that election results would not be overturned, citing Trump would have to prove systemic fraud to win enough votes, of which there was no evidence.
Nov. 11: Reuters reported donations of $8k and less to Trump’s “Official Election Defense Fund” in his PAC, which he claimed were going toward legal fees, will instead go to Trump and the RNC.
Nov. 11: Trump tweeted the false claim, “Nobody wants to report that Pennsylvania and Michigan didn’t allow our Poll Watchers and/or Vote Observers to Watch or Observe,” lying that “I easily win both states.”
Nov. 11: NBC News reported on a wide array of false claims and conspiracy theories about a rigged election being shared by Trump supporters since the morning after the election on social media and in far-right media.
Nov. 11: A Minnesota Trump supporter, Mark Ulsaker, 50, was charged after he attacked an older couple for displaying a political sign, including swinging a golf club at them and punching the man in the head.
Nov. 11: WAPO reported while Trump tweeted, “WE WILL WIN!” aides said Trump has no endgame to win the election. In some conversations, Trump acknowledged Biden has won, and said he planned to run in 2024.
Nov. 11: Snell & Wilner, the largest law firm representing the Trump campaign and allies in contesting Arizona election results, withdrew. Biden was declared the winner by remaining networks the next day.
Nov. 12: Porter, Wright, the law firm leading the Trump campaign’s efforts to challenge election results in Pennsylvania, withdrew from a federal lawsuit it had filed on behalf of the campaign.
Nov. 12: WAPO reported the QAnon conspiracy theory faced a crisis with Trump’s defeat and the week-long silence of their anonymous prophet. Supporters of the baseless movement questioned if they had been conned.
Nov. 12: Trump advisor Cory Lewandowski tested positive. He attended Trump’s election night party, which was the third White House cluster. Meadows, Carson, David Bossie, and several others tested positive.
Nov. 12: On “Fox & Friends,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany refused to answer when Biden would start getting PDB’s, saying, “That would be a question more for the White House,” raising questions of her role and Hatch violations.
Nov. 12: The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Twitter account was briefly removed from the social network. ICE later gave a vague explanation of a “technical glitch” as the cause.
Nov. 12: AP reported Trump was busy stewing over his election loss while silent on the coronavirus, which reached record levels of 150,000 plus cases per day. He also tried to take credit for the vaccine in tweets.
Nov. 12: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered an unusually politically charged address to the Federalist Society, saying freedom of religion is under threat from abortion, gay marriage, and pandemic restrictions.
Nov. 12: Trump sent more than 50 mostly false tweets related to the election. Several were labeled by Twitter, including one that lied, “DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE.”
Shortly after, the DHS said in a statement, “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history,” and “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
Nov. 12: Reuters reported Christopher Krebs, the top cybersecurity official at DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said he is expecting to be fired. Bryan Ware, assistant director at CISA, resigned.
Nov. 13: Trump tweeted, “Dems have been preaching how unsafe and rigged our elections have been. Now they are saying what a wonderful job” after what they did, adding, “Rigged Election!” Twitter labeled the tweet.
Nov. 13: CNN reported there was a renewed push by the Trump regime to get Chad Wolf confirmed as DHS secretary before inauguration amid questions of legitimacy. This week two DHS officials were forced to resign.
Nov. 13: Trump baselessly told the conservative Washington Examiner he was still competitive in several swing states, lying that he was “going to win Wisconsin,” and saying “never bet against me.”
Nov. 13: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business the White House was operating under “the assumption there will be a second Trump term.” Biden had 290 electoral votes so far, to Trump’s 217.
Nov. 13: in the Rose Garden for his first public appearance since Biden was called the winner on November 7, and since Georgia was called for Biden giving him 306 electoral votes, a somber Trump refused to concede,
For the first time he seemed to acknowledge Biden’s win, saying, “This administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully whatever happens in the future — who knows which administration it will be?”
Trump also said the Covid vaccine would not be delivered to New York right away, citing his personal grievances with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Trump left without taking questions from the press.
Nov. 13: sixteen assistant U.S. attorneys specially assigned to monitor wrongdoing in the 2020 election urged Barr in a letter to rescind his memo, saying there was no evidence of substantial election irregularities.
The letter also said of Barr’s memo, “The policy change was not based in fact.”
Nov. 13: CNN reported nine lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign or allies in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Michigan were denied or withdrawn.
Nov. 13: WAPO reported the Supreme Court has been idle on election disputes since Alito’s November 6 direction on Pennsylvania, taking no action on requests from the Trump campaign, perhaps letting the clock run out.
Nov. 13: Fox Business anchor Lou Dobbs said a second Trump term is “rightfully his,” baselessly claiming accurate election results are “being denied to him,” and “we’re not going to accept the results of this election.”
Nov. 13: Fox News host Tucker Carlson apologized on-air for making false accusations that dead people had voted in Georgia, after local reporting found Agnes Blalock, who was listed as Mrs. James Blalock, Jr.
Nov. 13: NYT reported Trump put Giuliani in charge of his campaign related lawsuits. Trump advisers described the move as counterproductive, and said Giuliani gave Trump unrealistic optimism.
Nov. 13: WAPO reported more than 130 Secret Service officers, who protect the White House and Trump when he travels, have been infected or are quarantining, partly linked to Trump’s recent campaign rallies.
Nov. 13: The Carter Center announced it will monitor the hand recount in Georgia —its first time doing so in the U.S. — to “help bolster transparency and confidence in election results” after Trump worked to discredit it.
