President Donald Trump made a taped farewell speech touting his economic and foreign policy record while glossing over the Capitol uprising that spilled over the last few weeks of his presidency.
He also failed to name his successor Joe Biden. Biden will be inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president on Wednesday.
Trump’s nearly 20-minute speech, taped Monday, described his departure from the White House as the natural conclusion to a job well done, rather than as a result of his loss of the election to Biden.
“We did what we came here for – and much more,” said Trump in the address.
“This week we are inaugurating a new administration and praying for their success in ensuring America’s security and prosperity. We wish them all the best and we want them to be lucky – a very important word,” said Trump.
Trump previously confirmed that a new administration will take command on Wednesday, but he has not officially conceded Biden. In contrast to the farewell speeches of previous presidents, Trump’s address does not specifically mention his successor.
The president’s speech also referred to the January 6 invasion of the Capitol by a swarm of his supporters – an event that killed five people and spurred the House to indict him a second time.
“All Americans were appalled by the attack on our Capitol. Political violence is an attack on everything we as Americans value. It can never be tolerated,” Trump said in the speech.
He has declined any responsibility for the invasion. But earlier on Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said the mob was “provoked” by the President and other powerful people.
Trump is facing impeachment proceedings in the Senate.
In the video, Trump praised his administration’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic, saying the US “has outperformed other countries economically because of our incredible economy and the economy we have built. It would not have been without the foundations and foundations worked like that. ” “”
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the US exceeded 400,000 deaths in Covid on Tuesday. About a quarter of these deaths were reported in the past five weeks alone.
“We mourn every life lost and commit ourselves in your memory to eradicate this terrible pandemic once and for all,” said Trump, whose term ends on Wednesday, in his address.
Trump, who regularly accused the media of being “the people’s enemy” and campaigned for the promise to drain the swamp in DC, devoted a significant portion of the address to warning about “political censorship and blacklisting.”
“Closing a free and open debate goes against our core values and the most sustainable traditions,” said Trump, who was permanently banned from Twitter after his initial reaction to the Capitol uprising.
“Now that I am preparing to hand over power to a new government on Wednesday noon, I want you to know that the movement we have started is only just beginning,” he said.
However, it is unclear whether this movement will include Trump – at least as a candidate for elected office. Chuck Schumer, Chairman of the Senate Minority, DN.Y., vowed earlier Tuesday that if Trump is convicted after his impeachment trial, “there will be a vote that he can no longer walk.”
