Trump Finally Concedes Biden Will Become President
- President Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time that President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will take charge on Jan. 20.
- “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power,” Trump said in his first address to the nation since the Capitol riot by a Trumpist mob.
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Thursday acknowledged for the first time that President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will take charge in less than two weeks.
Without mentioning Biden by name, Trump said in a nearly three-minute video that “a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th.”
Trump, who had repeatedly vowed never to concede to Biden, backed dozens of failed lawsuits and flooded his Twitter account with baseless claims of voter fraud.
His refusal to accept the election results culminated in a deadly riot on Wednesday, when swarms of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and derailed congressional proceedings to tally electors’ votes and confirm Biden’s win in the Nov. 3 election.
“Now tempers must be cooled, and calm restored. We must get on with the business of America,” Trump said in his first address to the nation following the riot that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer.
“My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power,” the president added.
The president, , briefly spoke about the pandemonium at the U.S. Capitol.
Trump Dismissing Advice To Tone Down Rhetoric Address The Nation
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has dismissed advice from allies urging him to tone down his rhetoric and held back so far on making a formal address to the nation as cities across the country faced another night of protest over the death of George Floyd.
As the roar of police helicopters and chanting crowds reverberated through the White House grounds for a third night, Trump again opted against making prime-time remarks from the Oval Office, as other presidents have done in times of domestic crisis.
Instead, he spent the day on Twitter, doubling down on a strategy of calling for stronger police tactics, a move critics say is only worsening the situation.
President Trump Addresses The Nation Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the White House tonight, amid the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus. In a statement from the Oval Office, Trump delivered a sober message to the American public about the virus known as COVID-19.
“Today the WHO announced that this is a global pandemic. We have been in frequent contact with our allies and we are marshaling the full power of the federal government and the private sector to protect the American people,” Trump said.
“I’m confident that by counting and continuing to take these tough measures we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens and we’ll ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus. From the beginning of time, nations and people have faced unforeseen challenges including large scale and very dangerous health threats,” said Trump. “This is the way it always was and always will be. It only matters how you respond and we are responding with great speed and professionalism.”
Among one of the strongest actions Trump announced Wednesday, was that all travel from Europe to the United States would be suspended for the next thirty days, with the exception of the United Kingdom.
Trump said he made the decision to keep new cases from “entering our shores.”
Italy has seen the highest number of infections over the past several weeks, with at least 12,000 confirmed infections and more than 800 deaths. Other countries in Europe, such as France, Spain and Germany, have around 2,000 cases each.
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Address To The Nation
An Address to the Nation is a speech made in the White House by the President of the United States at the Oval Office, East Room, outside of the White House, or anywhere else. It is considered among the most solemn settings for an address made by the President, and is most often delivered to announce a major new policy initiative, on the occasion of a President’s departure from office, or during times of national emergency .
Armageddon Again Pelosi Warns Government Could Be Closed Forever Over Budget Fight
Likely Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi escalated her war-of-words with the Trump administration Thursday saying the government could be closed forever because of her opposition to the Presidents border wall.
Pelosi was speaking with reporters during her weekly press conference at the Capitol when she was asked if she planned to cave to the Presidents security demands.
Pelosi predicts the government will stay “closed forever” because she is never going to fund the border wall.
Earlier, Pelosi said she is not going to approve one dime for the Wall.
Benny
Lets hope there wont be a shutdown of the government. Thats a very bad thing to do, maybe the President doesnt grasp that. That is very harmful to our country at significant cost, said Pelosi.
They still voted against opening up the government Does he want to have government closed forever? Whats this about? I know he doesnt believe in government, she added.
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Education Secretary Betsy Devos Becomes Latest Trump Administration Official To Resign
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Thursday night became the latest Trump administration official to resign in the wake of the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. She said in her resignation letter to President Trump that there is “no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me.”
DeVos insisted in her letter that “history will show we were correct in our repeated urging of and support for schools reopening this year and getting all of America’s students back to learning.” But, she said, “impressionable children” were watching the riots at the Capitol and “we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgement and model the behavior we hope they would emulate.”
Her resignation came hours after Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, announced her resignation, saying it is effective as of Monday. Chao and DeVos are both members of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet, and President-elect Joe Biden has already announced his choices to replace them.
What Is Trump Expected To Say
The former president hasnt released any excerpts of his speech, but hes expected to touch on the Biden administrations handling of the border crisis, his lawsuit against the tech companies that he filed last week, the candidates hes touting for the 2022 midterm election and the fallout from the 2020 presidential election.
His son, Donald Trump Jr., who spoke at the conference on Friday, told Fox News, with my father, you never know, right?
I can assure you its going to be interesting. I can assure you people will be outraged, Donald Jr. said.
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‘the Mob Was Fed Lies’: Mcconnell Rebukes Trump For His Role In Capitol Riot
Trump, who has still not formally admitted his defeat in the race, told supporters: “This week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous.”
President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States. Trump is not expected to attend the ceremony a final dismissal of presidential decorum, the likes of which have come to define his presidency.
Trump, who inspired a legion of disaffected Republicans, told his supporters on Tuesday: “As I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. There’s never been anything like it.”
Pelosi Calls On Pence To Invoke 25th Amendment And Threatens Impeachment
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Vice President Mike Pence to move forward with removing the president under the 25th Amendment, saying Congress may go forward with impeaching Mr. Trump if Pence and the Cabinet do not act.
“In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation, and our people,” Pelosi said at a press conference at the Capitol Thursday. “I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th Amendment. If the vice president and Cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”
“That is the overwhelming sentiment of the American people, by the way. Justice will be done to those who carried out these acts, which were sedition and acts of cowards,” she added.