Nov. 14: Trump tweeted false claims on the Georgia recount which were labeled by Twitter, calling it a “waste of time,” saying it should be called off, adding, “don’t let the Radical Left Dems STEAL THE ELECTION!”
Nov. 14: At the MAGA March, Trump supporters, including members of far-right groups like the Proud Boys, rallied in D.C. in support of Trump, falsely claiming he had won the election. Violence erupted after nightfall.
McEnany tweeted, “More than one MILLION marchers” for Trump. The estimate from most media was in the thousands. Trump drove by to wave at supporters on his way to his golf course in Virginia.
Nov. 14: In Michigan, where Biden won by 148,000 votes, Trump supporters rallied at the state Capitol in Lansing urging the state’s legislature to select Michigan electors committed to Trump.
Nov. 14: AP reported state GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin said they would not participate in a legally dubious scheme to flip their state electors to Trump.
Nov. 14: A federal judge in New York said acting DHS Wolf was unlawfully appointed, and therefore invalidated the Trump regime’s suspension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Nov. 14: WAPO reported Trump was furious about the Pfizer vaccine, believing Pfizer and the FDA had withheld the announcement to prevent giving him a pre-election boost, rather than touting it as an achievement.
Trump disengaged from the pandemic since before the election, and since has been solely focused on fighting the results. He had not attended a White House coronavirus task force briefing in five months.
Nov. 15: Before heading to the golf course, Trump tweeted, “He won,” seeming to acknowledge Biden’s victory, adding, “the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed,” and other lies.
Asked on Fox News if Trump’s tweet meant he was conceding, Giuliani said, “No, no, no, far from it,” adding, “I guess you would call it sarcastic.”
Giuliani also baselessly claimed, “We have proof that I can’t disclose yet,” adding, “This has to be examined … beyond this election, that I believe will be overturned.”
Shortly after, as the media took his tweet as a concession, Trump tweeted, “RIGGED ELECTION. WE WILL WIN!” and “He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING!” Twitter labeled the tweets.
Nov. 15: Anchor Chuck Todd said amid Trump being unwilling to concede and a growing Covid crisis, every single Republican Senator was invited to appear on “Meet the Press,” and every single one had declined.
Nov. 15: On “60 Minutes,” former president Barack Obama was critical of the GOP for going along with Trump, saying, “It is one more step in delegitimizing not just the incoming Biden administration, but democracy generally. And that’s a dangerous path.”
Nov. 15: In Pennsylvania, Trump lawyers withdrew allegations against polls workers, the major part of its legal challenge, leaving so little they told the judge there was no need for the argument session on Tuesday.
Nov. 15: The U.S. passed 11 million coronavirus infections. It took just six days to go from 10 to 11 million. More than 246,000 had died, and at least 45 states reported infections higher than the previous week.
Nov. 15: Dr. Scott Atlas tweeted for Michigan to “rise up,” adding, “You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp,” after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was one of several governors to tighten restrictions.
Nov 15: Shortly before Midnight, Trump falsely claimed, “I WON THE ELECTION!” Trump also tweeted a series of false claims about the Georgia recount. All the tweets were labeled by Twitter.
Nov. 16: After a second Covid vaccine showed promising results, Dr. Anthony Fauci told the “TODAY” show he was concerned that Trump had not greenlighted the formal transition, which would be key to quick distribution.
Nov. 16: Biden warned “more people may die” of Covid because of Trump’s refusal to allow a transition, especially as related to ensuring the distribution of vaccines.
Nov. 16: The WAPO Editorial Board wrote Atlas’s “rabble-rousing will lead to illness and death” and “he ought to be fired immediately.”
Nov. 16: The day after Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine said Trump should begin the transition to Biden, Trump attacked him, tweeting, “Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio? Will be hotly contested!”
Nov. 16: Georgia’s Raffensperger posted a series of fact-checking posts on Facebook to correct Trump’s spree of misinformation, and called Doug Collins, who was tasked with overseeing the recount for Trump, a “liar.”
Nov. 16: the Trump campaign and its supporters had filed at least 18 election-related lawsuits in battleground states, and lost all but one. Judges appeared increasingly frustrated with dubious legal claims.
Nov. 16: Trump supporters dropped lawsuits in Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania federal courts that were meant to block Biden’s win before the Electoral College formalized it.
Nov. 16: ABC News reported GSA official Emily Murphy is quietly looking for a new job, a move that appears to be a tacit acknowledgement of Biden’s win, despite her continued refusal to sign off on his transition.
Nov. 16: The FBI annual report found there were 51 hate-crime killings in 2019, the highest number since the FBI began tabulating such figures in the early 1990s.
The 2019 report showed hate-crimes rose 2.7% to 7,314 in 2019, the highest level since 2008, with a 14% rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes.
Nov. 16: The Pentagon said Trump would halve the number of U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan and cut troops in Iraq by mid-January, alarming U.S. allies and Republicans. McConnell called the move “a mistake.”
Nov. 16: NYT reported Trump had asked senior advisors for options for attacking Iran’s main nuclear site in the coming weeks, after international inspectors found a significant increase in Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
Nov. 16: All three attorneys representing the Trump campaign in its federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania, Linda Kerns, John Scott, and Douglas Bryan Hughes, filed a motion to withdraw from the case Monday evening.
Nov. 16: Raffensperger told the Post he has come under pressure from Republicans to find ways to exclude ballots, including Graham who called him questioning the validity of legally cast absentee ballots.
