Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) is calling on the nation to let Trump accept a potential defeat when he’s ready, urging Americans to “give people time.”
During a CNN panel Friday morning, Santorum, who serves as a political commentator for the network, urged people to be understanding of the president, who is coming to terms with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden growing his lead in a number of key states.
“He’s just found out that he’s probably not going to be the president of the United States anymore,” Santorum said. “You can say ‘Well it was in the cards,’ but you don’t know until the votes are counted.”
Santorum defended Trump and his supporters to CNN’s Gloria Borger, who argued that the country is running on “democracy’s schedule, not Donald Trump’s schedule.”
“This is a very emotional time,” Santorum said. “Give people space to work through this.”
CNN’s Van Jones, a prominent Trump critic, agreed with Santorum, recalling how people wanted Hillary Clinton to concede the night of the 2016 election.
“People need a minute,” Jones said, adding that the situation is slightly different with Trump, because people fear he will be a “bitter ender” and won’t accept defeat.
The presidential election has yet to be officially called, as Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia are still counting ballots and have yet to be called.