Trump jokes he might leave country if he loses to Joe Biden in Nov. 3 election

Michael Collins, USA TODAY

Updated October 17, 2020 at 8:39 PM·2 min read

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump suggested Friday he might take drastic action if he loses to Democrat Joe Biden.

He might even leave the country, he said.

“Running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me,” Trump told supporters at an airport campaign rally in Macon, Georgia. “Could you imagine if I lose? My whole life – what am I going to do? I’m going to say I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics.”

Trump said he might not feel so good after an election loss to Biden. “Maybe I have to leave the country, I don’t know,” he joked.

The comment drew a quick retort from The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group of current and former Republicans working to elect Biden.

The group posted a video of Trump's remarks on Twitter and added a one-word commentary: "Promise?"

Promise? https://t.co/CNmtI6ENn3
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 17, 2020

Biden has maintained a consistent edge over Trump in national polls and in many battleground states. The website RealClearPolitics gives the Democrat an 8.9 percentage point lead in its average of national polls.

Trump's remarks on Friday that he might leave the country aren't the first time he has warned about what might happen if he loses to Biden on Nov. 3.

Related: Post-COVID-19, Trump says he’s healthy, will 'kiss everyone'

He teased a group of supporters in Fayetteville, North Carolina, last month that they will never see him again if Biden wins.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do – I will never speak to you again,” he said.

Biden’s campaign shared a video of those remarks on social media and added a tag line from the Democratic candidate himself: “I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message.”