Raffensperger said in a call last Friday, Graham echoed Trump’s unfounded claims about voting irregularities. The atmosphere is so contentious amid the recount, Raffensperger said he and his wife received death threats.
Asked of Raffensperger’s characterization that he told him to toss legal ballots, Graham called it “ridiculous,” although Trump tweeted the same day on the topic, and a legal challenge was filed on signature matching.
Raffensperger told WSJ Graham called him twice on Friday. He called back with the idea of invalidating absentee ballots from counties with higher rates of signature errors. Raffensperger had staffers with him on that call.
Nov. 17: Asked by reporters, Graham defended himself, saying, “Yeah, I talked to Arizona, I talked to Nevada…as a United States senator who’s worried about the integrity of the election process.”
Notably the three states were close and went for Biden. Pressed after the secretaries of state said they had not spoken to him, Graham said it was AZ Gov. Doug Doucey and “I can’t remember who I talked to in Nevada.”
Nov. 17: Conservative WSJ Editorial Board debunked Trump’s conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems voting machines, noting if there were any evidence this was true, Georgia’s hand recount would find it.
Nov. 17: Asked at a news conference what the GOP will look like after Trump, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “You’re assuming President Trump is moving on.”
Nov. 17: DHS announced in a memo it had temporarily put FEMA chief Peter Gaynor in charge of the department, so he could re-issue the order of succession, making Chad Wolf eligible for acting secretary job.
Nov 17: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out the Trump campaign’s complaints over election observers argued by Giuliani by a 5–2 vote, undercutting their case to contest results. Biden led by 73,000 votes.
Nov. 17: The Wayne County Board of Canvassers were deadlocked on certifying election results, with the two Republicans claiming absentee ballots poll books did not match, although this happened too in August.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said it was common for votes to be out of balance with large turnout. The documentation would go to her office and Board of State Canvassers next to complete and certify the results.
Trump praised the unprecedented move in a series of tweets, saying, “Having courage is a beautiful thing. The USA stands proud!” and lying, “Detroit..has tremendous problems!” in a move to exclude Black votes.
McEnany, in her apparent role on the Trump campaign, appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity,” holding up what she claimed were 234 pages of sworn affidavits raising allegations of fraud in Wayne County.
Shortly after, facing widespread public condemnation, the GOP officials agreed to certify the results, but compromised in agreeing to direct Benson to do a comprehensive audit of the out-of-balance precincts.
Nov. 17: Trump fired Krebs, the head of election cybersecurity, in a tweet, after Krebs publicly debunked conspiracy theories saying the election was safe. Trump falsely claimed the DHS statement was “highly inaccurate.”
Nov. 17: NYT reported since election night, Trump had sent over 300 tweets containing falsehood and misleading claims, attacking the integrity of the election.
Nov. 18: On “Fox & Friends,” in her role as White House press secretary, McEnany described state guidance for Thanksgiving as “Orwellian,” saying, “the American people know how to protect their health.”
Nov. 18: The U.S. surpassed 250,000 coronavirus deaths with the morbidity rate surging. More than 3 million people in the U.S. were estimated to be contagious.
Nov. 18: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he and his staffers would not work with or brief Biden’s transition team on the coronavirus until the GSA makes a determination that Biden is the President-elect.
Nov 18: In a Pentagon shake-up, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller announced that, for the first time ever, Special Operations civilian leadership will now report directly to the Secretary of Defense.
Nov. 18: Trump drew criticism from Jewish groups for appointing Darren Beattie to a three-year term on the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad commission. He was fired in Week 93 for ties to white nationalists.
Nov. 18: A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 73% believe Biden won the election, 5% believe Trump. When asked whether Biden “rightfully won,” 52% of Republicans said Trump should have won the election, but it was “rigged.”
Nov. 18: A Monmouth poll found 60% believe Biden won the election fairly, 32% say he won by voter fraud, including 77% of Trump supporters. 54% said there was enough information to know who won, 44% said not.
Nov. 18: The Trump campaign wired $3 million to Wisconsin ahead of the deadline for a partial recount, although the canvassing showed the election night count to be accurate, seeking to delay Biden’s victory.
WAPO reported Giuliani’s strategy, backed by Trump, was to push GOP officials to stall the vote certification, hoping to have GOP lawmakers pick electors and disrupt the electoral college when it convenes in December.
Giuliani’s plan was against the law in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin had no role to the legislature in choosing electors, and no other states had signed on, but Trump hoped to sow doubt about Biden’s victory ahead of a 2024 run.
Nov. 18: Later, Monica Palmer, a Wayne County canvassing board official, said she wanted to rescind her decision to certify the results of the presidential election. She told the Post that Trump had called her Tuesday.
Palmer said the call “was not pressure. It was genuine concern for my safety.” William Hartmann, the other Republican on the board, also signed an affidavit looking to rescind. Democrats said it was too late to rescind.
Nov. 19: The Trump campaign dropped a lawsuit which had sought to stop the certification of ballots in Wayne County, falsely claiming the canvassing board “met and declined to certify the results.”
Nov. 19: Trump invited Michigan GOP leaders Mike Shirkey, the State Senate majority leader, and Lee Chatfield, the speaker of the Michigan House, to the White House Friday as part of his plot to subvert the election.
Nov. 19: AP reported there is no precedent for Trump’s plan to delay or undermine certification. Trump and his team continued to sow chaos and perpetuate false claims and conspiracy theories about the count.
Nevada and Wisconsin completed the initial step of certifying results, as did Michigan, save for the Wayne County issue. Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania have not concluded local certifications.
