You don’t sleep the night of the election. CNN covers the election returns, verifying the official results with a raft of international election observers. The election will come down to just a handful of states, and it will take weeks to count all the votes.
To no one’s surprise, just three hours after the polls close, Donald Trump announces “ERIC TRUMP WON! IT’S OVER!” A group of retired election workers delivers a scathing rebuke: “Nobody wins until the votes are counted.”
The next weeks stretch into an eternity. With only two states left in play, Trump announces “the results are decided” and openly tells Philadelphia election workers to stop counting. Philadelphians pour into the Convention Center for a dance party “to support the election workers.” Philly police make no moves to stop the counting.
You’re walking outside when CNN calls the election against the Trumps. You stop in your tracks. For a moment you think it might be over. But Trump tweets again that he’s a victor and will refuse to vacate office based on a “RIGGED ELECTION EVEN BIGGER THAN LAST TIME.”