Last updated on February 11th, 2019 at 02:57 pm

Donald Trump is already laying the groundwork for contesting the results of the upcoming 2020 presidential campaign between him and his potential Democratic rival.

In a Saturday morning Twitter post, the president whined about Matthew Whitaker’s disastrous congressional testimony from the day before, saying it shows that “Dems are trying to win an election in 2020 that they know they cannot legitimately win!”

“The Democrats in Congress yesterday were vicious and totally showed their cards for everyone to see,” Trump said. “When the Republicans had the Majority they never acted with such hatred and scorn!”

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Trump is suggesting he won’t accept a 2020 loss

Forget the factual inaccuracy of Trump‘s claim that Republicans “never acted with such hatred in scorn” when they controlled Congress. He obviously paid little attention during the Obama years.

The main takeaway from the president’s Twitter post is that he plans to call any 2020 election results illegitimate if the Democratic nominee beats him. And, according to recent polling, Trump is trailing just about every possible opponent he might face.

A new Public Policy Polling survey released at the end of January shows every Democrat – from Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders to Beto O’Rourke and Cory Booker – beating Trump, sometimes by double digits.

The poll shows Trump‘s approval is at a dismal 40 percent, and he can’t get past 42 percent of support against any potential Democratic nominee.

Even Donald Trump, a man who keeps himself insulated in his Fox News reality, understands that his political fortunes are collapsing ahead of 2020. As a result, he is already paving the way to contesting the results.

That’s a dangerous place for a democracy to be.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.