Recounts and court challenges must be completed, and election results must be certified by December 8, ahead of the Electoral College meeting on Dec. 14. Aides called the disorganized approach a fever dream.
Nov 19: NBC News reported Trump is prepared to fight until the end of December, even as advisers are counseling him to consider post-presidency, and using the word “conclusion” rather than “concession.”
Meadows is among those trying to focus Trump on post January 20, while Giuliani continues to press for legal fights. Republican Senators were expected to stay quiet publicly until the Electoral College votes.
Nov. 19: WSJ reported there is no precedent for Trump’s refusal to concede. Trump put Giuliani in charge last week after a tense Oval Office meeting because he was the only one who told Trump he could win.
While Trump focused on the legal fight, he effectively stopped doing the job of president, as his schedule was empty almost every day post election, and spent little time planning the agenda for his final 62 days.
Nov. 19: Giuliani held a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters with campaign attorneys Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, claiming widespread fraud without producing any evidence.
They claimed there was a centralized conspiracy started in Venezuela to rig the U.S. presidential election, and baselessly cited voter fraud in cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Philadelphia that Democrats run and won.
Powell also claimed there was an influx of money from Cuba and China, George Soros, the Clinton Foundation, and antifa. Fox News and other conservative media outlets carried the entire news conference live.
Recently fired CISA director Krebs tweeted, “That press conference was the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history. And possibly the craziest.”
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss said, “We have never seen anything like this before…This is a president abusing his very great powers to try to stay in office…That is a prospect that terrified most of the founders.”
Later, when Fox News host Tucker Carlson pushed back on Powell’s assertions without evidence that “Millions of votes stolen in a day. Democracy destroyed,” he faced a prompt backlash from Trump allies for his betrayal.
Nov. 19: Fauci told NYT in an interview, “I was stunned by the fact that in certain areas of the country, even though the devastation of the outbreak is clear, some people are still saying it’s fake news.”
Nov. 19: The CDC urged Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving, and to cancel plans to be with relatives outside their household, citing an exponential increase in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Nov. 19: The White House Coronavirus Task Force held its first briefing since July 14. Fauci urged vigilance ahead of a vaccine, Vice President Mike Pence obscured that Trump does not support a national lockdown, and Trump did not attend.
Nov. 19: A new filing related to the plot against Gov. Whitmer revealed a Plan B to takeover the Michigan capitol building by 200 combatants who would stage a week-long series of televised executions of public officials.
Nov. 19: As Georgia was about to announce its hand count results, a Trump lawsuit claimed the results were “suspect and tainted with impropriety.” The judge, a Trump appointee, declined to block vote certification.
Nov. 19: CNN reported a Trump ally said he knows he has lost, but is delaying the transition and sowing doubt the election to retaliate at Democrats for questioning the legitimacy of his win in 2016.
Nov. 19: Treasury Department Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced he would allow the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs using the CARES Act to expire on December 31, as unemployment started to tick up again.
By asking the Fed to return the funds, Mnuchin could hamper Biden’s incoming secretary. In an unusual public statement, the Fed has pushed back, saying it preferred to have “the full suite of emergency facilities.”
Nov. 19: NYT reported two New York State fraud investigations into Trump and his businesses, one criminal and one civil, have expanded to include tax write-offs for consulting fees, some of which went to Ivanka.
Nov. 19: Census Bureau officials said they will not conclude the count before January 20, blocking Trump’s goal of stripping unauthorized immigrants from population totals for Congressional apportionment.
Nov. 20: NYT front page story: “Trump Targets Michigan in His Ploy to Subvert the Election.” WAPO front page story: “Trump wages full assault to overturn election.”
Nov. 20: A pre-election analysis by the Election Integrity Partnership found that one-fifth of all election misinformation came from 20 Twitter accounts, including Trump and his allies. Most continued post election.
Nov. 20: In her first press briefing since October 1, McEnany refused to acknowledge Biden’s win, referring to him as “the former vice president,” and claiming Trump wanted “every legal vote to be counted.”
Nov. 20: Ahead of Georgia certifying the state for Biden, which was pushed off until 5 p.m., Trump lied, tweeting that the governor and secretary of state are keeping his campaign from examining “illegal ballots” that took away his “BIG VICTORY.”
Nov. 20: At a news conference on drug prices, Trump lied, saying pharmaceutical companies supported Biden, but “I won, by the way, but you know, we’ll find that out.”
Trump added, “You wouldn’t have a vaccine if it weren’t for me for another four years,” and falsely accused Pfizer of delaying their announcement until after the election. He left without taking questions.
Nov. 20: An affidavit filed by Trump’s legal team in an attempt to prove voter fraud in Michigan used data taken from counties in Minnesota, the latest in a series of embarrassing missteps.
Nov. 20: Giuliani and other members of Trump’s legal team did not attend the meeting with two Michigan lawmakers at the White House after Andrew Giuliani, who was at their news conference, tested positive.
Nov. 20: Later, Georgia’s Raffensperger officially certified Biden’s victory, hours after a staffer mistakenly sent out a statement saying the process had been completed and then having to withdraw it, raising concerns.
Gov. Kemp certified the state’s slate, but did not endorse the results, saying the law required him to “formalize the certification,” but the Trump campaign could “pursue other legal options and a separate recount.”
Nov. 20: Law firm Kirkland & Ellis filed in Pennsylvania federal court, asking to withdraw from representing the Trump campaign.
