U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message posted on Twitter, seen in an empty room by Brady Briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2020.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was willing to allow an “orderly transition” of power, just minutes after Congress formally confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president.
A statement by the president on Twitter via Deputy Head of Communications Office, Dan Scavino, repeated baseless allegations of widespread electoral fraud, but included the reversal.
“Although I totally disagree with the result of the election and the facts confirm it, there will be an orderly transition on January 20. I always said that we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. presidential history is just the beginning of our struggle to make America great again! “
The statement came after dramatic scenes on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with pro-Trump supporters breaking into the building, forcing a blockade and lawmakers to seek shelter.
During the night, Congress met again and formally confirmed Biden’s election. The statement came after the House of Representatives and the Senate, in two separate votes in both chambers, overwhelmingly rejected efforts by some Republicans to object to the acceptance of Biden Electoral College victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Biden, a Democrat, and his running mate, elected vice president Kamala Harris, won 306 votes at the Electoral College, 36 more than was necessary to ensure victory in the White House. Trump, a Republican, received 232 votes.
Trump has repeatedly refused to grant the election to Biden, however, making numerous unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud without providing evidence.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the outgoing president was accused of encouraging scenes of chaos in Washington DC, having urged his supporters to march on Capitol Hill.
Scenes of angry pro-Trump protesters gathered on Capitol steps before breaking into the building and sweeping the halls of Congress, sitting at lawmakers’ tables and posing for photos, wrapped in pro-Trump flags and merchandise, shocked the world.
In turn, Biden condemned the invasion of the Capitol, saying he was “shocked and saddened” by what he described as an insurrection.
“This is not dissent. It is disorder. It is chaos. It is almost a sedition and it should end now,” Biden said in a speech on Wednesday, while calling Trump to tell his supporters to go home.
Trump later tweeted a video in which he told supporters “you have to go home now”, but again repeated false claims that the election was stolen, causing his Twitter account to be temporarily frozen.
—CNBC’s Dan Mangan, Jacob Pramuk and Kevin Breuninger contributed to reporting this story.