Being with Trump the day he lost US Election

For Donald Trump, it was not a usual day on 7 November when he lost the US presidential election to Joe Biden. Spending the early morning by tweeting about election fraud, Trump left the White House a few minutes before 10am, dressed in a black windbreaker, dark trousers and a white MAGA or Make America Great Again hat.

He climbed into a dark vehicle and headed to his golf club, Trump National in Sterling, Virginia, about 25 miles (40km) from the White House. He projected an air of confidence at that moment. It was a lovely day, perfect for golf, and he was going to spend the day at the club. But the people who worked for him seemed on edge.

Election trauma
The White House has been through some trauma in the days since the election. Many of the desks in the West Wing were empty as several staffers have been infected with the coronavirus, and they were out of the office. Others were in quarantine. Then, starting at about 11:30, while the president was at his golf club, the BBC and the US networks began calling the election for Joe Biden, his Democratic rival.

The White House press pool, a small group of journalists who travel with the president were all waiting for him to emerge from the club. Some wondered aloud when the president would leave the club and go back to the White House. The minutes passed, then hours.

"He's taking his time," said a law-enforcement officer, quietly, to a colleague.

The president was in no hurry to leave.

Outside, a woman in sturdy heels and a red-white-and-blue bandana carried a sign reading "Stop the steal." A man drove his truck up and down the road in front of the club flying several flags, including one depicting the president standing on a tank, as if he were the commander of the world. It showed how his supporters see him and how Mr Trump has seen himself for the past four years.

Finally, he headed out of the club and began his journey home. His critics were waiting - in the thousands.

You lose and we all win
The president's motorcade roared through Virginia and the closer it got to the White House, the bigger the crowds became: people were out to celebrate his demise. Someone held up a sign: You lose and we all win. People honked and jeered.

Then we got back at the White House, the president went in through a side door, an entrance that presidents rarely use. His shoulders were slumped, and his head down. Whether at the White House or at the golf club, the president has never wavered: he makes unsubstantiated claims about election fraud and insists he will be vindicated.

He tweeted in the morning about "illegally received" votes and by late afternoon he was declaring defiantly in all caps. "I WON THE ELECTION." But that was Mr Trump on Twitter. As he ducked into the side door of the White House in the late afternoon, the swagger was gone.