Nov. 20: Democrat Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. filed complaints with state boards against Giuliani in five states: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Giuliani’s home state of New York, seeking his disbarment.
Nov. 20: In an extraordinary attempt to block Biden’s victory, Michigan Senate majority leader and House speaker met with Trump at the White House. Biden won the state by 154,000 votes.
Nov. 20: WAPO reported Michigan AG Dana Nessel, a Democrat, was exploring whether state and local officials who bend to Trump’s wishes to block certification of Biden were committing crimes.
Nov. 20: The NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against Trump on behalf of Black Michigan voters, saying he is “openly seeking to disenfranchise Black voters,” citing baseless claims of election fraud.
Nov. 20: AP reached out, and almost none of the top Republican leaders in the House or Senate responded if they believe the states have any reason not to certify election results, except number 3 in the House, Liz Cheney.
Nov. 20: Barr ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to schedule the executions of three inmates before Biden’s inauguration.
Nov. 20: Twitter announced it would hand the @POTUS account to Biden on January 20, even if Trump does not concede. Same for other associated accounts including @whitehouse, @VP, and @FLOTUS.
Nov. 20: A Maricopa County Superior Court judge tossed out the last of the legal challenges by Trump’s team in Arizona.
Nov. 20: Bloomberg reported Donald Jr., tested positive for Covid. At least four White House staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, the fourth cluster in the White House which had at least 45 cases in recent months.
Nov. 20: Texas Tribune reported as cases continued to soar in the region, El Paso resorted to using county jail inmates to move bodies. The Texas Army National Guard will be sending a 36-person team to help shortly.
Nov. 21: The U.S. surpassed 12 million coronavirus cases, after recording a record of more than 198,500 cases on Friday heading into the Thanksgiving holiday week. More than 254,000 had died.
Nov. 21: At his last Group of 20 summit, Trump made a brief virtual appearance, then left to tweet false claims about voter fraud and golf at his Virginia course, skipping the rest of event devoted to the pandemic.
The Guardian reported Trump told the world leaders he looked forward to working with them “for a long time,” even though almost all had congratulated Biden, and made no commitment to share U.S. vaccines.
Nov. 21: A letter from RNC Chair McDaniel and Michigan Republican Chair Laura Cox urged the Board of State Canvassers to pause certifying results for 14 days to allow a full audit and investigate supposed irregularities.
Nov. 21: Photos surfaced of Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and state Rep. Jim Lilly sipping Dom Perignon champagne, and sitting without masks at the lobby bar of the Trump Hotel DC.
Nov. 21: Ahead of Pennsylvania’s certification on Monday, a group of GOP lawmakers filed an emergency petition seeking to block it, asking the court to strike down mail ballot policy passed by the GOP lawmakers.
Nov. 21: In a 37-page scathing rebuke, a federal judge in Pennsylvania dismissed Trump’s election lawsuit, describing it as a “Frankenstein’s Monster” that contained “strained legal argument without merit.”
Nov. 21: AP reported in Wisconsin, a steady stream of unwarranted GOP observer complaints and rule breaking interrupting was putting the recounts in Milwaukee and Dane counties behind schedule.
Nov. 21: The Trump campaign requested a recount in Georgia. Trump called the first recount, formally an audit, a “joke,” lying that “thousands of fraudulent votes have been found.” Twitter labeled the tweet.
Nov. 21: Shortly after, Powell told Newsmax, “Georgia is probably going to be the first state I’m going to blow up,” baselessly claiming Kemp and Raffensperger were paid in a conspiracy using Dominion voting machines.
Nov. 21: An op-ed quoting historians noted the founding fathers did not envisage a president refusing to step down, or putting their personal interests ahead of the country, so the Constitution provides no road map.
Nov. 22: Trump addressed the G-20 meeting on climate change, saying, “The Paris accord was not designed to save the environment. It was designed to kill the American economy.” He then left to play golf.
Nov. 22: Michigan House Speaker Chatfield referenced a “constitutional crisis” on Fox News Business if the state’s canvassing board voted 2–2 along party lines, after visiting the White House on Friday.
Nov. 22: In Pennsylvania, the Trump campaign filed a notice to appeal Saturday’s decision to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the day before the state’s 67 counties were set to certify their results.
Notably with this case and others, the accusations made by Giuliani and other Trump lawyers at news conferences did not match what was filed in court cases. Not a single court found merit in their core legal claims.
Of the 34 legal challenges filed in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Trump’s legal team prevailed in just one case. The other cases were withdrawn, rejected or dismissed.
Nov. 22: Trump ally Chris Christie told “This Week” that Trump should end his legal fight over the election, calling his legal team a “national embarrassment,” and saying evidence of fraud “has not been presented.”
Nov. 22: Later Sunday, Giuliani announced Powell was no longer part of Trump’s legal team, saying in a statement she “is practicing law on her own” and “is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity.”
Nov. 22: WAPO reported on Trump going quiet in the 19 days since the election. He has had no events on his schedule for 12 days. He appeared at public events four times, played golf six times, and took no questions from the press.
Since the election, Trump spoke 8,143 words over 18 days, after averaging 8,398 words daily in 2020. He averaged 48 minutes per day on camera in 2020, but had been on just 50 minutes since November 3.
CNN reported that acting Defense Secretary Miller also refused to answer questions about pulling troops, Pompeo took no questions on his ten day trip abroad, and Pence took no questions at the coronavirus briefing.
Nov. 22: NYT reported Trump is working to retain control of the RNC by installing McDaniel as chair, raising fears within the GOP that Trump will use the RNC, which traditionally is neutral, as a vessel for a 2024 run.
