President Donald Trump on Sunday briefly appeared to acknowledge Joe Biden’s election victory with a tweet that began “He won” — and then quickly walked back any suggestion of concession with follow-up tweets that “I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go.”
Trump also repeated false claims of a “rigged election” — which Twitter flagged for “disputed” content about “election fraud.”
#TrumpConceded became a top Twitter trend after the president’s initial tweet, sent at 7:47 a.m. ET, which began with the false claim that “He won because the Election was rigged.”
Hours later, after Twitter users and some news outlets took the first words of his tweet as a begrudging acknowledgment of Biden’s victory, Trump followed up with a series of tweets that retreated from that position.
“He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA,” he wrote. “I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!”
RIGGED ELECTION. WE WILL WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020
He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020
Trump’s Sunday morning Twitter storm continued the president’s public dispute of the election results based on false claims of widespread voter fraud that his campaign and legal team have been unable to substantiate. On Saturday, he encouraged backers at a pro-Trump #MillionMAGAMarch rally in Washington, D.C., that attracted upwards of 10,000 people.
The event attracted mainstream Trump supporters, as well as the far-right Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia group, who clashed with counter-demonstrators in a series of violent encounters on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, according to the Washington Post.
At least one demonstrator was stabbed and 20 people were arrested, the Associated Press reported. Two police officers were also injured in attempts to quell the violence.