Trump 'wants to ditch the Republicans and start his own Patriot Party' after telling supporters his movement is 'just beginning' and GOP leaders including Mitch McConnell blamed him for the Capitol riot
Donald Trump has reportedly discussed forming a new political party called the Patriot Party after telling supporters the 'movement we started is just beginning' in his farewell address to the nation.
The outgoing president is said to have spoken with aides about the idea, The Wall Street Journal first reported. It is not known how serious he is in going ahead with the idea.
Trump on Tuesday vowed to be a continued presence on the political stage, noting his 'movement' is 'only just beginning.'Now, as I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at Noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning,' he said.
But his vow to stay a force in politics could cause some Republicans to squirm. Trump divided Republicans among those who supported his isolationist agenda and those who disliked his harsh rhetoric.
Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the outgoing president 'provoked' the MAGA crowd who stormed the Capitol two weeks ago in his most outright denunciation of the president.'The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,' the majority leader said in Senate floor remarks.
The dramatic and unprompted intervention by the man who will be Republicans' most senior leader when Trump leaves office came with less than 24 hours of his presidency remaining.
McConnell, who reportedly privately believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, has said he is undecided on whether he will convict Trump at his Senate trial but 'never wants to speak to the president again', The New York Times reports.
Many Republicans want to see the outgoing president fade quietly away but others fear his supporters - 74 million cast their ballot for Trump in November - could be an influence in the party's primaries for years to come.
Trump gave a nod to his people Tuesday. 'Together with millions of hardworking patriots across this land, we built the greatest political movement in the history of our country,' he said.
His speech, which he videotaped Monday at the White House, was released at 4 p.m. Trump is scheduled to leave the White House Wednesday morning. He will not meet with his successor as he leaves and will not attend Biden's swearing-in ceremony.
The outgoing president has eschewed the traditional trappings that come with a peaceful transfer of power. He did not host Biden at the White House for coffee after the election and will not greet him at front door ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
Additionally, Biden arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday night on a chartered airplane instead of one of the distinctive blue and white Air Force jets that carry the call sign 'Air Force One' when the current commander in chief is on board. Traditionally, presidents send such a plane to pick up their successor.
Donald Trump has reportedly discussed forming a new political party called the Patriot Party after telling supporters the 'movement we started is just beginning' in his farewell address to the nation, pictured left. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said during remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, right, that Donald Trump 'provoked' the crowd who stormed the Capitol two weeks ago is his most outright denunciation of the president to date
President elect Joe Biden takes the oath of office at noon on Wednesday. Trump did not host Biden at the White House for coffee after the election and will not greet him at front door ahead of the inauguration ceremony
McConnell and Chuck Schumer are waiting for Nancy Pelosi to send the single article of impeachment accusing Trump of 'incitement of insurrection' to them, which will begin the Senate trial.
McConnell and fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy, along with Democrats Pelosi and Schumer, will attend the Catholic service with Biden at St. Matthew's church in downtown Washington D.C. Wednesday, about 10 blocks from the White House, Punchbowl News reported.
The Republicans decision to spend the morning with Biden means they will miss Trump's military-style departure.
Trump said Tuesday: 'All Americans were horrified by the assault on our Capitol. Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated.'
He made a reference to the coronavirus pandemic that has dominated the final year of his presidency, calling it the 'China virus' as he has in the past. The United States surpassed 400,000 deaths from the virus on Tuesday.
Trump also spoke about how fast a vaccine was discovered and touted the economic recovery he led but only made a passing mention of the lives lost.
'When our nation was hit with the terrible pandemic, we produced not one, but two vaccines with record-breaking speed, and more will quickly follow. They said it couldn't be done but we did it. They call it a 'medical miracle,' and that's what they're calling it right now: a 'medical miracle,'' he said.
'Another administration would have taken 3, 4, 5, maybe even up to 10 years to develop a vaccine. We did in nine months,' he noted.
'The mob was fed lies,' McConnell said as the Senate reconvened on Tuesday. 'They were provoked by the president and other powerful people'
Trump then mentioned the dead: 'We grieve for every life lost, and we pledge in their memory to wipe out this horrible pandemic once and for all.'
He went on to say: 'When the virus took its brutal toll on the world's economy, we launched the fastest economic recovery our country has ever seen. We passed nearly $4 trillion in economic relief, saved or supported over 50 million jobs, and slashed the unemployment rate in half. These are numbers that our country has never seen before.'
Trump also bragged that he began no new wars in his four years in the White House but made no mention of his successor Joe Biden by name. 'This week, we inaugurate a new Administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous,' he says. 'We extend our best wishes, and we also want them to have luck - a very important word,' he added.
Trump started off his nearly 20 minute speech by summing up his four years in office. 'In short, we embarked on a mission to make America great again - for all Americans,' he said.
