Asked last week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel if he would accept the outcome of the November election, Donald Trump responded: “If everything’s honest, I’ll gladly accept the results. I don’t change on that. If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country. If you go back and look at all of the things that had been found out, it showed that I won the election in Wisconsin. It also showed I won the election in other locations. I’d be doing a disservice to the country if I said otherwise. But no, I expect an honest election and we expect to win maybe very big.”

Trump is consistent. In his mind, elections are only fair if he wins, otherwise they are rigged. So by that warped logic, 2016 was fair, 2020 was rigged (and produced his attempted putsch) and the fairness of 2024 will be determined by his victory or not. Note that under this outlook he can never lose, so it’s a perfect system

As to Wisconsin, Trump did lose the Badger State in 2020 with 1,610,184 votes to 1,630,866 for Joe Biden. Trump’s campaign paid for recounts in Milwaukee and Dane counties. The recount gave Biden an additional 87 votes. In 2020, Trump also lost Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which with Wisconsin, totals 73 votes in the Electoral College. That’s why Trump’s 306 electoral votes in 2016 and victory became 233 electoral votes in 2020 and defeat. (It was actually 232 electoral votes as Trump also shed a single electoral vote in Nebraska).

Eight years ago, during the final debate with Hillary Clinton, Chris Wallace, then of Fox News, was the moderator and elicited Trump’s view.

WALLACE: Mr. Trump, I want to ask you about one last question in this topic. You have been warning at rallies recently that this election is rigged and that Hillary Clinton is in the process of trying to steal it from you.

Your running mate, Gov. Pence, pledged on Sunday that he and you — his words — "will absolutely accept the result of this election.” Today your daughter, Ivanka, said the same thing. I want to ask you here on the stage tonight: Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely — sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this election?

TRUMP: I will look at it at the time. I’m not looking at anything now. I’ll look at it at the time.

What I’ve seen — what I’ve seen is so bad. First of all, the media is so dishonest and so corrupt, and the pile-on is so amazing. The New York Times actually wrote an article about it, but they don’t even care. It’s so dishonest. And they’ve poisoned the mind of the voters.

But unfortunately for them, I think the voters are seeing through it. I think they’re going to see through it. We’ll find out on Nov. 8. But I think they’re going to see through it.

WALLACE: But, sir, there’s …

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