Mr. Trump has already been impeached once by the House, although the Senate did not convict him.
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Fbi Seeks Public’s Help In Identifying Suspects Involved In Attack On Us Capitol
The FBI is soliciting information from the public that will help with identifying people who “are actively instigating violence in” the nation’s capital, the bureau said late Wednesday.
“The FBI is accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting and violence in the U.S. Capitol Building and surrounding area in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021,” it said.
Members of the public were encouraged to submit photos, videos and other multimedia files related to possible violations of federal law, or call 1-800-CALL-FBI with tips.
Watch Live: Trump To Address Nation From Oval At 9 Pm Et
President Donald Trump is expected to address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET. Watch live below:
Trump announced the address in a tweet Wednesday.
I will be addressing the Nation this evening at 9:00 P.M. from the Oval Office.
Donald J. Trump
The address comes as the Trump administration struggles to coordinate federal and local responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to uncertainty and a plunging stock market.
More than 1,100 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States, and the number of newly confirmed cases has increased daily.
The White House has hinted at an economic stimulus package to address the impact of the pandemic, with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow saying Tuesday that it may include a payroll tax holiday and some measure to address workers who do not receive paid sick time.
Politico reported Wednesday that Trump was reluctant to declare an emergency over the pandemic, something state health officials and experts told TPM was preventing essential resources from reaching areas of the country hardest hit by the disease.
This post has been updated.
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Chuck Todd: It Doesnt Appear The President Views Himself As A Healer
Trump has had a pattern during past crises of being slow to divert from his agenda and planned talking points. The weekend before he declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, he was golfing and holding fundraisers at his Mar-a-Lago resort downplaying the severity of the virus. During the controversy around his comments on the deadly protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Trump spent the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, holding a meeting on tax cuts at the White House and traveling to Trump Tower in New York for a meeting on infrastructure as the controversy ballooned.
But while Trump has been heavily criticized over his response to the protests, the demonstrations provide him the type of culture war distraction he had been seeking to take the focus away from his administrations response to the coronavirus, which has killed more than 100,000 people and resulted in 1 in 4 Americans filing for unemployment, said one outside adviser.
Before the demonstrations escalated, Trump had little success trying to shift the national conversation away from the coronavirus pandemic to other divisive issues popular with conservatives, such as voter fraud, alleged social media bias and China. Now, says that adviser, he can appear as the strong-arm law-and-order candidate protecting the country from lawlessness.
Capitol Police Chief To Resign
A spokesperson for the Capitol police confirmed Thursday that Capitol police chief Steven Sund will be resigning in the aftermath of the angry mob of Trump supporters breaching the U.S. Capitol the day before. Sund’s resignation is effective Saturday, January 16.
In a statement on Thursday, Sund had defended his officers’ actions, saying they “responded valiantly.” He insisted Capitol police had a “robust plan” in place to “address anticipated First Amendment activities.”
“But make no mistake these mass riots were not First Amendment activities they were criminal riotous behavior,” Sund said in a statement.
Many members of Congress criticized the response, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called for his resignation.
“There was a failure of leadership at the top of the Capitol police and I think Mr. Sund, he hasn’t even called us since this happened,” she said.
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Fbi Director Says Feds Determined To Find Those Responsible For Capitol Assault
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the attack on the Capitol “showed a blatant and appalling disregard for our institutions of government and the orderly administration of the democratic process,” and vowed to identify those who stormed the halls of Congress.
“As we’ve said consistently, we do not tolerate violent agitators and extremists who use the guise of First Amendment-protected activity to incite violence and wreak havoc. Such behavior betrays the values of our democracy,” Wray said. “Make no mistake: With our partners, we will hold accountable those who participated in yesterday’s siege of the Capitol.”
Wray said the bureau has “deployed our full investigative resources” toward the effort, and urged the public to submit tips and videos to federal investigators.
“Our agents and analysts have been hard at work through the night gathering evidence, sharing intelligence, and working with federal prosecutors to bring charges,” he said. “We are determined to find those responsible and ensure justice is served.”
Smerconish Has A Theory About Biden’s Low Poll Numbers
After a weekend of massive peaceful protests around the country, White House officials are currently deliberating a plan for President Donald Trump to address the nation this week on issues related to race and national unity, as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson hinted in an interview with CNN on Sunday and a senior administration official said was under serious consideration.
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Trump Schedules Address Before Cpac Next Sunday
The former president will make his first lengthy remarks since leaving office before the annual conference of conservatives Feb. 28.
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Former President Donald J. Trump will speak at the conservative event known as CPAC on Feb. 28, his first public appearance and lengthy address since he left the White House for a final time last month.
A senior aide to Mr. Trump confirmed that he would attend the Conservative Political Action Conference, which is being held in Orlando, Fla., this year, and that he planned to talk about the future of the Republican Party as well as President Bidens immigration policies, which have been aimed at undoing Mr. Trumps.
What Mr. Trump plans to talk about and what he ultimately says once hes onstage often diverge, as he discards scripts that aides prepare for him.
But it will be the first time that he has spoken in a public setting since the deadly Jan. 6 riot by his supporters at the Capitol building.
The former president, who was permanently banned from Twitter and who is facing investigations into his businesses as well as whether he has culpability for the assault on the Capitol, has generally kept a low profile, except for giving a small round of interviews to sympathetic news outlets about the death of the radio host Rush Limbaugh last week. Even though the interviews were supposed to be about Mr. Limbaugh, Mr. Trump still strayed into repeating his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
