Geraldo Rivera says President Trump will concede after a fair fight: 'He knows he's behind'
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Geraldo Rivera has full confidence that President Trump will eventually accept the outcome of the Nov. 3 election — but he wants a “fair fight” first.
During a Friday interview with Fox News’s Outnumbered Overtime, the former talk show host elaborated on an earlier tweet that read, “Just had heartfelt phone call w friend @realDonaldTrump who said he's a ‘realist’ who'll do the ‘right thing.’ But he wants to see ‘what states do in terms of certification (etc).’ He sounded committed to fighting for every vote & if he loses, talking more about all he’s accomplished.”
Since losing the election to former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump has refused to concede and promoted false claims of voter fraud in lawsuits, some of which were rejected by courts for insufficient evidence. Many world leaders, including Pope Francis, have congratulated Biden on his victory and called for Trump to acknowledge the win, but he has yet to do that publicly. On Saturday, his supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest the election results.
“He seemed to me like a heavyweight champion in the final round of the fight. He’s getting ready to answer the bell,” Rivera told host Harris Faulkner of the “wellness call” between old friends. “He knows he’s behind on all the ref’s cards and his only hope is a knockout blow, a long shot.”
Just had heartfelt phone call w friend @realDonaldTrump who said he's a "realist" who'll do the"right thing" But he wants to see "what states do in terms of certifiction (etc)" He sounded committed to fighting for every vote & if he loses, talking more about all he's accomplished
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 13, 2020
In an @outnumberedot EXCLUSIVE with @harrisfaulkner , guest @GeraldoRivera had JUST spoken with President Trump by phone and went into detail about his friend of 40 years, @realDonaldTrump .#POTUS pic.twitter.com/NLkRvZRvc8
— Outnumbered Overtime (@OutnumberedOT) November 13, 2020
Rivera continued, “Every impression he gave me, Harris, was that if the process went against him and he was satisfied that every legitimate vote had been counted and every illegitimate vote had been thrown out, that he would follow the edict of the Constitution of the United States and surrender the office.
“I got no impression that he was plotting the overthrow of the elected government — he just wants a fair fight,” he said, adding that Trump was concerned with software by Dominion Voting Systems. According to the New York Times, Trump falsely claimed the software had a “glitch” that changed votes. A Dominion spokesperson also told Fox News that it "categorically denies any claims about any vote switching or alleged software issues."
The president is not feeling sorry for himself, said Rivera, but is “angry in a smoldering way” about public perception since entering office in 2016. Still, he said, Trump would ultimately accept the election outcome and might even run for office again in 2024.
In September, while discussing his Fox Nation series, I Am Geraldo: 50 Years, Rivera told Yahoo Entertainment that he speaks to the president “every couple of weeks.” The two don’t consistently agree on policy or communication styles, but Rivera had faith in Trump’s reelection. “There’s a lot of support for the president that’s on the down low.”
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