Advisers urge Donald Trump to prematurely declare victory on election night | US elections 2024

Donald Trump was told by some advisers that he should declare victory early on election night if he was sufficiently ahead of Kamala Harris in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, people close to him say. However, it remains unclear whether he will heed this advice.

The consensus view is that Trump has nothing to lose by claiming he won, if he has a lead of several hundred thousand votes in Pennsylvania, or if his internal pollsters think a victory is plausible, even if the results are incomplete Tuesday night be confirmed.

But even Trump’s most combative allies – including former White House strategist Steven Bannon, who spoke to him last week, one of the respondents said – have suggested he hold off on commenting as the race gets even closer to bedtime. so that he doesn’t look stupid.

In the final days of the election campaign, Trump and his campaign have shown confidence. This has created expectations among his supporters that he will win and laid the groundwork for baseless claims that the election will be stolen if he loses and Harris takes the White House. A premature declaration of victory would also likely contribute to this phenomenon.

The wild card for what Trump might do on election night remains Trump himself. His advisers acknowledge that if Trump decides to make a statement, he will do whatever he wants and that his travel-weary team may have little desire and has influence to dissuade him.

That Trump’s team is collectively shrugging at the prospect of the former president prematurely declaring himself the winner, as he did after the 2020 election, is notable in itself, as it underscores another norm of presidential politics, Trump’s was destroyed.

Trump’s hasty declaration would not have the surprise effect it had four years ago. The Harris campaign said it was preparing for him to pull such a stunt again.

Trump spoke less this time about what he planned to do on election night, the people said, in contrast to his intentions in the 2020 election, when he told friends and allies of his intention to declare victory regardless of the outcome.

Trump dodged questions about his intentions when he cast his own vote on Tuesday.

“I don’t know what will happen with the declaration of victory,” Trump said. “It looks like we have a very big lead. It looks like we have a lot more Republicans voting than Democrats. So if you have a lead and more votes, that means you’re doing well, but they have to declare a winner. And they should name a winner.”

But whether it’s a product of the advisers around him suppressing the kind of conspiracy that set in motion attempts to overturn the election results, or the logistics of the news media being anywhere other than his private watch party, Trump was quieter about his intentions.

Trump will watch the announcement of the results at a private campaign party at his Mar-a-Lago club for members, donors and other friends and family, while the official campaign party will be just a short drive away at a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, said the people.

The private watch party will start early and Trump will likely convey to members that he is winning, the people said. The Mar-a-Lago event was also described as a stabbing in which allies crossed donors’ names off the list to obtain their credentials.

Whether Trump will double down on his claim to win the Convention Center Party remains unclear. Trump’s advisers have suggested that if he actually decides to declare himself the winner, he would come over from Mar-a-Lago, and if not, he might not show up at all.

Read more of the Guardian’s coverage of the 2024 US election