With his anger rising at Georgia officials, President Trump resisted going back to the Peach State after his first runoff rally on Dec. 5.
Behind the scenes: He told advisers he didn't think he needed to go back. Both candidates, Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, put in a huge behind-the-scenes effort to get him to go back. He plugged them during his Monday rally, but also ranted about the state's Republican officials and election machinery.
Between the lines: Trump was fixated on his own grievances and on increasingly untethered scenarios for how he might overturn the election.
- It took great effort to get him to focus on any other subject or to convince him that anything beyond his own election factored into his self-interest.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham warned him that his "legacy" was on the line and that Democrats would undo all of his accomplishments, including tax cuts.
Go deeper: Republicans privately furious after Trump's post-election implosion blows Senate majority
