“Just had heartfelt phone call w friend @realDonaldTrump who said he’s a ‘realist’ who’ll do the ‘right thing,’” Rivera tweeted on Friday. “But he wants to see ‘what states do in terms of certification [sic] (etc)’ He sounded committed to fighting for every vote & if he loses, talking more about all he’s accomplished.”
Rivera knows Trump from The Celebrity Apprentice. The journalist appeared on the series in 2015 and was the runner-up to winner Leeza Gibbons.
The 2020 presidential election was called nearly a week ago for Joe Biden, but Trump has yet to acknowledge his loss. Instead, he has been campaigning for recounts and a claim of voter fraud, which he says cost him to lose the election.
Trump’s Twitter account has many claims that he won the election in a landslide victory. And while some of his supporters may believe that, no proof to support Trump’s statements exists at this time.
Rivera, who is a Fox News correspondent, continued to explain more of Trump’s current thoughts on his administration and presidency as a whole. “@POTUS seemed particularly aggrieved by the savage attacks on his presidency from the minute he was elected,” he tweeted. “He reserved special scorn for the phony Russia hoax & Pelosi-driven phony #Impeachment. He asked me what I knew about #DominionVotingSystems which I promised to check out.”
The journalist ended the conversation on a note about Trump’s perseverance. “He seemed like a heavyweight champion who is behind in points leading into the final round, but determined to fight on, knowing all the refs have scored the fight for the other guy. Still, he’s going to answer the final bell, looking for the knockout he knows is a longshot.”
On Thursday, before his phone conversation with Trump, Rivera posted a video message urging Trump to stand down with “grace and dignity.” “You came so close in this election, but time coming soon to say goodbye with grace and dignity,” he explained. “I know that’s hard to hear, but that’s the way I feel about this now.”
His message did support Trump “fighting,” too. “Leave with your chin high in a week or so when the court fights no longer present a realistic long-shot chance to overturn the election, that’s very important,” the video explained “Fight, fight, fight like Hell as long as there is a realistic chance something can come of it.”
Trump hasn’t publicly responded to the conversation with Rivera, or Rivera’s social media analysis. Instead, his most recent tweet at the time of publication claimed the election was rigged.
“For years the Dems have been preaching how unsafe and rigged our elections have been,” Trump tweeted. “Now they are saying what a wonderful job the Trump Administration did in making 2020 the most secure election ever. Actually this is true, except for what the Democrats did. Rigged Election!”
