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> I wonder whether the latter four knowingly made the error of addressing former president and president-elect Trump as “President Trump”.

While he's correct here in a strict sense, in practice, it's common to address former presidents in that manner

https://emilypost.com/advice/addressing-a-former-president-o...

See the part about informal settings

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I would say that this informal tradition has an implicit "emeritus" attached to it. That is, you're recognizing them as retired presidents who have passed on the torch. Donald Trump has done neither, and he is being recognized in these contexted not as president emeritus, but as soon-to-be-president. So naturally people would find this way of referring to him somewhat odd.

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