As the 2024 presidential election enters its final days, former President Donald Trump is ramping up his campaign rallies in crucial swing states. But at a recent event in Lititz, Pennsylvania, the embattled Republican nominee veered off script, expressing regret over his White House departure following his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
“I shouldn’t have left,” Trump lamented to the crowd, abruptly cutting himself off as he reflected on his administration’s accomplishments. The remark echoes sentiments he reportedly shared with aides in the aftermath of the 2020 race, a defeat he has never conceded.
Trump Trails Harris in Key Battlegrounds
Trump’s wistful musings come as public polls show him falling behind Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in several must-win states. A recent Des Moines Register survey put Harris up by 4 points in Iowa, a state Trump carried comfortably in 2016 and 2020.
The former president lashed out at the polls as “suppression” designed to “inflict damage” on his campaign. Trump’s team insists their internal numbers paint a rosier picture, possibly giving him an edge in five of seven battleground states. But privately, aides concede uncertainty over how swing states like Pennsylvania will break on Election Day.
Debunked Election Fraud Claims Persist
Once started on the topic of his 2020 loss, Trump could not seem to stop himself. He revived long-debunked conspiracy theories about voting machines and suggested efforts to extend polling hours in Pennsylvania amounted to fraud. This despite his own campaign pushing for those very extensions.
When you have to suppress…that is bad news for the election process. You are not going to have a fair and free election if that is allowed.
– Donald Trump at Pennsylvania rally
Political analysts warn that Trump’s fixation on relitigating 2020 could backfire with voters more concerned about kitchen table issues like the economy and crime. “Elections are about the future, not the past,” veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove noted. “Continuing to gripe about 2020 makes the president look like a sore loser and distracts from his forward-looking message.”
“Someone Would Have to Shoot Through Fake News” to Get Him
Trump also revived an inflammatory line about how he would not mind if reporters got shot in the event of an assassination attempt against him. “To get to me, somebody would have to shoot through fake news, and I don’t mind that much, because, I don’t mind. I don’t mind,” he mused from behind bulletproof glass.
The morbid joke drew laughter and jeers from some in the crowd but is likely to heighten fears over heated campaign rhetoric inciting violence against journalists and political figures. Trump’s rallies have grown increasingly combative in recent weeks, with the candidate branding his opponents as “demonic” and goading his followers.
Outlook Uncertain in Final Campaign Stretch
As the clock ticks down to November 3rd, Trump is banking on his signature rallies to close the gap with Harris. His team hopes large and enthusiastic crowds will translate into the robust Election Day turnout needed to offset the VP’s seeming advantage in early voting.
But with his penchant for inflammatory and backward-looking rhetoric on full display, it remains an open question whether Trump’s final blitz will convince enough undecided voters to deliver him a second term – or leave him on the outside looking in once more, regretting roads not taken. Only the ballots will tell.
