Donald Trump is digging in his heels and refusing to admit defeat following the crushing November 3 election.
But reports indicate his family is growing increasingly fractured by his allegations of electoral fraud – and denial of the will of the American public.
The 74-year-old has repeatedly, and with no evidence, insisted his rivals were trying to "steal" the election despite losing the popular vote by more than 4.4 million ballots so far, and receiving just 214 electoral college votes compared with Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden's 290.
To win a US election, a candidate must secure a crucial 270 electoral college votes to claim victory, and while three states – Alaska, Georgia and North Carolina – are still counting, they would not make a difference to the final result.
As the saga drags on for another day, it appears Donald Trump's inner circle are increasingly split on how best to handle the situation – and the outgoing President's erratic behaviour.
While some have thrown their support behind Trump and other Republican Party figures and echoed their fraud allegations, others are reportedly urging him to graciously concede defeat behind the scenes.
According to CNN, two sources have claimed the President's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump's eldest daughter Ivanka, quietly recommended that the outgoing President accept the election outcome.
However, Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller has denied those claims, tweeting they were "not true".
"Jared has advised @realDonaldTrump to pursue all available legal remedies to ensure accuracy," the tweet reads.
Another "source familiar with the conversations" told CNN Trump's third wife Melania had also privately advised him to accept the election results.
"She has offered it, as she often does," the source told the network.
The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal - not illegal - vote should be counted. We must protect our democracy with complete transparency.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) November 8, 2020
But the First Lady's official Twitter account appears to contradict that allegation, with Mrs Trump breaking her post-election silence to echo her husband's concerns regarding "illegal" votes.
"The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal – not illegal – vote should be counted. We must protect our democracy with complete transparency," she posted on Twitter today.
Trump's eldest daughter has adopted a cautious approach so far, and has been reluctant to slam the electoral process to the same degree her father and other family members have.
On November 7, she took to Twitter to carefully argue the importance of "legally cast" votes.
Every legally cast vote should be counted. Every illegally cast vote should not. This should not be controversial.
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 6, 2020
This is not a partisan statement — free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. 🇺🇸
"Every legally cast vote should be counted. Every illegally cast vote should not. This should not be controversial," she wrote.
"This is not a partisan statement – free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy."
It's a different story when we get to Trump's two eldest sons, however, with Don Jr and Eric Trump pushing for their father to hold firm.
DECLASSIFY EVERYTHING!!!
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 8, 2020
We can’t let the bad actors get away with it.
Don Jr has been frantically retweeting claims voter fraud has taken place and has argued that "America won't trust elections until the voter fraud is investigated".
Besides the President, Eric Trump has been the most vocal when it comes to condemning the election.
He argued on Twitter that "there needs to be a manual recount of every ballot in this country right now!" and shared a string of conspiracy theories.
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 7, 2020
"Does anyone believe that Biden, a candidate who had a tough time filing a room, got 8.89 million more votes than Obama 2012? This while @realDonaldTrump set vote records never seen before in the Republican Party (achieved 7.5 million more votes 2016) and is 'down'?" he posted on November 7.
America has a long history of political dynasties – just look at the Kennedys, the Bushes and the Clintons – and there have been longstanding rumours that the Trump children, especially Ivanka, were eyeing a political career of their own in the years ahead.
That has caused some experts to question whether the wider Trump family's stance on the current debacle might hinge on their personal political ambitions.
According to author and University of Sydney lecturer in the School of Social and Political Sciences Dr Sarah Cameron, a quick scroll through the Twitter feeds of the Trump children shows they are handling the current situation in different ways – and potentially for very different reasons.
"Ivanka Trump is treading carefully, and has been reasonably quiet on Twitter since the election with the exception of some positive messaging around jobs and the economy and a carefully-worded statement about the importance of free and fair elections … Ivanka Trump is very careful about managing her brand," Dr Cameron told news.com.au.
"Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump on the other hand are vocally behind their father and the allegations of voter fraud.
"From the Republicans and from Trump's own family, we are seeing some rally behind Trump, while others distance themselves perhaps with their future careers in mind and not wanting to go down with a sinking ship."
Griffith University political scientist Professor John Kane told news.com.au while he couldn't rule out future Trump presidencies, it was an unlikely scenario.
"The idea of a Trump dynasty seems highly unlikely frankly, but like anything else in this crazy world, you can't say whether they will try or not," he said.
"I don't know if anyone has real presidential ambitions – I suspect Ivanka might, but I can't see either of his sons running as they're so uncharismatic.
"People either love or hate Donald, but he commands an audience. He's a star, and (his sons) are just not, so it's very hard to see them pick up the torch."
Prof Kane said it was more likely that the Trump children would try to leverage the exposure the Trump administration brought them as they attempted to return to the business world – however, he said they may face difficulties as they were "complicit" in their father's controversial business dealings.
He said if Trump was not "in jail" in 2024 after his current presidential immunity to prosecution expired, he might attempt to re-run as a Presidential candidate, but said it would be tough to pull off as he would then be aged 78.
"It seems impossible and even if he does throw his hat in the ring, he can't create a miracle twice so I think he's gone," he said.
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