Trump Wants To Fight Election, But ‘It’s Dawning On Him,’ Former Adviser Says

President Trump arrives to speak in the briefing room at the White House Thursday.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Aides to President Trump have been counseling him this week that his legal options to try to contest the election are limited, but Trump wants to fight it out, a former campaign adviser who remains in touch with key players told NPR.

“It’s dawning on him,” the former adviser said, speaking on condition of anonymity to comment on private conversations. “He never thought he could lose … and those of us who are in Trump World, we actually never believed he could lose.”

Trump’s ability to withstand crisis after crisis conditioned his team to have “a false sense of reality because he’s survived so many times. You just assume he’s going to survive again,” the former adviser said.