Nov. 23: NBC News reported Trump is threatening to veto legislation to fund the military unless a provision to rename military bases honoring Confederates, which had broad bipartisan support, is removed.
Nov. 23: A group of more than 100 GOP national security experts called on Republican leaders to demand Trump concede and begin the transition, citing “significant risks to our global security” in the midst of a pandemic.
Nov. 23: Ohio Gov. DeWine faced growing criticism from Republicans, including a series of bills from state lawmakers that would limit his power in the pandemic, after saying Trump should recognize Biden had won.
Nov. 23: The Michigan Board of State Canvassers, which had two Republicans and two Democrats, certified the state’s results 3–0 vote with one abstention. Allies of Trump urged the board to delay by two weeks.
Nov. 23: GSA chief Murphy refused to brief House Committee chairs on the Biden transition, saying rather her Deputy Administrator Allison Brigati will “host a 30 minute briefing on Monday, November 30” — a week later.
Shortly after, Murphy approved transition funds to Biden in a personal letter, declaring him the winner 16 days after the race had been called. She said she, her family, staff, and pets had received threats.
In the letter, she lamented the vagueness of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963: “the statute provides no procedures or standards for this process,” adding, “I strongly urge Congress to consider amendments to the Act.”
Shortly after, Trump refused to concede, tweeting, “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!” But claimed he was behind Murphy’s move to release funds.
Trump added, “Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
CNN reported some White House staffers were caught off guard by the letter. Meadows wrote in an evening email, “Unless specifically authorized, EOP personnel are not permitted to speak directly” with Biden’s team.
Nov. 23: NBC News reported while publicly praising his legal team, behind the scenes Trump was concerned the team, led by Giuliani, was comprised of “fools that are making him look bad.”
Nov. 23: while refusing to concede, Trump continued to fundraise. The legal fine print for his Save America PAC had relaxed rules for how funds could be spent, including not restricting using funds for personal expenses.
Nov. 23: Fox News host Laura Ingraham became the first host to say Biden would be president despite baselessly claiming “serious questions” about the election, and urged her viewers to accept “reality” that Trump lost.
Nov. 23: General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in a letter that the company would no longer side with the Trump regime in its defense against a lawsuit over its efforts against California’s pollution standards.
Nov. 24: Pennsylvania certified the results of the election for Biden. Shortly after, the Nevada Supreme Court made Joe Biden’s win official in the state.
Nov. 24: Former GOP House speaker Paul Ryan called on Trump to stop the fruitless legal challenges, saying they “will only serve to undermine our faith in our system of government, our faith in our democracy.”
Nov. 24: Bloomberg reported Mnuchin put $455 billion in unspent Cares Act funding into the agency’s General Fund, meaning his presumed successor, Janet Yellen, will need authorization from Congress to use it.
Nov. 24: Pennsylvania Majority Leader Mike Shirke tried to downplay his meeting with Trump after it became public that Giuliani called in. Initially GOP lawmakers had said the meeting was related to coronavirus funding.
Nov. 24: Republicans filed a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stop vote certification on Dec. 1, seeking to exclude tens of thousands of ballots and to give the GOP state lawmakers power to pick the electors.
Nov. 24: Trump held a 64 second impromptu press conference, where he stepped in front of reporters to take credit for the Dow Jones Industrial Average topping 30,000, then left without taking questions.
Nov. 24: Leader McConnell still had not publicly acknowledged Biden as president-elect or called to congratulate him, despite the transition starting and the two having served in the Senate together for 24 years.
Nov. 24: The Trump campaign and Pennsylvania Senate Republicans announced plans for an event in Gettysburg on Wednesday, held at a hotel, organized by the state GOP to expose “irregularities” in the 2020 election.
Nov. 24: Fox News paid a seven figure lawsuit settlement to the family of Seth Rich, just as Hannity and other high profile Fox News figures were set to be deposed under oath about a series of broadcasts in May 2017.
Nov. 24: BuzzFeed reported ICE deported 33 immigrant children, who came to the U.S. without a parent, back to Guatemala last week, despite a federal judge issuing a preliminary injunction the same day blocking it.
Nov. 25: Raffensperger wrote in an op-ed, “My family voted for Trump. He threw us under the bus anyway,” saying he “fought to uphold the integrity of elections in Georgia.” The Georgia Senate runoff is on January 5.
Nov. 25: Trump’s planned appearance alongside Giuliani in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was canceled last minute after campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn tested positive, the second from last Thursday’s news conference.
Giuliani attended a Pennsylvania Senate committee public hearing there, lying that the Trump campaign has been denied the opportunity “almost uniformly” to raise concerns about voter fraud, despite court cases.
Giuliani claimed fraud took place in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia. Lawmakers also heard from people who made claims of election fraud in affidavits.
Trump phoned in, falsely claiming he won Pennsylvania, which was certified for Biden the day before, saying, “We have to turn the election over,” insisting without evidence there are “many, many cases” of fraud.
Trump also lied, saying, “This election was rigged and we can’t let that happen. We can’t let it happen for our country,” and lied that “we won Pennsylvania by a lot and we won all these swing states by a lot.”
After, Trump invited Pennsylvania lawmakers to the White House for a meeting in the West Wing. The legislature’s Republican leaders did not attend the meeting. The GOP has the majority in both chambers.
Nov. 25: Shortly after, a Pennsylvania judge ordered a halt to any further steps to certify the election. It was not clear if the order would hold up the certification of state and local contests. Gov. Wolf appealed.
