Published 21:49 IST, January 8th 2021
Donald Trump says 'Won't attend inauguration on 20 Jan', a day after Capitol Seige
A day after the horrific riots at the US Capitol, President Donald Trump on Friday, said that he will not be attending the Joe Biden & Kamala Harris' inaugural
A day after the horrific riots at the US Capitol, President Donald Trump on Friday, said that he will not be attending the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' inauguration ceremony on January 20, becoming the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson to skip his successor's inauguration. After being banned from Facebook and Twitter for 12 hours, Trump officially conceded defeat, condemning his supporters who laid siege to Capitol Hill in a bid to stop the certification of the electoral college votes - formally recognising Biden as the 46th President of the United States. With talks of his removal from office being discussed by his cabinet members, Trump yet again pandered to his base, tweeting 'The 75,000,000 who voted for me will not be disrespected or treated unfairly'.
Trump: 'Won't attend inauguration'
US Capitol siege by Pro-Trump supporters
On Wednesday afternoon, thousands of Trump supporters broke barricades outside the Capitol, and marched into the building. Scaling walls using scaffolding and breaking windows to enter the building. Inside the building, rioters banged on doors, trying to push through doors and fought with police. As per reports, by 2 PM, Capitol Police ordered all staff, reporters and nearby senators into the Senate chamber, which was sealed off and put on lockdown. Visuals from inside the Capitol show the rioters inside US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, inside the Congress and Senate Hall as police officers deployed tear gas inside the building. After the building was secured, at least four people have died, 52 have been arrested and over a dozen police officers have been injured.
Reports state that the siege on Capitol Hill occurred after President Trump had given a speech from the White House, urging protesters to march on the Capitol after making false claims of electoral fraud. Later, after the seige, Biden condemned the violence, urging Trump to 'stop this carnage' and 'do his Constitutional duty'. Trump, later gave a speech telling rioters to 'go home in peace', before formally conceding the election. Congress later reconvened and formally certified Biden and Harris' electoral victory, with senior Republican leaders slamming Trump. Joe Biden was elected as the 46th US President on 7 November winning 306 electoral college votes to Trump's 232 and he also won the popular vote, with 51% of the votes - amassing 8,12,83,485 ballots.
In the face of a slew of resignations from White House staff and his cabinet, Trump said, “I would like to begin with the heinous attack on the US Capitol. Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem. I immediately deployed the national guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders. To those who were engaged in the act of violence and demonstration, you do not represent our country and those who broke the law you'll pay. We have just been through intense elections and the emotions are high but now tempered must be cooled, calm and restored."
Updated 21:49 IST, January 8th 2021