Declaring victory in Pennsylvania on the Wednesday after election day definitely worked out great for Trump. He didn’t actually win the state but it helped him at least temporarily feel like he was in control of the situation – when he most certainly was not. Part of winning is telling yourself and everyone else that you did win, whether or not it is true. That in itself is kind of a victory, and an important building block for later denying the reality that you in fact lost. Denial is an extremely valuable skill for coping with loss and preserving one’s self-esteem.