Donald Trump Finally Admitted He Lost the Election—And Then Refused to Concede

President Donald Trump almost, kinda, sorta conceded the election, but then took it right back.

In a series of tweets Sunday morning, November 15, Trump appeared to acknowledge Joe Biden won the 2020 election for the first time, writing, “He won because the Election was Rigged.”

He continued, “NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!” 

It didn’t take long for people on Twitter to run with his statement and thus, the words HE WON and the hashtag #TrumpConceded became trending topics, which made sitting president backtrack real quick. 

“RIGGED ELECTION. WE WILL WIN!” he tweeted a few hours later, adding, “He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!”

Notably, Twitter marked each of Trump’s tweets with the disclaimer, “This claim about election fraud is disputed.”

Donald Trump’s tweets come just over a week after many major news outlets, including CNN and Fox, announced that Biden and Kamala Harris were the projected winners of the 2020 election and the next president and vice president of the United States, respectively.

In the days following the projected Biden win, Trump has refused to concede and has repeatedly claimed, without any substantiated evidence, that the election was “rigged.” In fact, he believes the election was stolen, alleging widespread voter fraud.

However, on November 13, he also claimed 2020 was the “most secure election ever.” Well, which one is it? 

“For years the Dems have been preaching how unsafe and rigged our elections have been. Now they are saying what a wonderful job the Trump Administration did in making 2020 the most secure election ever,” he tweeted. “Actually this is true, except for what the Democrats did. Rigged Election!” 

Of course, Trump’s refusal to concede does not change the fact that Biden is the president-elect. However, it is making the entire process for a smooth transition of power a lot more difficult—and dangerous—than it needs to be. 

For his part, Joe Biden seems less focused on Trump’s rants and more focussed on the nation’s continued fight against the mounting coronavirus pandemic. “I am the president-elect, but will not be president until next year,” he cautioned in a tweet on November 13. “COVID-19 does not respect dates on the calendar, it is accelerating right now. Urgent action is needed today, now, by the current administration."

Originally Appeared on Glamour