Donald Trump, the belligerent president who would not go quietly
Donald Trump belligerently blamed almost every part of democracy but his own campaign as he scattered unsubstantiated claims to outline his case for a supposed plot to cheat him out of re- election.
That the billionaire tycoon turned president was resisting leaving office without a bitter fight was a surprise to nobody.
But it was extraordinary that multiple major US broadcasters decided to halt televising the incendiary White House press c onference i n what appears to be the dying days of an unprecedented presidency.
Four years ago, many observers thought the Apprentice star had little chance of ever t aki ng t o t he Oval Off i c e . Mr Tr u mp p r o v e d t h e m wrong.
But no one could have foretold that the 74- year- old's battle for re- election would take place amid the chaos of a coronavirus pandemic, and that he would try to use the plague to boost his chances of staying in office.
Mr Trump himself tested positive for the disease that has killed more than 230,000 across the States, just a month ahead of election night. His diagnosis came days after he told US voters that Covid- 19 af f ect s "vi r t uall y nobody" apart from "elderly people
with heart problems and other problems".
As millions f aced unemployment, the economic and health impacts have coincided with mass protests across the country in a summer which would have been dominated by campaign rallies.
Born into the wealthy family of New York property tycoon Fred Trump, Mr Trump has claimed his father gave him a "small loan of a million dollars" to help him start out in business.
He later joined his father's business, helping manage an extensive portfolio of housing projects across New York. In 1971, he took control of the company, r enaming i t t he Trump Organisation.
His business empire expanded with the construction of Trump Tower on New York's Fifth Avenue, as well as hotels, casinos, and the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.
Despite amassing a huge fortune over the years, with a p e n c h a n t f o r b u i l d i n g big and branding his work with bold "Trump" signs, his companies have also f i l ed f or multiple bankruptcies. In its 2019 billionaires ranking, Forbes estimated Trump's net worth at 3.1 billion US dollars, and 715th in the world. B u t h i s f i n a n c e s h a v e remained a subject of intense s c r u t i ny, c u l mi n a t i n g i n bombshell reports from the New York Times af t er t he newspaper was leaked his tax returns, which he refused to make public as is custom for the president.
The newspaper's articles disclosed that he paid just 750 US dollars in federal income tax both in 2016 and 2017. It also revealed "chronic losses and years of tax avoidance".
Painting a dire financial situation approaching for Mr Trump, the reports added that hundreds of millions of dollars in loans will come due in the next four years.
There was even speculation that his run for president may have been a gambit to revive the marketability of his name.
Having repeatedly labelled opponent Hilar y Clinton as "crooked" throughout 2016, Mr Trump continued his personal attacks against her successor, labelling him "Sleepy Joe" as he tried to portray the man three years his senior as senile. Mr Tr ump, who had pr e - v i o u s l y r e f u s e d t o c o mmit to a peaceful transition of power if he lost, bullishl y and f alsely claimed that he had beaten Mr Biden on election night.
Despite the contest remaining on a knife- edge, he claimed t here was a "f r aud on American nation".
The president vowed to fight the results i n the supreme cour t , which he t i pped i n favour of conservatives in perhaps one of the most effective and long- lasting moves of his presidency.
During the election, he controversially pushed through the selection of Amy Coney Barrett after the death of liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The move raised concerns t hat abor t i on ri ghts could be eroded with Republican picks outnumbering Democrats' by nine justices to six.
I n s t a r k c o n t r a s t t o Mr Biden's calls f or calm and p a t i e nc e , t h e Republ i c a n deployed all- capitals tweets which were shielded by the social media giant with warnings of misleading content.
Mr Trump, as the situation continued to swing in favour of his rival, held a shocking White House press conference in which he made a litany of unsupported claims on Thursday night.
He alleged he was the victim of interference from "phoney polls" as well as "big media, big money and big tech".
He added: "If you count the legal votes, I easily won. If you count the illegal votes, they can tr y to steal the election from us."
The ABC, CBS and NBC television networks all decided to cut coverage of his speech short, with journalists accusing the president of brazenly lying to the public.
His exit from office could culminate in financial difficulty based on the reports of his fiscal affairs, but one certainty is that he would not go peacefully having persistently fanned tensions and widened divisions.
Critics hoping to be shot of Mr Trump should remember he would be eligible to run for the presidency again in 2024. But regardless of the specifics of his next steps there is no doubt he would do everything within his power to become a Trump Tower- sizedthorninmrbiden's side.
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