More than 24 hours after he sparked a move to invade the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump has voiced in the violence and finally admits that Joe Biden is the next president, saying in a video statement “that a new administration will begin on January 20” and promise a smooth transition of power.
The statement was posted on Twitter – one of the only social media platforms the president still has access to – after a day of silence after an unprecedented incitement of rioters loomed over us. -a-mach.
Hours later, Capitol police confirmed that a police officer had died during Wednesday’s attack. A statement said Brian Sicknick was injured while in physical contact with protesters.
Trump’s statement came amid growing calls for his resignation or removal, and as a growing list of administrative figures – including education secretary Betsy DeVos, and transport secretary Elaine Chao – who resigned after the attack.
The president began the video with his initial blunt refusal about the sinking of the U.S. Capitol building, saying he was “harassed by violence, law and humiliation”.
Trump also said he had “immediately deployed the national guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and exterminate the attackers”; ged many News outlets have reported that Mike Pence, not Trump, was the national guard, while Trump opposed the move.
The statement marked a sharp turn in the tone of the president, who has continued to quarrel and falsely say that the election was stolen from him. While he pauses briefly from fully acknowledging the case, Trump’s statement is the closest he came to a discounted speech.
“My campaign was firmly in the legal footsteps to decide the outcome of the election. My only goal was to ensure the integrity of his vote, ”Trump said, despite the fact that there was no evidence that the election was anything but safe, and promises by his own lawyer that widespread voting fraud.
Now, Congress has confirmed the results. A new administration will begin on January 20. I now turn to ensuring a smooth, orderly and power-free transition. ”
Trump looked at his brief remarks by calling for “healing and reconciliation” and saying “tempers must be cooled”. He sent a final message for his supporters, saying: “I know you’re embarrassed, but I also want you to know that our amazing journey is just beginning.”
Trump’s statement came as the threat of a second impeachment loomed and a growing group of lawmakers demanded a price to pay for the turbulent scenes in Washington.
On Wednesday, Trump urged thousands of supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol to protest the election results, building a blockade that overwhelmed police officers and attacked the Capitol building, taking members of the Congress have gone into hiding. Four people died, including one woman who was shot and killed by police and three who died in a medical emergency.
The leading Democrats in Congress – House spokesman Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer – have called on vice president Mike Pence and Trump’s cabinet to use the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump for “inciting revolution”.
The 25th amendment allows a majority of the cabinet to remove a president from power if he is unable to fulfill the duties of office.
But Schumer and Pelosi said they have not yet heard back from Pence, and Pence’s adviser told the Associated Press that the vice president, who had to direct such an effort, was opposed to using the change .
If Pence does not act, Pelosi indicated that she would likely recall the House to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump for his role in Wednesday’s violence.
A handful of Republicans have also called for Trump’s removal but the party’s leadership remains protected. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blamed the attack on “non-stop criminals” but without mentioning Trump.
Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal, which was seen as the main voice of the Republican establishment, called on Trump to vacate his office.
In an editorial Thursday night, the paper called on the president to resign rather than oppose impeachment or forced removal under the 25th amendment.
“This was an attack on the constitutional process of transferring power after an election,” the paper’s editorial board wrote about Trump’s actions on Wednesday. “It was also an attack on the legislature of an agency sworn to uphold the laws of the United States. This goes beyond just refusing to accept the case. In our opinion it crosses a constitutional line that Mr. Trump has not crossed before. It is inaccessible. “
The editorial boards of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today have also issued similar notices.
Several members of the Trump administration, including DeVos and Chao, who are married to McConnell, resigned as a symbolic movement against violence.
U.S. Senate military sergeant Michael Stenger, House armaments sergeant Paul D Irving and U.S. Capitol police chief Steven Sund resigned Thursday after an unprecedented security breach of the Capitol, which has cause uproar and scrutiny.
Speaking in Delaware on Thursday, Joe Biden called those who stormed the Capitol building as “domestic terrorists”. Speaking just hours after Congress declared him the winner of the 2020 election, the president called the previous evening’s events “one of the darkest days in our country’s history”.
“They were not activists – don’t be afraid to call activists,” Biden said. “They were rioters. Terrorists. Domestic terrorists. That’s basic. It’s so simple. sin. “