- President Donald Trump deplored the video he shared on Thursday, during which he condemned the riots in the United States Capitol and promised a smooth transfer of power, according to a New York Times report.
- Trump shared the video the day after a violent crowd of his supporters broke into the federal building, causing lawmakers to evacuate and leaving five people dead.
- House Democrats have threatened Trump with impeachment unless he resigns, however, the president refuses to do so, according to The Times.
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President Donald Trump deplored the video he shared on Thursday, during which he condemned the riots in the United States Capitol and promised a smooth transition of power, according to a report by The New York Times.
In the video, posted a day after a violent crowd of his supporters violated the federal building, the president said those involved “contaminated the seat of American democracy” and “will pay”.
He also acknowledged that a “new government” will open on January 20, something he has always refused to do.
“My focus now is on ensuring a smooth, orderly and continuous power transition,” he said in the video.
The next day, however, Trump said he would not attend the inauguration of President-elect Biden.
Since the Capitol riots that caused the evacuation of Congress and left five people dead, the consequences have been swift for Trump.
Administration officials, including two cabinet members, resigned. Lawmakers, including from his own party, have asked him to step down. And House Democrats and House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi threatened to impeach him.
But the president refuses to resign, according to The Times report.
In the video, Trump allegedly now regrets, he has not repeated the baseless allegations of widespread electoral fraud that he has spread since the election defeat.
He also called for “healing and reconciliation”.
“We must revitalize the sacred bonds of love and loyalty that unite us as a national family,” he said.
Trump shared the video after being blocked from his Twitter account for about half a day after the platform said some of his tweets violated his policies against inciting violence.
One of the tweets was a video of Trump speaking to the troublemakers, in which he said “go home, we love you, you are very special”, and repeated baseless statements about the 2020 election. He did not condemn the violent actions of his supporters .
On Friday, the day after regaining access to his account, Trump was suspended from Twitter permanently “due to the risk of further incitement to violence,” the company said.