Clinton camp: Trump ‘perhaps’ coping with potential loss to ‘first woman president’

LAS VEGAS — Hillary Clinton’s top campaign staffers criticized Donald Trump’s Wednesday night refusal to say he would accept the election results on Nov. 8, suggesting he is having trouble coping with the fact that he may lose to a woman.

“I think he’s just trying to find an excuse for the fact that he’s going to lose,” Clinton’s communications director, Jen Palmieri, told reporters after the third and final debate. “And perhaps the fact that he’s going to lose to the first woman president is making it a little harder.”

During the debate, Trump said he could not promise to accept the presidential election results until he sees them next month, saying he would keep the country in “suspense” until then. In recent days, Trump has told his supporters that there is massive voter fraud in the U.S. and he believes that the system is “rigged” against him. Trump has also fallen in the polls over the past few weeks.

“This is someone who either doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to obey the peaceful transfer of power,” Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook said. “It’s a chilling preview of what his administration could be like. “I think the results are going to be very clear on Election Day. I’m sure he’ll try to do all sorts of things to deflect and blame others.”

Palmieri said it’s possible Trump would not actually contest the election results. “I don’t think he’s going to find a lot of support even in the Republican Party for continuing beyond the election,” she said. “Even his own campaign manager today said he will abide by the result of the election.”

She added: “We’ll see what actually happens and how he chooses to handle it. He’s not a great loser.”