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Anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project has insisted it is not up to the Republican incumbent to decide the election result after his premature claims of victory.
Speaking in the East Room of the White House in the early hours of Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that in his opinion he had won the election already—despite the ongoing counts across the nation.
Vice President Mike Pence appeared to immediately temper these comments, suggesting they were on "the road to victory" but stopping short of outwardly declaring triumph.
The comments from Trump sparked a backlash from opponents, with a swift rebuke from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign. Some supporters of the president also criticized his remarks.
In a statement to Newsweek, Reed Galen, a co-founder of The Lincoln Project and a political strategist who previously worked with John McCain and George W. Bush, said: "Donald Trump doesn't decide who wins elections, the American people do.
"He'll learn that once all the votes are counted."
Steve Schmidt, another of the group's co-founders and a communications strategist who also worked with McCain and Bush, tweeted similar sentiments.
.@realDonaldTrump will be a one term President. When all of the votes are counted @JoeBiden will be the President-Elect
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) November 4, 2020
"We live in an era where instant gratification is our societal norm. We will have to wait a bit. What will become clear as the votes are counted is that @realDonaldTrump has been defeated," he said. "He will lose. He will be a one term President. @JoeBiden will be the President."
George Conway, another co-founder of the group but who dropped out of being involved with its workings to devote more time to family matters, also hit out at Trump and his statements.
"The fact that Trump was capable of doing that, let alone that his psychological disorders all but compel him to, was reason enough to vote against him," he tweeted.
"Even if he loses by only 4-5% and 44 EV, he's still an unfit narcissistic psychopath and the worst president in modern history."
He also wrote: "Somehow it's fitting that Trump's going to go out with a bang *and* a whimper."
Ahead of these latest critiques of the president, The Lincoln Project also previously said it is braced to intervene in election-related legal battles launched by Trump and his team should they feel necessary.
The group has regularly hit out at the president throughout his bid for re-election, labelling its mission as being to defeat "Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box." It is made up largely of Republicans but who do not want to see Trump win a second term in office.
Trump has previously branded those in the group "losers" while rebuking their attacks.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
