Trump Promises Orderly Transition
By Worthy News Breaking News Team George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
(Worthy News) – Faced with a stream of defections and even threats of early eviction from the White House, U.S. President Donald J. Trump called for healing and reconciliation for the nation.
Trump called for calm in a speech given after Congress confirmed the declared election victory of Joe Biden, who will be presumed to be inaugurated as the 46th president on January 20.
Trump led off a video from the White House by condemning the violence carried out in his name a day earlier at the Capitol, which houses Congress, in which four people died.
Then, for the first time on camera, he anticipated a smooth transition of power — though he declined to mention declared President-elect Biden by name or explicitly state he had lost.
“A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20,” Trump added in the video. “My focus now turns to ensure a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”
He closed his speech by telling his supporters stating that “our journey is just the beginning.”
The address appeared designed to restore calm and stave off talk of forced early eviction of the increasingly isolated leader.
Trump was silenced on some of his favorite internet lines of communication, including social media giants Facebook and, for a while, Twitter, and watched resignations of top aides.
And as officials sifted through the aftermath of the mob’s siege of the U.S. Capitol, there was growing discussion of impeaching him a second time or invoking the 25th Amendment to oust him from the Oval Office.
Amid the turmoil, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos became the latest top aid to resign on Thursday, citing the “unconscionable” riot that caused widespread destruction at the Capitol a day earlier.
DeVos, who said the unrest was the tipping point, also blamed President Trump for contributing to Wednesday’s chaos.
“That behavior was unconscionable for our country. There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,” DeVos said in her resignation to President Trump Thursday night.
“Impressionable children are watching all this, and they are learning from us,” said DeVos in published remarks.
She is the second cabinet secretary to resign over the mayhem. Earlier Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said she was leaving her post, effective January 11.
Besides the four people who died, dozens were injured Wednesday as rioters smashed through doors and windows in the Capitol and battled police inside the Rotunda.
The violence did not prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win, made official early Thursday.
Many Trump White House officials quit their jobs, citing the Capitol break-in — two weeks before the official handover on January 20.
The stream of defections began with first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, a Trump White House “original” serving since 2017.
Also quitting were spokeswoman Sarah Matthews and former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Worthy News monitored.
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