“President Donald Trump was charging ahead Thursday with a strategy to force an election victory, or at least forestall a loss, through legal maneuvers and demands for recounts, a final-ditch effort to prevent states from tallying ballots that could decide the next president. And despite campaign assurances that the numbers will break their way, reality appeared to be setting in for several of Trump’s aides in the White House and campaign that the President is facing an ever-narrowing path to victory. Some privately acknowledged the chances of Trump winning are now slim and were contemplating their next career steps.”

“But that reality hasn’t appeared to have set in for the candidate himself. Trump continued to make a series of phone calls overnight, stung that his lead in some states had vanished and convinced Biden is stealing the presidency. Trump does retain a chance of winning, though has fewer roads to 270 electoral votes than his rival Joe Biden. Entrenched at the White House with no public events on his schedule, Trump has personally dispatched advisers to battlegrounds across the country hoping to wage legal battle in places where the margins remain tight. Despite skepticism about the efficacy of his strategy, Trump has remained intent on waging a prolonged fight, viewing it as his only option. At the same time, he has sounded resigned at moments in conversations with some of his allies, questioning whether his legal strategy would work and whether his team was up to the challenge of fighting in the courts, according to a person who spoke to him. In those conversations, Trump sounded tired and down, people who spoke to him said” – CNN.