Trump’s last days as president

No American president has ever pardoned himself, and experts who spoke to the New York Times said this could be a very dangerous precedent. In the last few weeks of his tenure, Trump has pardoned some of his former associates and advisers, including Michael Flynn and Paul Manport.

Tonight, Trump awarded the White House the Medal of Presidential Freedom to three outstanding golfers. Usually such ceremonies are held in the presence of journalists and photographers, but this time the ceremony was closed to the media.

White House officials say Trump has been very upset over the past day. He prefers to be alone, and is in contact only with a small group of loyal helpers. He lashes out at anyone who tries to get close to him – including his deputy Mike Pence. Tomorrow, Trump is scheduled to leave the White House and spend the weekend at the Camp David presidential residence.

Much of Trump’s anger is directed in the direction of a flashlight. Trump expected his loyal deputy to revoke the electoral vote at a congressional hearing – even though Pence made it clear that this was unconstitutional and that he did not intend to do so. One source said that at a meeting this week, ahead of a congressional hearing, Trump severely reprimanded his deputy. Republican Sen. Jim Inhof, who spoke with Pence last night, said, “I’ve known Mike Pence ever since. I’ve never seen him so angry.”

A former Trump administration official said the rift between Pence and Trump is so great that they may not speak again. “Everyone around him is very proud of him,” said a Lantern consultant. “Mike Pence did not surprise the president. He said honestly what he intends to do.”

Elected President Joe Biden tonight accused Trump of inciting violence, and of trying to use the masses to silence the will of the electorate. In the United States, there is growing pressure on Trump to resign, 13 days before Biden’s inauguration.

The 25th Amendment allows the Vice President and Cabinet Ministers to declare the President unfit for office. In such a situation the vice president, in this case Mike Pence, becomes the de facto president. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives, tonight called for Lantern to activate the amendment – and threatened that if he did not do so, she might advance a House of Representatives dismissal against the outgoing president.

“This is an emergency of the highest order,” Pelosi said. She said Trump is a “dangerous man” who committed a “rebellion operation.” She said the Republican president was “deadly to American democracy.” Pelosi added: “Yesterday the US president incited an armed uprising against America.”

“Do they support these actions?” Pelosi asked about Trump’s cabinet’s attitude to riots, and the president’s part in violence. “Even though there are only 13 days left – every day could turn into a horror show,” Pelosi stressed, warning that Trump could do more damage to democracy.

Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, also called on Vice President Mike Pence to run the 25th Amendment. At least one Republican lawmaker – and another 19 Democratic lawmakers – have called for the same thing to be done. Like Pelosi, a guard also said that if Lantern does not do so Congress should initiate an impeachment process against the president, two weeks before Biden is sworn in.

“What happened yesterday on Capitol Hill was an uprising against the United States, of which the one who incited it was the president,” said Shumer. “If the vice president and the cabinet refuse to oppose him, Congress will have to reconvene to oust the president.”

The House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats, voted in favor of ousting Trump in December 2019 following the Ukraine Gate affair. The Senate, which Republicans currently still have a majority in, thwarted the impeachment process in a February 2020 vote and Trump remained in office.

Adam Kinsinger is the Republican legislator who has expressed support for the implementation of Article 25 of the Constitution. “All indications are that the president is no longer connected – not only to his duty to his oath, but also to reality,” he said. Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, also called on Trump to resign and said a flashlight should be replaced – to ensure a non-violent transfer of power to Biden. “I don’t think it’s a question at all that America would be better off if Trump resigned,” Hogan said.

It should be noted that for the time being there does not appear to be a real chance that Trump’s cabinet will implement the 25th Amendment to the constitution and oust the president, two weeks before he ends his term. The scenario in which Trump is ousted seems unlikely, but the fact that he is on the agenda again preoccupies the American and global media.

In the last day, several members of the Trump administration have announced that they are resigning, 13 days before the Biden inauguration. They seem to fear that the riot of Trump supporters will tarnish their reputation, and harm their political future.

Trump’s first cabinet member to resign after the riots is Transportation Minister Elaine Chow, the wife of Republican leader in Senate Mitch McConnell. The resigning minister said the attack was a very disturbing incident and that she “could not resist”.

Another resigner is Mick Mulvani, who was Trump’s chief of staff at the White House, and served as special envoy to Northern Ireland. “I can not do that. I can not stay,” said Mulvani, who informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of his resignation.

Mulvani served as chief of staff at the White House from January 2019 to March 2020. Prior to that, he headed the Ministry of Management and Budget. “Those who choose to stay, and I will have to talk to some of them, stay because they fear the president might appoint someone worse instead,” Mulvani said. In addition, they resigned following the riots of Matt Putinger, Deputy National Security Adviser, and Ryan Tally, Trump’s senior adviser on relations with Russia and a member of the National Security Council.

Chad Wolf, who serves as acting national defense minister, today called on Trump to “strongly condemn the violence that took place yesterday” and said the events were “tragic and sickening”. Shortly after Wolf’s remarks, it was announced that the White House had decided not to approve Wolf’s appointment as permanent minister. The White House withdrew Wolf’s candidacy for the post, which is set to end Jan. 20.

Beer attacked Trump and said getting the masses to put pressure on Congress is an “unforgivable” act. Beer is considered a loyal ally of Trump, but last month resigned after a deterioration in his relationship with the president. Beer left the Justice Department after saying there was no evidence of fraud to the extent that would change the election results. Trump was furious at his Justice Secretary’s ruling.

At the height of the riots that included breaking into the congressional building, Trump tweeted: “Please support the Capitol officers. They are truly in favor of our country. Be sure to protest peacefully!”, And yet did not call on his supporters to disperse from the building. He then tweeted: “I ask everyone in the Capitol building to act peacefully. Without violence! Remember, we are the Law and Order Party – respect the law and our wonderful men and women in blue. Thank you!”.

Just three hours after the riots began, Trump posted a recorded message on Twitter, a little over a minute old, in which he called on his supporters to “go home in peace.” However, even in it he incorporated agitating statements such as “stole the election from us”, “these are fake elections” and “took it from me”.

“I understand your pain, I know it hurts you,” Trump said in the short video. “We had elections that were stolen from us, there were elections that we won big and everyone knows that, especially the other side; but you have to go home now, we need peace, we need law and order. We do not want anyone to be harmed.” In the past day, senior Republican officials have demanded that Trump condemn the severe violence, but he has yet to do so.

A former White House official told Reuters that the president’s conduct yesterday was a leadership failure, as he did not immediately tell his supporters to leave the Capitol building. “A woman is dead. He has blood on his hands,” he said.