When Donald Trump Acknowledged That His Facts About the 2020 Election Were Untrue

In an interview, former U.S. President Donald Trump openly admitted that, despite receiving counsel from multiple individuals who informed him that the 2020 election was not stolen, he continued to push forward with his false claims in an attempt to overturn the election results.

According to CNBC, while speaking to NBC's Meet the Press, Trump directly addressed a key aspect of special counsel Jack Smith's case against him regarding his efforts to undermine the 2020 election results. The main concern about the scenario is Trump's allegations of election fraud despite being informed about his defeat.

Trump acknowledged, "It was my decision, but I listened to some people." This admission came during his first broadcast network interview since leaving office. The former President and Republican politician also took the opportunity to criticize his own party members for their rudimentary beliefs regarding the abortion policy. He also retorted the claims that he asked an employee to delete some security footage to save his back.

Regarding his false election claims, Trump revealed that he disregarded the advice of his attorneys, who told him he had lost the election because he didn't respect their opinion. Instead, he claimed to have respected others who insisted that the election was rigged, stating, "I was listening to different people, and when I added it all up, the election was rigged.

You know who I listen to? Myself. I saw what happened." The indictment reads, "But the defendant disseminated them anyway—to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election."

Numerous lies and untrue claims were made by him after the 2020 elections. He adamantly stuck to the narrative of manipulated voting machines. The former president took no heed of the officials who obstructed him from making such harmful fake claims. Trump was informed by multiple individuals, including Vice President Mike Pence, the director of national intelligence, senior Justice Department members, his own staff, state lawmakers, and courts, that his claims lacked merit.

The Americans were fed with lies and claims with no solid ground of evidence. Unable to accept the loss in the presidential elections, Trump sought to press Georgian Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other officials to go ahead with the recalculation. The House select committee that investigated Trump's actions leading up to the January 6, 2021, insurrection concluded that he actively worked to submit false Electoral College ballots to Congress and the National Archives.

The committee's report has revealed, "That evidence has led to an overriding and straightforward conclusion: the central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, whom many others followed. None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him." 

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 23, 2023. It has since been updated.