Trump promises 'orderly transition' to Biden administration, one day after inciting mob to storm Capitol
President Donald Trump early Thursday pledged "an orderly transition on January 20," acknowledging for the first time that he will be leaving office in less than two weeks but stopping short of conceding to President-elect Joe Biden.
The pledge for an orderly passage of power came just one day after a pro-Trump mob, incited by the president, stormed the Capitol and disrupted the certification of Biden's victory. With Trump still suspended from Twitter over his role in the unrest, he issued the statement through spokesman Dan Scavino minutes after Vice President Pence affirmed that Biden will be president.
"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20," said Trump, echoing his baseless claims that the results were not legitimate. "I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again."
Trump's acknowledgment that his presidency will soon end followed a day like no other in modern history, which saw Trump supporters scaling walls and pushing their way past law enforcement officers to force their way into the U.S. Capitol.
The tallying of electoral college votes, ordinarily an uneventful affair, had to be put on hold while lawmakers fled to safely. By the time Trump told the mob to "go home now," one woman had been fatally shot and multiple police officers had been injured. Three others in the mob died of unspecified medical emergencies.
The violent riot prompted some Republican senators who had planned to challenge the election results to change heart, and tallying the electoral college votes went relatively smoothly after a joint session of the House and Senate resumed late Wednesday. Though some GOP senators disputed election results from Pennsylvania and Arizona, both challenges failed and Vice President Mike Pence officially affirmed Biden's win in the early hours of Thursday morning.
"The announcement of the state of the vote by the president of the Senate shall be deemed a sufficient declaration as persons elected president and vice president of the United States," Pence said.
As critics pointed out, Trump's statement following the electoral college vote notably failed to congratulate or even mention Biden.
Trump has repeatedly refused to concede the election over the past two months, at times suggesting that he might remain in the White House after Jan. 20. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 at noon.