USA Today coverage of Thursday evening (Jan. 7) statement from White House pre-taped video:
President Donald Trump on Thursday acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in his strongest words yet as he faces mounting criticism for his handling of the violence that erupted a day earlier at the U.S. Capitol.
"A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20," Trump acknowledged in a video posted to social media, the closest he has come to conceding the Nov. 3 election. “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”
Trump did not mention Biden by name nor congratulate his rival, who has been introducing members of his Cabinet and preparing to assume the presidency even as Trump has for weeks leveled evidence-free claims of voter fraud to argue that the election was stolen. Trump did not abandon those baseless claims in the video, but did acknowledge that the nation had "just been through an intense election" and that emotions were high.
"Tempers must be cooled and calm restored,” he said.
Trump did not address his own role in flaring those emotions and he did not discuss his effort to whip up a large rally outside the White House minutes before a pro-Trump mob rushed the Capitol. During those remarks, the president urged his supporters to march on the Capitol and encouraged them to not be "weak."
The video, one of several Trump has posted from the White House in recent weeks, was the latest effort to get ahold of the fallout from the chaos that unfolded Wednesday afternoon when a mob attacked the Capitol and disrupted the counting of Electoral College votes. Members of both parties have criticized the president's rally remarks.
While Trump appeared to relent in his effort to overturn the election he hinted, at the end of the video, that he continued to see a future in politics. Addressing all of his "wonderful supporters," Trump promised that "our incredible journey is only just beginning."
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