Trump said to be urging friends to spread bizarre theory that he will be ‘reinstated’ in August

Wild claim based on Republican ‘audits’ of election results in Arizona and Georgia

Donald Trump is reportedly urging friends to spread the bizarre theory that he will be “reinstated” as president in August.

Mr Trump is “trying hard” to recruit journalists, politicians and other influential figures to get behind the idea that he can return to the White House, according to the conservative National Review magazine

The idea has become popular with Trump’s MAGA supporters and is based on the idea that Joe Biden’s election victory could be overturned following Republican “audits” of election results in Arizona and Georgia.

“I can attest, from speaking to an array of different sources, that Donald Trump does indeed believe quite genuinely that he — along with former senators David Perdue and Martha McSally — will be ‘reinstated’ to office this summer,” said Charles Cooke of the National Review.

“Trump is trying hard to recruit journalists, politicians, and other influential figures to promulgate this belief — not as a fundraising tool or an infantile bit of trolling or a trial balloon, but as a fact.”

Mr Trump’s belief that he will be back in the White House over the summer was first reported by The New York Times.

“Trump has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August (no that isn’t how it works but simply sharing the information),” tweeted Maggie Haberman.

Mr Trump filed and lost more than 40 lawsuits across the country in a failed attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, and failed to present any credible evidence of fraud to any judge.