Actor Edward Norton shared his thoughts Friday on why President Donald Trump, although he has been projected to lose the 2020 presidential election, has yet to concede.
Norton, who starred alongside Brad Pitt in “Fight Club,” began by laying out Trump’s possible legal strategy. Citing his own father’s career as a federal prosecutor, Norton argued that Trump could simply be buying time and leverage because he feared that he himself might be prosecuted upon leaving office. (RELATED: Brad Pitt Spotted Handing Out Boxes Of Groceries In LA To Families In Need)
“I do not think Trump is trying to ‘make his base happy’ or ‘laying the groundwork for his own network,’” Norton began, going on to lay out his view of Trump’s strategy as if it were a poker game.
I’m no political pundit but I grew up w a dad who was a federal prosecutor & he taught me a lot & I’ve also sat a fair amount of poker w serious players & l’ll say this: I do not think Trump is trying to ‘make his base happy’ or ‘laying the groundwork for his own network’…
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) November 20, 2020
…or that ‘chaos is what he loves’. The core of it is that he knows he’s in deep, multi-dimensional legal jeopardy & this defines his every action. We’re seeing 1) a tactical delay of the transition to buy time for coverup & evidence suppression 2) above all, a desperate endgame
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) November 20, 2020
…which is to create enough chaos & anxiety about peaceful transfer of power, & fear of irreparable damage to the system, that he can cut a Nixon-style deal in exchange for finally conceding. But he doesn’t have the cards. His bluff after ‘the flop’ has been called in court…
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) November 20, 2020
“His ‘turn card’ bluff will be an escalation & his ‘River card’ bluff could be really ugly. But they have to be called,” the “American History X” actor continued with his poker analogy. “We cannot let this mobster bully the USA into a deal to save his ass by threatening our democracy. THAT is his play. But he’s got junk in his hand. So call him.”
His ‘turn card’ bluff will be an escalation & his ‘River card’ bluff could be really ugly. But they have to be called. We cannot let this mobster bully the USA into a deal to save his ass by threatening our democracy. THAT is his play. But he’s got junk in his hand. So call him.
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) November 20, 2020
Norton, who previously referred to Trump as the “insane clown charlatan,” then pivoted to attack the president on a personal level, adding, “I will allow that he’s also a whiny, sulky, petulant, Grinchy, vindictive little 10-ply-super-soft bitch who no doubt is just throwing a wicked pout fest & trying to give a tiny-hand middle finger to the whole country for pure spite, without a single thought for the dead & dying.”
I will allow that he’s also a whiny, sulky, petulant, Grinchy, vindictive little 10-ply-super-soft bitch who no doubt is just throwing a wicked pout fest & trying to give a tiny-hand middle finger to the whole country for pure spite, without a single thought for the dead & dying
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) November 20, 2020
But his contemptible, treasonous, seditious assault on the stability of our political compact isn’t about 2024, personal enrichment or anything else other than trying to use chaos & threat to the foundation of the system as leverage to trade for a safe exit. Call. His. Bluff.
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) November 20, 2020
“Call. His. Bluff … We can’t flinch,” Norton concluded, arguing that any concession to Trump — no matter how small — would leave Americans “vulnerable to his return.”
Faith in the strength of our sacred institutions & founding principles is severely stretched…but they will hold. They will. He’s leaving, gracelessly & in infamy. But if we trade for it, give him some brokered settlement, we’ll be vulnerable to his return. We can’t flinch.
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) November 20, 2020