Internet Says Trump Has 'Lost His Mind' After Threat to Incite Insurrection if He Doesn’t Win

A brief video of Donald Trump's interview from 2023 has made its way back onto social media, in which he seems to be claiming that he was denied a second term and is now planning an effort to stop a sequel. During an interview with Sean Spicer, his former press secretary, Trump said, "I was told if I get 63 million we win easily... But when they rig and cheat, you know, there's not a lot you can do about that other than you have to stop it. And we have to stop it a second time."

The 16-second teaser footage shared by the Biden-Harris campaign makes it difficult to understand the words' context. A Twitter user shared this video and wrote, "Donald Trump has lost his mind. Spread this everywhere." Some viewers interpreted the video as the former president's confession for the Jan. 6, 2021 capitol riot. One user commented, "Did I hear wrong? Or did Trump just confess in this video that he arranged the insurrection to stop the counting the first time?" Another one jokingly added, "Here you have it! This is his message to all his insurrectionist that are not in prison, to be ready to try again when he loses!"

One more user chimed in, "Trump Insurrection Part 2 won’t surprise us this time, the White House bunker’s not available. With this declaration it’s given the green light to start surveillance, tap phones, identify the conspirators and play informants. Trump’s more a suspect than candidate." Another critic followed up, "Trump supporters have been talking about taking up arms and Civil War since he lost in 2020. The difference this time is we’ll have a President in the White House who will not allow Trump’s militia to attack Americans. They’ll be quashed before they get started."

This video is a particularly forceful declaration that mirrors his address to a throng of fans at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, in which he urged them to rise up and defend their nation. As reported by NPR, Trump stated at the time, "We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." In the end, the rioters who supported Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to prevent then-President-Elect Joe Biden from being certified the results of the election. Trump has never officially admitted defeat when it comes to the 2020 election results. 

Additionally, he spread misleading information about voting to his followers for months leading up to the election 2020, including claims that the Democrats had 'rigged' the results. Following his loss in the election, Trump escalated his rhetoric and sought to overturn the result by submitting judicial challenges in states that were considered to be in the race. He then shifted his strategy to have senators 'fight' on his behalf. Trump sent out a rallying call to his fans in December, essentially urging them to congregate on January 6. At his 'Save America' rally at about noon on January 6, Trump reiterated his assertion that he had won, providing his followers with his last directive. Protesters began to congregate outside the Capitol building even before Trump concluded his address. Despite never joining them, Trump did tweet updates and later delivered a video message.