Trump refuses to acknowledge his defeat in 2020 and evades questions about his actions on January 6

Former President Donald Trump, who is facing federal charges over his efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, again refused to concede his election defeat. At Tuesday's debate, he said his recent statement that he lost the election “by a hair's breadth” was meant only sarcastically.

“Are you now admitting that you lost in 2020?” asked ABC News anchor David Muir.

“No,” Trump replied. “I meant that sarcastically.”

Trump continued to repeat false claims that there was “so much evidence” that he won the election, and he avoided questions about whether he regretted his actions on January 6, 2021.

A federal grand jury indictment last month said Trump made “baseless, objectively unreasonable and constantly changing” claims about the 2020 election in an effort to stay in office and prevent the peaceful transition of power. Federal prosecutors working under Jack Smith, the special counsel leading the investigation, allege Trump knew he was spreading falsehoods and did not truly believe the lies that millions of his supporters believed.

Some Jan. 6 rioters who followed Trump after the election told federal judges they felt like gullible “idiots” for believing Trump. But his lawyers tried to put an intellectual spin on his claims, calling his falsehoods “not unreasonable at the time” and insisting they were “plausible and maintained in good faith.”

Other defendants from January 6 continue to cling to Trump's election lies. Daniel Rodriguez, a Trump supporter who stabbed Washington police officer Michael Fanone in the neck with a stun gun that day, screamed “Trump won!” after being sentenced to more than 12 years in a federal prison. Rodriguez told the FBI that Trump “called us” to Washington and that he considered it his duty to assist the Commander-in-Chief.

Vice President Kamala Harris said during the debate: “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people, so let's be very clear about that, and it's obvious that he's having a very difficult time processing that.”

“But we cannot afford to have a President of the United States who, as he has done in the past, seeks to disregard the will of the voters in a free and fair election,” she added.

Trump's inability to acknowledge the reality of his 2020 election defeat raises questions about his “temperament” and his “ability to not be confused by facts,” Harris said, calling it “deeply disturbing.”

Harris pointed out that Trump was impeached and impeached for his actions on Jan. 6, when hundreds of Trump supporters were caught on video brandishing or using firearms, stun guns, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, bike racks, batons, a metal whip, office furniture, pepper spray, bear spray, a tomahawk axe, a hatchet, a hockey stick, batting gloves, a baseball bat, a giant “Trump” sign, “Trump” flags, a pitchfork, pieces of wood, crutches and even an explosive device during the attack that injured at least 140 police officers.

Several officers who were on duty on January 6 died as a result of the attack, including by suicide. Washington Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who was attacked during the riot, committed suicide after being injured in the Capitol, and a panel found that Smith's injury was “the sole and direct cause” of his death.

“We are not going back. It's time to start a new chapter,” Harris said. “And if that was too much for you, then our campaign gives you an opportunity to stand up for your country, stand up for our democracy, stand up for the rule of law and stop the approach of attacking the foundations of our democracy because you don't like the outcome.”

Trump, who has called the Jan. 6 defendants “hostages” and “incredible patriots” and has vowed to pardon “a large portion” of the Jan. 6 defendants, said Tuesday that those accused in the Capitol riots had been “treated so poorly.”

More than 1,400 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and federal prosecutors have secured more than 1,000 convictions. While hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants received suspended sentences, more than 500 were sentenced to prison terms ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in federal prison for Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys who was convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Trump's rhetoric at a September 2020 debate – when he told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” – played a role in the Proud Boys' seditious conspiracy trial. Federal prosecutors told jurors that the Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol wanted to be “Donald Trump's army.”