Nov. 25: Bloomberg reported pro-Trump donor Fred Eshelman sued to get his $2.5 million donation to True the Vote to fight election fraud back, saying the group dropped its legal actions and refused to give updates.
Nov. 25: ProPublica reported the Trump regime is racing to push through rule changes that will weaken the environment and worker protections in the final days, in some cases bypassing public feedback in their rush.
Nov. 25: Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and cooperated in the Mueller probe, before reversing. Shortly before, Flynn tweeted an American flag and the words “Jeremiah 1:19.”
Flynn, who was represented by Powell, was the second Trump associate entangled in the Mueller probe to be pardoned after Roger Stone, and was one of six Trump associates to be convicted or charged with crimes.
Nov. 25: Later Wednesday, Powell filed typo-ridden election lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia, alleging massive election fraud problems linked to voting machines, mail-in ballots, and Hugo Chavez.
Nov. 25: Yahoo News reported John Paul Mac Isaac, the computer repairmen who told Giuliani he had Hunter Biden’s laptop data, quietly closed shop and left town.
Nov. 25: The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in an unsigned opinion to relieve religious organizations from New York Gov. Cuomo’s coronavirus restrictions. Amy Coney Barrett joined four conservative justices.
Nov. 26: Politico reported Trump’s conspiracy theories about the presidential election had some of his supporters considering boycotting the January 5 Senate runoff in Georgia, deeply concerning GOP leadership.
Nov. 26: AP reported the Trump campaign’s effort to continue to file frivolous lawsuits is not to change the outcome, but to continue to sow doubt and feed conspiracy theories to keep his base loyal.
Nov. 26: On Thanksgiving, speaking to reporters after he addressed troops virtually, Trump said of Biden, “I think it’s not right he’s trying to pick a Cabinet,” baselessly claiming there was “massive fraud.”
Asked if he would concede, Trump said, “It’s going to be a very hard thing to concede,” again citing nonexistent “massive fraud.” When pressed, Trump said “certainly I will” step down if the electoral college votes for Biden.
Trump also questioned the legitimacy of the Georgia Senate runoff, saying, “I’m very worried about that,” adding, “You have a fraudulent system.” Trump also called Raffensperger an “enemy of the people.”
Nov. 27: Belarus state-owned BelTA news agency reported President Alexander Lukashenko said he would step down after a new constitution is adopted.
Nov. 27: The U.S. Third Circuit Court rejected the Trump campaign’s appeal of a Pennsylvania lawsuit in another scathing rebuke, saying, “Voters, not lawyers, choose the President,” and “Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy.”
The three Republican appointed judges, one by Trump, added, “Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”
Shortly after, Trump falsely tweeted, “Biden can only enter the White House as President if he can prove that his ridiculous ‘80,000,000 votes’ were not fraudulently or illegally obtained.”
Reversing himself from the day prior, Trump added, “When you see what happened in Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia & Milwaukee, massive voter fraud, he’s got a big unsolvable problem!” Twitter labeled the tweet.
Business Insider reported Trump continued to actively solicit donations, with 75% of donations being used to pay off the campaign’s debts, including paying family members, and to Trump’s planned 2024 run.
Nov. 27: 27 Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers introduced a resolution disputing the state’s election results, and accused the Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar of certifying results “prematurely… despite ongoing litigation.”
Nov. 27: Trump’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gutted a longstanding federal protection for the nation’s birds, publishing the proposed rollback in the Federal Register over objections of federal officials.
Nov. 27: WAPO reported the Trump regime raced to enact a Trump pre-election executive order, stripping 88% of federal civil servants of job protections, leaving them open to being fired ahead of Biden taking office.
Nov. 27: Wisconsin completed the Trump campaign’s requested recount of Milwaukee County, resulting in Biden netting an additional 132 votes. The campaign paid $3 million for a partial recount of two counties.
Nov. 27: A group of Republicans called Wisconsin Voters Alliance filed a petition asking the state’s Supreme Court to block certification of the election results, and allow the state’s GOP-led legislature to decide instead.
Nov. 27: The DOJ quietly amended its execution protocols, no longer requiring federal death sentences to be carried out by lethal injections, clearing the way to use methods like firing squads and poison gas.
Nov. 27: The U.S. surpassed 13 million coronavirus cases, taking six days to go from 12 to 13 million, with more than 4 million new cases in November. More than 264,000 had died, as deaths reached 2,000 plus some days.
Nov. 27: Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated. Iranian officials blamed Israel. Day before, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Saudi Arabia and met with Prince MBS and Pompeo.
Nov. 28: Trump continued tweeting falsehoods: “the Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally,” lying, “We have found many illegal votes.”
He also lied, tweeting, “we have massive proof, in the Pennsylvania case,” and “The number of ballots that our Campaign is challenging…is FAR LARGER than the 81,000 vote margin.” Twitter labeled them as false tweets.
Nov. 28: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously tossed out a GOP lawmaker’s lawsuit to throw out mail-in ballots, saying, “It is not our role to lend legitimacy to such transparent and untimely efforts to subvert the will of Pennsylvania voters.”
Nov. 28: Daily Beast reported Trump is considering doing an event around his planned 2024 presidential run during Biden’s inauguration ceremony. Some top allies are trying to stay in his good graces in case he runs again.
Nov. 29: WAPO reported on Trump’s failed quest to overturn the election. One close adviser likened Trump’s belligerent refusal to admit he had lost to “Mad King George, muttering, ‘I won. I won. I won.’”
