WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not attend President Joe Biden’s election on January 20, and underlined his message a day earlier that he would work for a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition from power ”to ensure his successor.
Trump offered no clues as to how he would spend his last hours in office, and he will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson to skip the oath of office of his successor. Traditionally, incoming and outgoing presidents ride together to the U.S. Capitol for the ceremony, as a symbol of the country’s peaceful transition.
Trump’s comments come two days after a violent crowd of his supporters occupied the Capitol for several hours as lawmakers compiled the election ballots confirming Biden’s victory. Biden will be on Jan. 20 at 12:00 p.m., regardless of Trump’s plans.
“To everyone who asked for it, I will not go to the inauguration on January 20,” Trump tweeted. The move was widely expected, as Trump falsely claimed victory in the election for months, announcing unfounded claims of voter fraud. His own government said the election was fairly conducted.
According to one president close to him and someone familiar with the inauguration planning, Vice President Mike Pence would attend the inauguration. Pence spokesman Devin Malley said in a statement on Friday that he and the second lady “must make another decision about their attendance.”
Biden’s transition team had no immediate comment on Trump’s announcement. But Jen Psaki, the incoming press secretary of the White House president, said last month that Biden did not believe Trump was attending the inauguration.
On Thursday, with twelve more days in his term, Trump finally bowed to reality amid mounting talks to try to force him out early and admit he would leave peacefully after Congress confirmed his defeat.
Trump on Thursday led a video from the White House condemning the violence carried out in the Capitol in his name a day earlier. Then, for the first time on camera, he admitted that his presidency would end soon – although he refused to name Biden or explicitly declare that he had lost.
“A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20,” Trump said in the video. “My focus now is to ensure a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation. ”
By next morning, however, Trump was back in his usual section. Instead of giving condolences to the police officer who died Because of injuries sustained during the riot, Trump took to Twitter to praise the “great American patriots” who voted for him.
“They will in no way, shape or form, be despised or treated !!!” he tweeted.
Thursday night’s speech, which appears to ward off talk of a forced early eviction, came at the end of a day when the president remained out of sight in the White House. Silenced on some of his favorite internet lines, he looks to the resignation of several top assistants, including two cabinet secretaries.
And when officials sifted through the aftermath of the siege of the U.S. Capitol pro-Trump mob, there was growing discussion to accuse him a second time, as the talk of calling for the 25th Amendment to oust him from the Oval Office to expel, continues.
The invasion of the Capitol building, a powerful symbol of the country’s democracy, rattled the Republicans as well as the Democrats. They have struggled to contain the impulses of a president who is considered too dangerous to control his own social media accounts, but who is still the commander – in – chief of the world’s largest army.
“I’m not worried about the next election, I’m worried about getting through the next 14 days,” said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump’s strongest allies. He condemned the president’s role in Wednesday’s riots and said: “If something else happens, all options will be on the table.”
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that “the President of the United States has incited an armed uprising against America”. She calls him ‘a very dangerous person who should not continue in office. It is urgent, an emergency of the highest magnitude. ‘
She said in a statement to colleagues on Friday that she had spoken to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff about preventing Trump from launching military action or a nuclear strike.
“The situation of this intransigent president could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything in our power to protect the American people from its unbalanced attack on our country and our democracy,” she wrote.
Pelosi also met with the House Democratic caucus on Friday to consider an indictment against the president for a second time. She and Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer also called on Pence and the Cabinet to call for the 25th amendment to force Trump out of office – though the urgency of the discussion among cabinet members and staff has diminished. .
The talks come amid fears of what a desperate president could do in his last days, including speculation that Trump could incite more violence, make improper appointments, give ill-considered apologies – even to himself and his family – or even causing a destabilizing international incident.
Pence has not said publicly whether he will support the 25th Amendment, but Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has said he does not think so. “I just hear he’s basically not moving in that direction,” he said, referring to “my Senate channels.”
The president’s video Thursday – which was released on his return to Twitter after his account was restored – was a complete reversal of the one he put out just 24 hours earlier in which he told the violent mob: ‘We love your. You are very special. “His refusal to condemn the violence sparked a storm of criticism and in the new video he finally exposed the protesters’ ‘lawlessness and chaos’.
Aides said the video was also intended to delay the massive exodus of staff members and ward off potential legal issues for Trump as soon as he leaves office; White House councilor Pat Cipollone has repeatedly warned the president that he could be held responsible for inciting violence on Wednesday.
As for his feelings when he left office, Trump told the country that “it was an honor of my lifetime to serve as your president,” pointing out that he is returning to the public arena. He told fans “our incredible journey is only just beginning.”
While Trump remained silent and presided over the executive mansion until Thursday night, loyalists marched to the exits, and their departure – which would come in two weeks at least – acted against the president’s handling of the riot.
Transport Secretary Elaine Chao became the first cabinet member to resign. Chao, married to Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, one of the lawmakers trapped in the Capitol on Wednesday, said in a message to staff that the attack made me a serious problem in a way I simply can not set aside. ‘
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos followed. In her resignation letter on Thursday, DeVos blamed Trump for inciting tensions in the violent assault on the seat of the country’s democracy. “The impact your rhetoric has had on the situation is wrong, and that’s the turning point for me,” she wrote.
Others who resigned following the riot: Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger; Ryan Tully, senior director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council; and First Lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary.
Mick Mulvaney, the former chief of staff of Trump who became special envoy to Northern Ireland, told CNBC that he had called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to let him know I was resigning. … I can ‘t do that. I can not stay. ”
“Those who prefer to stay, and I’ve talked to some of them, choose to stay because they’re worried the president might make someone worse,” Mulvaney said.
Mulvaney’s predecessor in the post of chief of staff, retired US Marine Corps general John Kelly, told CNN that “I think the cabinet should meet and have a discussion” on Article 4 of the 25th Amendment – which is the powerful removal of Trump through his own cabinet. .
According to two people who were informed about the discussions, discussions took place at staff level across different departments and even in parts of the White House. But no cabinet member has publicly expressed support for the move.
In the West Wing, shock-shocked helpers were packing up, according to a delayed order to tackle before their arrival from the Biden team.
The president has asked assistants to investigate a possible trip to the southern border next week as a way to highlight his immigration policy.
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Lemire reports from New York. Associated Press author Jill Colvin contributed reports from Washington.