Enlarge image
Ex-US President Trump on January 6, 2021
Photo:
Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Probably no journalist has observed Donald Trump as intensively as Maggie Haberman in the past 20 years. The reporter followed his career from New York real estate mogul to media star. She has been writing about Trump and the Republican Party for the New York Times since 2015. Her book »Deception. The Rise of Donald Trump and the Fall of America« is probably the most comprehensive biography of the former US President to date. The following abridged excerpt describes the weeks after Trump's loss in the November 2020 presidential election and the day of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In the second week after the election, Trump informed his advisers that he had no plans to vacate the White House for Joe Biden.
"I'm just not going," he told one.
"We'll never go," another.
"How can you leave when you've won an election?" He reportedly told the chairman of the Republican National Committee, "Why should I leave when they stole it from me?"
Never before in history had a president refused to leave the White House - the closest parallel would have been Mary Todd Lincoln, who had lived in the mansion for almost a month after her husband's assassination.
Trump's unperturbed announcements left advisers uncertain as to what he would do next.
They ignored his remarks, hoping he would get over it, but his defiance soon took on new forms.
Trump was unwilling to hear from anyone about conceding defeat to Biden.
advertisement
Maggie Haberman
Deception: The Rise of Donald Trump and the Fall of America
Publisher: Settlers
Number of pages: 832
Publisher: Settlers
Number of pages: 832
Buy for €36.00
price query time
10/04/2022 7:16 p.m
No guarantee
Order from Amazon
Order from Thalia
Order from Weltbild
Product reviews are purely editorial and independent.
Via the so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the retailer when you make a purchase.
More information here
Trump had scheduled a meeting with campaign officials for November 12 to discuss a plan for using the vast sums of money — ultimately raising more than $200 million in three weeks — that had been raised since the election under the pretense that the combat electoral fraud.
The issue had to be shelved as campaign officials spent hours debating how to contest election results in six states where Trump's allies were trying to overturn the outcome.
Read more with SPIEGEL plus
Read on now.
With the right SPIEGEL subscription.
Special reports, analyzes and background information on topics that move our society - by reporters from all over the world.
Test now.
MIRROR plus
introductory month
€1
in the first month
Expand the Introductory month area
Your advantages:
All articles freely accessible on SPIEGEL.de.
DER SPIEGEL as an e-paper and in the app.
Try one month for one euro.
One-time for new customers.
Test now for 1 euro
MIRROR plus
3 months for 30 euros
€10
a month for 3 months
Expand the 3 months area for 30 euros
Your advantages:
All articles freely accessible on SPIEGEL.de.
DER SPIEGEL as an e-paper and in the app.
Save 9.99 euros for three months.
Test now
Already a digital subscriber?Sign up here
Read more with SPIEGEL+
More perspectives, understand more.
Free access to all articles, videos, audio content and podcasts
All articles freely accessible on SPIEGEL.de
DER SPIEGEL as an e-paper and in the app
DER SPIEGEL to listen to and the weekday podcast SPIEGEL Daily
Only €19.99 per month, cancellable at any time
Buy now
Already have a digital subscription?Sign up here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL+ is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with the purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically extended by one month at the current price of €19.99.
You can cancel the subscription at any time in your iTunes account settings.
To use SPIEGEL+ outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
By purchasing you accept our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.