Published 14:10 IST, January 8th 2021
Trump talks about 'healing & reconciliation' after US Capitol Siege, shares video message
In a recorded video message where he publicly accepted defeat, Donald Trump also talked about “healing and reconciliation” following the US Capitol siege.
In a recorded video message where he publicly accepted defeat, US President Donald Trump on January 8 also talked about “healing and reconciliation” following the US Capitol siege by his supporters. Trump even said that the hundreds of people who stormed inside the federal building carrying flags with his name ‘do not represent’ the United States. The out-voted President, who is facing heavy criticism over the violence that engulfed the city in chaos, touted his own response to the unrest and said he ‘immediately ordered National Guard’.
However, the unprecedented turn of events killed at least four people with several getting arrested and injured. While most senior members of Trump’s cabinet are discussing his removal from the office even nearly 13 days before his tenure gets over, the outgoing Republican leader called for the restoration of peace in the country and said the US will always be a nation with ‘law and order’.
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. America is and must always be the nation of law and order.”
“The demonstrators who infiltrated the capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy. 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,” he added.
Trump says ‘new administration will be inaugurated’
Trump on January 8 publicly conceded for the first time since the November elections and informed that he will not be serving a second term. A day after being accused of inciting violence at US Capitol where his supporters broke into the building, being banned from Facebook ‘indefinitely’, Trump’s remarks in the recorded video message just fell short of congratulating President-elect Joe Biden. Out-voted Trump, who is the first US President to remain unsuccessful in his re-election bid since 1992, said that his ‘focus now turns to’ smooth transition of power.
"A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20," Trump said in the video, which was taped at the White House. "My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power."
Updated 14:08 IST, January 8th 2021