Former Aide Says Trump Privately Admitted Biden Won 2020 Election: 'Can You Believe I Lost to This Guy?'

Shafiq Najib
·3 min read
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Former President Donald Trump looks on before speaking during a tour to an unfinished section of the border wall on June 30, 2021 in Pharr, Texas. Gov. Abbott has pledged to build a state-funded border wall between Texas and Mexico as a surge of mostly Central American immigrants crossing into the United States has challenged U.S. immigration agencies. So far in 2021, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 900,000 immigrants crossing into the United States on the southern border. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images); U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on infrastructure at the Portland Air National Guard base on April 21, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. The speech marks the beginning of the president's multi-day trip to the Northwest, with stops in Portland and Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
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Brandon Bell/Getty; Nathan Howard/Getty

Former President Donald Trump appeared to have acknowledged his loss in the 2020 election, according to a former aide.

Former White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin revealed during her appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Monday that Trump, 76, privately confessed he lost the presidential election to President Joe Biden.

"He admitted, he blurted out watching Joe Biden on TV, 'Can you believe I lost to this guy?'" Griffin shared. "And he actually admitted in a press conference when he was speaking about coronavirus in a press briefing room, he actually slipped and kind of admitted that Joe Biden won."

AUSTIN, TEXAS - MAY 14: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the American Freedom Tour at the Austin Convention Center on May 14, 2022 in Austin, Texas. The national event gathered conservatives from around the country to defend, empower and help promote conservative agendas nationwide. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - MAY 14: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the American Freedom Tour at the Austin Convention Center on May 14, 2022 in Austin, Texas. The national event gathered conservatives from around the country to defend, empower and help promote conservative agendas nationwide. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Brandon Bell/Getty

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The comment comes as the Jan. 6 committee began its public hearings this month as they sought to prove the former president's intent to try to overturn the election while knowing he was defeated.

"I'm not of the mind that this is going to take down Donald Trump in a legal sort of way," Griffin explained. "But I do think it's going to inform the public about a man who lost and couldn't do what we've done for the entirety of our history, which is allow a peaceful transition of power."

Since the hearings began on June 9, a new poll conducted by ABC News and Ipsos suggested that public opinion has slightly shifted on Trump and Jan. 6.

Six in 10 Americans believe the former president should be criminally charged for his alleged role in the Capitol Riots, according to the poll. Fifty-eight percent of the nation supports holding him accountable for inciting the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop Biden, 79, from becoming president.

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That percentage is up from a similar ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted in late April — before the Jan. 6 committee began hosting public hearings on its investigation — that revealed 52 percent of Americans wanted to see Trump charged.

New responses are divided mostly on party lines, with 91 percent of Democrats surveyed believe he should be charged with a crime, compared to 19 percent of Republicans who feel the same way.

The most recent poll was taken after the third hearing, which detailed how Trump turned his supporters against then-Vice President Mike Pence, making him a target during the riots.

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"Approximately 40 feet. That's all there was, 40 feet between the vice president and the mob," Rep. Pete Aguilar, a member of the committee, said in the session last week. "Make no mistake about the fact that the vice president's life was in danger."

The following public hearing is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. Committee members are expected to demonstrate that Trump pressured top officials in Georgia and Arizona to overturn the 2020 election results so that he could remain in office.