Several massive moving trucks arrived at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Florida club on Monday morning, a sign that the president may move to his Palm Beach estate after leaving office
There was a heavy security presence surrounding the sprawling property with a government helicopter and a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office chopper of flying around the club. Law enforcement patrol boats were also monitoring the delivery of boxes from afar. A view of workers removing items from the back of the truck above
In the speech, Trump echoes many of the themes he touched on in his campaign rallies: a strong economy, peace in the Middle East, and his own supporters.
'We restored American Strength at home—and American leadership abroad,' he said. 'We built the greatest economy in the history of the world.'
He pleaded with Biden not to lose the 'respect' he claimed he brought to the United States. Several foreign leaders have already congratulated Biden on his victory.
'We proudly leave the next administration with the strongest and most robust border security measures ever put into place. This includes historic agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, along with more than 450 miles of powerful new wall,' he said.
'We restored American strength at home and American leadership abroad. The world respects us again. Please don't lose that respect,' he noted.
Melania Trump released a farewell video as she prepares to leave the White House, left, but the Trumps declined to invite the Bidens to the White House. Trump address the nation from the Blue Room, right
He mentioned his administration's work negotiating the Abraham Accords, through which four Arab countries have normalized relations with Israel.
'As a result of our bold diplomacy and principled realism, we achieved a series of historic peace deals in the Middle East. It is the dawn of a new Middle East and we are bringing our soldiers home,' he said.
Trump was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his administration's work in the Middle East although he did not win one.
And he said: 'I am especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars.'
Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed the United States was close to war with North Korea when he became president in January 2017.
And Trump, who was one of the most divisive presidents in American history, claims to a leader for both sides of the political aisle.
'Our agenda was not about right or left, it wasn't about Republican or Democrat, but about the good of a nation, and that means the whole nation,' he said.
'I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices – because that's what you elected me to do.'
He noted his outsider status. He had never held elective office before running for the presidency.
'Four years ago, I came to Washington as the only true outsider ever to win the presidency. I had not spent my career as a politician, but as a builder looking at open skylines and imagining infinite possibilities. I ran for President because I knew there were towering new summits for America just waiting to be scaled. I knew the potential for our nation was boundless as long as we put America first,' he said.
'So I left behind my former life and stepped into a very difficult arena, but an arena nevertheless, with all sorts of potential if properly done. America had given me so much, and I wanted to give something back,' he noted.
President Trump is leaving office with one of the lowest approval ratings of an outgoing commander-in-chief.
His 34 per cent approval in a Gallup poll released Monday is the lowest approval rating of his term – which featured previous dips during the clash in Charlottesville in 2017, arrests of associates in the Russia probe, and Trump's threats to rain 'fire and fury' upon North Korea.
The president, who soaked up polling information even as he regularly blasted public polls that partnered with major media organizations, never cracked 50 per cent. He is the only president not to do so since Gallup started measuring presidential job approval in 1938 under F.D.R.
President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden arrive at Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday
Trump will hold a military-style send off at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday morning, hours before Biden is sworn in as the nation's 46th president.
But many top Republicans are skipping the event to spend the day with Biden.
Vice President Mike Pence will not be there nor will top Republican congressional leaders.
Pence is attending Biden's swearing-in ceremony later on Wednesday and aides told The Washington Post that it would be logistically challenging for the vice president to do both events.
The swearing-in will take place at the U.S. Capitol's West Front while Trump's farewell is at Joint Base Andrews, about 13 miles away. The events are three hours apart in timing and, as vice president, Pence has access to a motorcade and helicopter.
There have been reports that organizers are struggling to fill the seats for Trump's departure ceremony and are offering each invitee the chance to bring five guests of their own. Several former Trump staffers are declining to be there, including his former chief of staff John Kelly and his former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Both men were invited despite being top Trump critics in their post-White House lives.
Republican Congressional leaders also will snub President Trump's farewell in order to go to mass with Biden as part of a bipartisan display of unity.
Vice President Mike Pence will miss President Donald Trump's departure ceremony from Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday morning
There are reports organizers are having trouble filling the seats for President Trump's farewell event and are allowing people to bring five guests with them
Trump will be the first president in 150 years not to attend his successor's swearing-in. He will be at his Mar-a-Lago residence when Biden becomes president.
White House aides have sent out invitations for Trump;s farewell with guests instructed to arrive between 6am and 7:15am for the 8 am event. The ceremony may include a color guard and 21-gun salute.
The church service is at 8:45 a.m., Axios reported, meaning it will be impossible for McConnell and McCarthy to attend both events.
The images of the two Republican Congressional leaders with Biden are not likely to help their frosty relationship with Trump. In the wake of the January 6th MAGA riot on Capitol Hill both men accused Trump of inciting the crowd that stormed the Capitol, left five people dead and a mass of destruction in their wake.
'The mob was fed lies, they were provoked by the president and other powerful people,' McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.
