Trump news live: latest updates as president to pardon Michael Flynn

So the transition has started. Joe Biden is president-elect and Donald Trump is, albeit reluctantly, ousted president, writes Sean O’Grady.

Biden has already chosen some of the key players in his administration and has set key goals. All but COVID are dominated by personalities and politics from the last time the Democrats were in power, that lost world of normality before Trump hit Washington like, much like, a wrecking ball.

The reset button has been pressed. Welcome, then, to the third term of Barack Obama. Can humans travel through time, at least politically? If we can!

“As we repeatedly discussed during his tenure as vice president, relations between Turkey and the United States have a deeply rooted strategic quality,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week. “I congratulate you on your electoral victory and offer my sincere wishes for the peace and well-being of the people of the United States of America.”

His message of congratulations to the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, came three days after similar messages were delivered through Twitter posts from leaders of Ireland, Germany, Spain and Canada and other allies. writes Sebnem Arsu.

Until then, Turkey was among five other countries (Brazil, China, North Korea, Russia and Slovenia) that had been remarkably quiet.

Joe Biden’s team has been in contact with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, the president-elect said shortly after the Trump administration agreed to participate in the transition process. writes Clea skopeliti.

Biden said he has not yet had a chance to meet with the expert, but praised Dr. Fauci’s efforts to address the coronavirus crisis in the US, which has seen more than 12 million cases and nearly 260,000 deaths.

Hassan Rouhani hopes to restore relations with the United States to where they were on the day Donald Trump took office, he told Iranian state television.

“It could be a great solution to many issues and problems,” said the president.

One of Trump’s signature foreign policy moves was to unilaterally withdraw from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018, which had limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

Since then, Washington has accumulated punitive sanctions against Iran that have devastated the country’s economy and crashed its currency. The two nations were on the brink of war earlier this year.

However, yesterday the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, questioned the entire premise of negotiating with the Western powers over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Joe Biden will deliver his first Thanksgiving speech on Wednesday after becoming the only presidential candidate in American history to garner more than 80 million votes. writes Shewta Sharma.

Biden’s public address will be broadcast live from Wilmington, Delaware, as the celebrations of the winter holiday season remain muted around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For the past four years, Donald Trump has enjoyed special status as a world leader on Twitter and Facebook, even as he used his position at the top of the social media pyramid to sell misinformation and insult his critics.

While regular users might have been suspended or even kicked off the platforms, Trump’s misleading statements and personal attacks have so far only garnered warning labels.

But could his leash be pulled loose on the platforms on January 20, when his successor, Joe Biden, is sworn in?

Donald Trump may travel to Gettysburg to attend a Pennsylvania Republican event to discuss allegations of wrongdoing during the presidential election, according to reports.

Republican state senators plan to hold a so-called “hearing” on the claims at the Wyndham Hotel today at 12:30 pm.

Trump has been sore from losing all 20 Pennsylvania Electoral College votes to Joe Biden. He has promoted a series of unsubstantiated claims and a lawsuit on his behalf has failed.

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond first reported that the president would be traveling to the event, and NYT’s Maggie Haberman said her sources had corroborated that report.

The news that Joe Biden’s presidential transition has officially begun appears to have pushed Donald Trump over the edge of the precipice that he had not yet fallen into. writes Andrew Naughtie.

This morning, amid the usual barrage of retweets from angry friends and supporters, the president shared a video from a year ago of the actor and scathing right-wing Randy Quaid, specifically, a two-minute reading of a strange poem titled “Trump Trumpets Diana! “

Minnesota has certified the result of the general election, officially handing over its 10 electoral college votes to Joe Biden.

Biden defeated Donald Trump in Minnesota by just over 233,000 votes, or about 7 percentage points, the state board of elections certified in a 5-0 vote without debate.

Secretary of State Steve Simon said a record 79.96 percent of eligible voters turned out this year.

In a statement, he added: “There was no shortage of electoral judges, who faced other states. There were no reports of violence or intimidation, as some feared. There were no credible allegations of voter fraud. And there was no shortage of PPE or supplies at polling places to keep voters safe in person. “

About 58 percent of the votes cast were by mail, Simon said.