Trump considers how to keep up the fight

President Donald Trump never admits defeat. But he faces a stark choice given that Democrat Joe Biden has won the White House: Concede graciously for the sake of the country or don’t - and get evicted anyway.

After practically four tortured days of counting yielded a victory for Biden, Trump was still insisting the race had not been over. He threw out allegations that the election wasn't fair and “illegal” votes were counted, promised a flurry of legal action, and fired off all-caps tweets falsely insisting he'd “WON THIS ELECTION, BY A WHOLE LOT."

Although some in his circle were nudging Trump to concede graciously, a lot of his Republican allies, including on Capitol Hill, were egging him on or giving him space to process his loss - at least for the time being.

“Trump has not lost,” declared SC Sen Lindsey Graham within an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” rejecting the reality of the situation. “Usually do not concede, Mr President. Fight hard," he urged.

Trump is not likely to formally concede, according to persons close to him, but will probably grudgingly vacate the White House at the end of his term. His ongoing efforts to paint the election as unfair have emerged both as an attempt to soothe a bruised ego and show his loyal base of supporters that he's still fighting. That could be key to keeping them energized for what comes next.

“He intends to fight,” Trump monetary adviser Larry Kudlow said as it was becoming clear that the president was headed for defeat.

Would Trump ever concede? “I doubt it,” said Trump’s longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, whose prison sentence was commuted by Trump in July. Stone asserted that Biden, subsequently, will have "a cloud over his presidency with half the people in the united states believing that he was illegitimately elected.”

Allies suggested that if Trump really wants to launch a media empire in the coming years, he comes with an incentive to prolong the drama. So, too, if he intends to keep the door available to a possible 2024 comeback - he'd be only a year more than Biden is now.

There are various in his inner circle egging him on, including his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor has been promising to supply the president with proof of voter fraud but has produced little, including throughout a press conference he held Saturday in the parking large amount of a small Philadelphia landscaping company next to an adult bookstore.

Trump's adult sons, Donald Jr., and Eric have also urged their father to keep fighting and challenged Republicans to stand with them, as have congressional allies like Graham.

“What I'd tell President Trump is: Don’t give up. My advice usually does not concede,” said Republican Rep Andy Biggs of Arizona in a podcast interview. “Let’s fight this thing through. It really is too important to give up.”

Some in the president’s orbit have been nervously looking toward Capitol Hill for signs of a Republican defection. But so far, most seemed to be giving him time.

“I look forward to the president coping with this however he must deal with it,” Sen Roy Blunt of Missouri said Sunday on ABC's “This Week." Still, he said it had been time for Trump “to carefully turn this discussion to his lawyers, time for the legal professionals to make the case that they have, both in court and the American people, and we’re going to need to manage those facts as they’re presented. Which has to happen and then we move forward.”

“At this stage, we have no idea who has prevailed in the election,” said Sen Ted Cruz of Texas, telling Fox News he believes Trump "still includes a way to victory.”

Other political allies and White House officials, however, have pressed Trump to change his tone and invest in a smooth transition. They’ve emphasized to him that history is a harsh judge of any action he takes that's viewed as undermining his successor. Plus they have advised him to deliver a speech in the coming week pledging to support the transition.

Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have told others that he's among those who have urged the president to simply accept the results of the race - regardless if Trump won’t come to terms with how it had been reached.

At Fox News, where prime-time hosts wield enormous influence over Trump, Laura Ingraham gave voice to the president’s belief that the election have been unfair, while also pleading with him to keep his legacy at heart - and preserve his status as a GOP kingmaker - by gracefully leaving office.

“President Trump’s legacy is only going to become more significant if he targets moving the united states forward," she said Thursday.

That the tranquil transfer of power was even in doubt reflected the norm-shattering habits of the now-lame duck president, who even in victory never admitted that he previously lost the favorite vote in 2016.

Most aides believed the president would take the weekend to decide on a plan, that will most definitely involve more legal action. But some aides believe the legal skirmishes are more about adding the looks of a fight than generating results.

There have been some indications Trump was moving in a less contentious direction, even as he continued to angrily complain to aides, reviving old grievances about the Russia investigation that started out under President Barack Obama.

In a statement Friday, Trump suggested he'd avail himself of every avenue beneath the law to challenge the election's result. But allies interpreted it as a begrudging acknowledgment of the likely outcome.

“We will pursue this technique through every aspect of the law to ensure that the American people trust our government,” he said Trump said. “I will never give up fighting for you personally and our nation.”

On Saturday, the White House added that the president “encourage the results of a free of charge and fair election" and that the administration "is following all statutory requirements.”

Still, there have been concerns that Trump’s rhetoric would inflame tensions in a nation that was already bitterly divided before the election. Isolated scuffles were reported near tabulation centers in Philadelphia and Phoenix.

Pro-Trump protesters - a number of them openly carrying rifles and handguns - have rallied outside tallying facilities in a number of cities around the united states, responding to Trump’s groundless accusations that the Democrats were trying to steal the White House.

Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have bombarded supporters with impassioned pleas for cash, raking in tens of millions of dollars since Tuesday, according to people familiar with the problem. A number of the money was earmarked to retire campaign debt, however the rest could possibly be used to maintain an aggressive public campaign to continue to undermine faith in the election outcome.

Biden, meanwhile, has called on the united states to come together.

“For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I’ve lost once or twice myself. But now, let’s give each other a chance,” he said in his Saturday night victory speech.

Trump, whose voluminous Twitter account appears to provide an apt entry for just about any occasion, offered this advice in 2016: “Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: “In my opinion, it really is humiliating. One must be in a position to lose with dignity,” So true!”