Only three outgoing presidents (John Adams in 1801, his son John Quincy Adams in 1829 and Andrew Johnson in 1869) had refused to attend the inauguration of their successor before him. Until the end the American President, Donald Trump, camps on his positions: in one of the laconic Tweets of which he is accustomed, he announced Friday, January 8 that he would not attend the swearing in of his successor, Joe Biden.
“To all those who have asked, I will not attend the swearing-in on January 20”, he wrote.
To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.
Two days after the violence that gripped Capitol Hill, rocked America and stunned the world, the Trump presidency on Friday was on the verge of implosion. Calls for resignation, impeachment plans, deluge of criticism against a president accused of undermining institutions and adding fuel to the fire: twelve days before the end of his mandate, Donald Trump, reclusive in the White House, is extraordinarily alone.
In a video message broadcast Thursday evening, the stormy billionaire finally admitted his defeat, even if he at no time cited – let alone congratulated – his Democratic successor.
” Too late “
In this exercise intended to try to save the end of his mandate, he also denounced “A heinous attack” on the Capitol, without ever mentioning its responsibility in this drama which has permanently tarnished the image of America throughout the world. ” Too late “, reacted in unison a number of exasperated Democratic and Republican officials, while resignations within his close team and his government are increasing.
Some of his detractors believe that the simplest would be that the 45e President is silent and de facto leaves Vice President Mike Pence in charge until January 20, when Joe Biden will be sworn in.
For Jeh Johnson, former Minister of Homeland Security, anyone with a little influence on Donald Trump should send him a simple message: “Get on Air Force One, go to Mar-a-Lago and stay there. “” The less he does in the last twelve days, the better, echoed Republican Senator Ben Sasse. Donald Trump lied to Americans, and lies have consequences. “
Stop Trump from using nuclear codes
Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said on Friday that she spoke with the U.S. military to ensure that Mr. Trump, a “Unbalanced president”, cannot use nuclear codes, while threatening to act in Congress if he does not step down quickly.
“This morning, I spoke with the U.S. Chief of Staff Mark Milley to discuss the precautions available to prevent an unstable President from launching military hostilities or accessing launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike ”, wrote Mme Pelosi in a letter to his fellow parliamentarians.
