Getty Images
- President Donald Trump in a statement early Thursday pledged an “orderly transition of power” after his supporters rioted at the US Capitol.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump has pledged that an orderly transition of power will take place on January 20 when President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
It comes after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol in Washington DC Wednesday, delaying certification of Biden’s win until the early hours of Thursday morning.
The statement was released by White House social media director Dan Scavino, with Trump having been banned from posting from his own account by Twitter for inciting the riots.
“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 20th,” said Trump. “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!”
—Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021
The statement marks a slight shift for Trump in the wake of Wednesday's violence, that has left four people dead.
Though he continues in the new statement to baselessly allege that the election was stolen from him as a result of fraud, the conspiracy theory that fuelled Wednesday's riot, it is the first time he has openly committed to a peaceful transfer of power after Biden's victory. Trump had previously refused to honor one of the cornerstones of American democracy by making the pledge.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Trump on Wednesday had addressed a crowd of supporters in Washington DC who had gathered to protest against the certification of Biden's win that was being conducted by lawmakers in the US Capitol.
In a speech, he told supporters to "walk down to the Capitol" and that "you will never take back our country with weakness."
Supporters then attacked the Capitol, clashing with police and breaking through police lines to enter the building, forcing the evacuation of lawmakers who had gathered to certify Biden's win. Once inside, supporters ransacked offices and breached the Senate chamber itself, some wearing far-right insignia and carrying Confederate flags.
One woman, reportedly a Trump supporter, was shot dead in the chaos. Three others have reportedly lost their lives in the riot.
Biden had urged Trump to address the nation and condemn the violence as it unfolded Wednesday, and Trump released a short video calling for peace but repeating the baseless election fraud conspiracies and declaring his "love" for the rioters.
After again repeating the election fraud conspiracies in a succession of tweets in which he notably did not crticise or condemn the rioters, his account was locked by the social media company for inciting violence, with Facebook also banning the president from posting.
According to reports, some members of Trump's cabinet are discussing invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office before Biden's inauguration in 13 days.
Ahead of Wednesday's violence in the seat of US democracy, Trump had for months baselessly claimed that the election was stolen from him as a result of mass fraud, refusing to acknowledge Biden's win. Ahead of the election he had refused in an interview to commit to the peaceful transfer of power, breaking with centuries of US democratic tradition.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.