Friday briefing: Back on Twitter, I m outraged says Trump
Top story: ‘Only wanted to ensure integrity of vote’
Donald Trump has publicly renounced further efforts to overturn the US election results and have himself returned as president. In a video on his reinstated Twitter account, the president pretended not to have precipitated the violence at the Capitol, saying “My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote” – despite no evidence that the election was unsafe or unfair – and that he was “outraged” by what happened. He called for a smooth and orderly transition of power. Welcome to the Briefing – I’m Warren Murray, here to walk you through the key points.
Last modified on Wed 23 Dec 2020 08.13 EST
Good morning.
Donald Trump has approved a wave of pre-Christmas pardons, including disgraced Republican lawmakers, contractors convicted of a massacre in Iraq, and a former campaign aide who pleaded guilty to lying to federal officials in the Russia investigation. The move drew strong criticism from Democrats, accusing him of offering clemency to “corrupt” politicians, whose profiles you can read here.
The decision was a mark of Trump’s shamelessness, as he ordered executions for those on death row while pardoning war criminals, Guardian US’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, writes. As we enter the final weeks of his presidency, the US is bracing for a potentially dramatic period as Trump clings to power and tries to leave his mark. From contesting Congress’s ratification of Biden’s victory, to preparations for his post-presidential career, experts ask what to expect from the final throes of Trump.
First Thing: Trump pardons a cast of controversial characters msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The 2020 Elections in the United States: A Socialist View from Afar
[
Editors’ note: We are posting two articles on the 2020 U.S. presidential election from the forthcoming Winter 2021 issue of New Politics
. Subscribe now to get first access, in print or digitally, to the rest of the issue with original analysis of American politics, the crisis and resistance in global capitalism, the Left in Latin America, Belarus, union democracy, community schools, the ecological situation in China, and much more.]
While votes were being counted after the November 2020 U.S. elections, despots from around the world in Iran, Russia, China, Venezuela, and Brazil crowed over the delay in announcing results.