TRUMP’S U-TURN TO SAVE HIS SKIN
IT TOOK two months, a failed insurrection that will live in infamy for years to come and the defection of his most loyal supporters, but Donald Trump has finally conceded that he lost the election.
Bleeding support, blamed and shamed by fellow world leaders and starved of his social media audience, Mr Trump issued a late-in-theday condemnation of the mob he had instigated and called for “unity” and “healing”. “Tempers must be cooled and calm restored,” he said in a video speech from the White House.
“We must get on with the business of America.” Mr Trump also warned that offenders would be punished.
“To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country,” he said. “And to those who broke the law, you will pay.”
Mr Trump had insisted until this point that he could still retain the presidency despite none of his claims of electoral fraud being proven. “My campaign vigorously pursued every legal avenue to contest the election results,” he said.
“My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote.”
He called for electoral reform but conceded that “a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th”.
“My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power,” he said.
But it may all be too little too late.
Mr Trump’s political enemies will today meet to discuss impeaching him for a second time after their calls for him to be removed from office were reportedly rejected by Vice-President Mike Pence. With just 11 days remaining in office and Congress on a break, any impeachment of Mr Trump would likely be symbolic. But it would further taint the legacy his behaviour since November 3 has all but destroyed.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow senior Democrat Chuck Schumer earlier revealed they had tried to contact Mr Pence to discuss invoking the 25th amendment to remove Mr Trump from office but the Vice-President refused to take their call.
“Speaker Pelosi and I tried to call the Vice-President this morning to tell him to do this,” Mr Schumer said.
“They kept us on hold for 25 minutes and then said the Vice-President wouldn’t come on the phone.”
President-elect Joe Biden earlier slammed Wednesday as one of the “darkest days” in US history and “an unprecedented assault on our democracy”.
“What we witnessed yesterday was not dissent. It was disorder,” he said.
“It was not protest. It was chaos. They weren’t protesters. Don’t dare call them protesters. They were rioters, a mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic terrorists.”
As the fallout continued with a string of resignations from his administration and the police chiefs blamed for letting the rioters breach the Capitol, Mr Trump also found himself in new legal peril.
US Attorney Michael Sherwin, the federal prosecutor overseeing Washington DC, would not rule out charging Mr Trump for his role in inciting the riot.
“We’re trying to deal with the closest alligators to the boat right now, and those are the people that obviously breached the Capitol and created violence and mayhem there,” Mr Sherwin said.
“But yes, we are looking at all actors here. Not only the people who went into the building.”
When asked if that included the President, Mr Sherwin said: “We’re looking at all actors here, and anyone that had a role and the evidence fits
the elements of a crime, they’re going to be charged.”
Mr Trump has previously boasted on social media that he has the power to issue a presidential pardon to himself, an option he has reportedly been discussing with aides in the past two days.
Legal opinion is divided on whether he has the power to pardon himself and, if successful, it would only protect him from federal charges rather than state ones such as those being pursued by the New York attorney over his financial dealings within the Trump Organisation.
World leaders including the UK’s Boris Johnson and Germany’s Angela Merkel piled on yesterday, blaming Mr Trump for the mayhem.
“He encouraged people to storm the Capitol, and in so far as the President has consistently cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that was completely wrong,” Mr Johnson said. “I believe what President Trump has been saying about that has been completely wrong and I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the Capitol.”
Mrs Merkel said: “We all saw the unsettling pictures of the storming of the US Congress yesterday evening, and these images made me angry and also sad.
“I regret very much that President Trump not acknowledged his defeat since November and also again not yesterday. Doubts about the election outcome were stirred and created the atmosphere that made the events of last night possible.”
In another frustration, Mr Trump will be blocked from posting on Facebook at least until after he leaves office “to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully”.
Under increasing fire for its role in fanning extremism, the social media giant said on Thursday morning local time that it would censor Mr Trump “indefinitely”.
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” said Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg.
“Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
With just over a week until Washington’s next big public safety test in Mr Biden’s inauguration, there were many questions about the apparent collapse of security on Wednesday.
“How could they fail so miserably? We’re 20 years from 9/11. Yesterday they could have blown the building up. They could have killed us all. They could have destroyed the government,” said Senator Lindsey Graham. “Warning shots should have been fired. Lethal force should have been used once they penetrated the seat of government.”
Republican Senator Roy Blunt, who is on the inauguration committee, also flagged his concerns.
“You want to take one more really hard look at what you thought your crowd security concerns might be for January 20,” Senator Blunt said.