Trump admits he lost in 2020, leading white nationalist Nick Fuentes to disavow him
Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY
Updated Fri, September 6, 2024 at 11:06 AM EDT·4 min read
14.3k
Former President Donald Trump's recent acknowledgment that he lost the 2020 election has rattled prominent far-right figures, with some saying they will lead a campaign to keep him from being elected in 2024.
At least three times in recent weeks Trump, the 2024 Republican party nominee, has acknowledged that he lost in 2020 "by a whisker."
"He beat us by a whisker. It was a terrible thing," Trump said of President Joe Biden during a 45 minute interview Aug. 4 with podcaster Lex Fridman. He used similar language at an Aug. 30 Moms for Liberty summit and an Aug. 23 press event at the Southern border.
Despite frequently and falsely claiming that he actually won the election and making the issue a central point of his 2024 bid, Trump has occasionally over the last few years admitted that he lost. Trump lost the popular vote to Biden by 7 million votes and the Electoral College by 74 electoral votes. His effort to overturn the election culminated in Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters hoping to stop the certification of his defeat.
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, DC.
The reaction to Trump's most recent comments from some far-right activists and influencers has been unusually stark.
White nationalist Nick Fuentes blasted Trump Sept. 4 for admitting that he lost the 2020 election, and said that he will work to get voters not to back Trump.
"So, why did we do Stop the Steal? Why did did anyone go to Jan. 6? Why did any one go to jail? ... It would have been good to know that before 1,600 people got charged," Fuentes said on his podcast, referring to the criminal charges for those who invaded and ransacked the Capitol. "It would’ve been good to know that before (I) had all my money frozen, put on a no-fly list, banned from everything, lost all my bank and payment processing.”
Fuentes, a podcaster and Holocaust denier who dined with Trump and the notorious rapper Ye at Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla., in 2022 went on to call it a "tremendous betrayal" and "callus indifference to the sacrifices that his supporters made on his behalf."
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