Rick Santorum Says Donald Trump, His Supporters Need ‘Space’ To Accept Defeat: ‘This Is A Very Emotional Time’
On Friday, CNN panelist Rick Santorum used his platform to call on all Americans to give President Donald Trump and his supporters “space” for emotional healing, The Hill reported.
Speaking with fellow panelists David Axelrod and Van Jones, the former Republican senator argued that it may take a while for Trump and those supportive of him to accept the fact that he has lost the 2020 presidential election to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
“He’s just found out that he’s probably not going to be the President of the United States anymore. You can say ‘Well it was in the cards,’ but you don’t know until the votes are counted,” he said.
Host Gloria Borger suggested that the commander-in-chief and his supporters need to accept reality, noting that America is running on “democracy’s schedule, not Donald Trump’s schedule.”
Still, Santorum insisted that American people need to be understanding of Trump and his fans and give them space to work out their feelings.
“This is a very emotional time. Give people space to work through this.”
Jones agreed with Santorum, pointing out that many urged 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to concede on election night.
“People need a minute,” he said.
However, Jones noted that some Americans fear Trump will be a “bitter ender” and refuse to accept his fate.
Biden has not yet officially won the presidency because some key states have not finished counting the votes, but Trump’s path to victory is blocked. Earlier today, Decision Desk HQ called the contest in the Democrat’s favor after projecting that he won the state of Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, Trump has maintained that he does not plan on conceding the election, baselessly alleging widespread electoral fraud, calling for recounts and threatening legal action. Per CNN, Trump has told advisers to keep mounting legal challenges and he has still given no thought to accepting the results.
Some of those close to Trump, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have reportedly been “feeding” his claims about voter fraud which has angered other aides, who apparently believe that it is time to formally pass the torch to Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
“Still, some of the president’s allies have grown concerned that someone will eventually have to reckon with him that his time in office is likely coming to an end,” the publication reported, noting that the possibility of losing “was not widely discussed” in the White House, because Trump was confident he would win.
