Trump Jokes That He May Leave US If Biden Wins

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Macon, Ga., on Oct. 16, 2020. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

President Donald Trump joked that he might leave the United States if Democrat Joe Biden wins the election in several weeks.

“I will deliver optimism, opportunity, and hope, and that’s what we’re doing, and this is why we have this kind of spirit ... all over our country,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia.

Trump added, “I shouldn’t joke because you know what? Running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me. 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.’ I’m not going to feel so good.”

He then quipped that “maybe I’ll have to leave the country? I don’t know.”

Trump may have been referencing comments made by celebrities such as singer Bruce Springsteen or former Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee that they would leave the United States if Trump won in November.

Springsteen said in a press conference last week he would be “on the next plane” to Australia if Trump won, while Lee told the Big Issue that “if that happens then I’m coming over to visit the UK.”

During the 2016 election season, a number of celebrities made similar comments although few, if any, left the country.

President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Ocala International Airport in Ocala, Fla., on Oct. 16, 2020. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In a Michigan rally on Saturday, Trump asked, “Can you imagine if I lose? I will have lost to the worst candidate in the history of American politics. What do I do?”

Last month, at a rally in North Carolina, the president made a similar comment. “I don’t know what I’m going to do–I will never speak to you again,” he said at the time. Biden attempted to make a joke about the matter on Twitter, saying that he “approve[s] this message.”

In 2016, Trump noted that he wouldn’t remain in the public view if he lost the Republican nomination for president.

“I’m not sure you’re ever going to see me there. I don’t think I’m going to lose, but if I do, I don’t think you’re ever going to see me again, folks. I think I'll go to Turnberry and play golf or something,” he said more than four years ago.

Biden had no public events planned for Saturday. In a memo to supporters, campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon warned about becoming complacent.