Several of Donald Trump ‘s supporters have hinted that the former president might be preparing to make a move similar to 2020: they believe that he will announce himself as the winner of the election before the results are clear. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen recently spoke about this forecast and asserted that Trump might declare victory in the 2024 election before all mail-in ballots had been counted. Cohen then cautioned that Trump might also incite a ‘frenzy’ among his devoted MAGA followers. However, he requested Americans not to panic despite the possible chaos.
Cohen further claimed that if Trump faces a defeat—especially with a large margin—he will quickly revert to his ‘Big Lie No. 2’ which states that Democrats once again stole the election from him. He discussed these allegations during his interview with MSNBC’s Alex Witt. However, as reported by HuffPost , Cohen also said, “It’s not like it was in 2020. The reason is because Trump is not in power. Joe Biden is in power.” He further said that since Seal Team Six, the National Guard, and the military are prepared, there is no chance of another insurrection similar to the one that occurred on January 6, 2021. Local police are also on high alert and prepared to handle any possible disturbances.
Earlier in the interview, the host inquired whether Cohen was surprised by Trump and Kamala Harris being so close in the national polls. Cohen admitted that the situation both surprised and disturbed him. He also shared that he received an unusual response from people when he asked why they were choosing not to vote for Harris. According to Cohen, they said, “I don’t like her look, I don’t like her mouth formation, I don’t like her giggle, I don’t like the way she speaks.” Cohen believed that Trump wanted to win this election only to avoid going to prison. He emphasized that the Republican candidate was not running for the people but rather for himself.
Meanwhile, several of Harris’ aides, along with the vice president herself, have hinted that they are planning around the possibility of Trump claiming victory early or contesting the results if he loses. During an interview, Harris was questioned if her campaign was ready to handle the potential early news of Trump’s victory, and she said they had thought about the matter. She also went on to claim that Trump incited a violent mob to attack the US Capitol in 2020 and attempted to disrupt a free and fair election.
Back in 2020, Trump announced an early victory on election night despite ultimately losing to Biden. According to NBC News , a Republican who has supported Trump for a long time stated that many members of the party believe the former president will declare victory on election night, regardless of the outcome. This likelihood is intensified by the fact that crucial swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia won’t begin counting mail-in ballots until Election Day . Nonetheless, some Trump supporters think that this time his inner circle will work to prevent him from prematurely claiming victory if the outcome remains uncertain.