President Donald Trump on Saturday told a crowd of rally-goers in North Carolina that they will never see him again if he loses the election in November.
“If I lose to [Joe Biden], I don’t know what I’m going to do. I will never speak to you again,” Trump said in a sardonic manner.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Minutes after Trump made the comment, Biden’s campaign released a 10-second advertisement with the comment. “I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message,” he wrote.
I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message. pic.twitter.com/TuRZXPE5xK
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 20, 2020
Trump appeared to be making the comment to the rally as a joke.
President Trump made a similar comment when he was battling against former first lady Hillary Clinton in 2016.
“I don’t think I’m going to lose, but if I do, I don’t think you’re ever going to see me again, folks,” Trump said during a Maryland rally in April 2016. “I think I’ll go to Turnberry and play golf or something.”
In June, President Trump declined to say whether he would accept the results of the election.
“I have to see, look, I have to see, I’m not just going to say yes, I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either,” Trump remarked on Fox News.
A month later, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany noted: “The President has always said he’ll see what happens and make a determination in the aftermath.”
Trump in 2020 has frequently suggested that Democrats will attempt to commit mass election fraud while saying that mail-in voting will lead to rigging in November.
“Usually at the end of the evening, they say ‘Donald Trump has won the election, Donald Trump is your new president,’” Trump said during a news conference in New Jersey last month.
“You know what? You’re not going to know this—possibly, if you really did it right—for months or for years. Because these ballots are all going to be lost, they’re all going to be gone,” he added.
Focus News: Trump Jokes to Supporters If He Loses Election: ‘You’ll Never See Me Again’