Despite aides knowing Trump had lost, they indulged Trump and encouraged him to keep fighting with legal appeals, leading to an unprecedented election aftermath that endangered American democracy.
In the days since the election, as the coronavirus surged, Trump golfed each weekend and focused on fighting the results, while abdicating the responsibilities of the job he was trying to keep.
Nov. 29: Trump did a 45-minute interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” — his first since the election. Trump spoke for most of the interview, with Bartiromo nodding along.
Trump continued to falsely claim “We won,” and repeated his false claim, “There’s no way Joe Biden got 80 million votes…There’s no way Joe Biden beat Barack Obama in the Black communities of various cities.”
Trump lied, “We had glitches where they moved thousands of votes from my account to Biden’s account,” and on mail-in voting lied there were “massive dumps” and “dead people were applying to get a ballot.”
Trump said, “My mind will not change in six months,” lying, “There was tremendous cheating here,” saying he is “going to use 125 percent of my energy” to contest results, and lying, “Biden did not get 80 million votes.”
Trump complained the Supreme Court had not taken up his cases: “Can you imagine? Donald Trump, president of the United States, files a case, and I probably can’t get a case, even with…we have tremendous proof.”
Trump continued to attack Kemp and Raffensperger for not supporting his baseless fraud claims in Georgia, saying of Kemp, “He has done absolutely nothing. I’m ashamed that I endorsed him.”
Trump also made outlandish claims, including, “I came up with vaccines that people didn’t think we’d have for five years,” and “We’re doing better than the rest of the world.”
Nov. 29: GOP Senate leader Blunt reversed, refusing to recognize Biden as president-elect on “State of the Union,” saying, “the president-elect will be the president-elect when the electors vote for him.”
Nov. 29: GOP Sen. Rand Paul baselessly tweeted, “Trump margin of “defeat” in 4 states occurred in 4 data dumps between 1:34–6:31 AM. Statistical anomaly? Fraud?” This false information was labeled by Twitter.
Nov. 29: Wisconsin completed its recount of two counties’ 800,000 ballots, with Biden gaining 87 votes. The Trump campaign vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, but had yet to do so.
Nov. 29: AP reported Pennsylvania GOP state Sen. Doug Mastria abruptly left a White House meeting with Trump after testing positive, hours after he attended the Gettysburg meeting for four plus hours without a mask.
Nov. 29: Former CISA head Krebs told “60 Minutes” a key to securing the election was paper ballots: “95% of the ballots cast in the 2020 election had a paper record,” citing Georgia’s recount as an example that it worked.
Krebs, a lifelong Republican, called Giuliani’s RNC news conference an effort to “undermine confidence in the election, to confuse people, to scare people,” adding election workers are getting death threats over their work.
Nov. 30: Trump again attacked Kemp, tweeting why won’t “the hapless Governor of Georgia, use his emergency powers” to overrule Raffensperger, lying it was “a “goldmine” of fraud.” Twitter labeled the tweet.
Nov. 30: Raffensperger said at a news conference he would investigate any credible claims, and cited people were “exploiting the emotions of many Trump supporters with fantastic claims, half-truths, misinformation.”
Nov. 30: Conservative National Review Editorial Board wrote about “Trump’s Disgraceful Engame,” noting Trump’s “flawed and dishonest assertions like this pollute the public discourse and mislead good people.”
Nov. 30: Politico reported Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai said he would step down on January 20, in normal deference to the incoming administration, even as Trump refused to concede.
Nov. 30: Politico reported the Trump regime will leave it to states to decide how to distribute scarce vaccines, with no federal guidance other than an agreement with states that health care workers should be first in line.
Nov. 30: Jared Kushner traveled to Saudi Arabia and Qatar amid escalating tensions over the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, to hold talks. Saudi officials said they await incoming president Biden to hold further talks with Israel.
Nov. 30: Biden got his first President’s Daily Brief, more than three weeks after the election had been decided. Trump approved the briefing last Tuesday.
Nov. 30: Arizona GOP lawmaker and Trump campaign lawyers including Giuliani held a meeting at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix, after state leaders said they could not use the state Capitol. Hundreds protested outside.
Nov. 30: Arizona certified election results, affirming Biden’s win. Trump supporters protested outside The Arizona Republic building in Phoenix after the results were certified. Trump baselessly claimed rampant fraud.
Nov. 30: Wisconsin certified its election results, the last of the six battleground states including Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Arizona where Trump’s lawyers had questioned results.
Shortly after, Trump slammed GOP Gov. Doug Ducey who said, “We do elections well here in Arizona. The system is strong,” tweeting, “Why is he rushing to put a Democrat in office…Republicans will long remember.”
Nov. 30: Trump’s campaign lawyer Joe diGenova told Newsmax that Krebs should be executed, saying, “That guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.”
Nov. 30: The DOJ released a copy of Flynn’s pardon for “any and all possible offenses,” which legal experts said may be the broadest pardon issued since Nixon.
Nov. 30: Dr. Scott Atlas, the radiologist who had pushed for herd immunity and clashed with others on the White House coronavirus task force members, resigned.

Rudolph Giuliani, attorney for Trump, conducts a news conference at the Republican National Committee, on lawsuits regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election on Thursday, November 19, 2020. Trump attorneys, Jenna Ellis, far left and Sydney Powell, second from left, also appear, as well as Joseph diGenova, Victoria Toensing, and Boris Epshteyn, who later tested positive for the coronavirus.