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The video message that threw Washington into chaos was secretly filmed.
US President Donald Trump stood in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, with Christmas garlands and glittery decorations placed in the fireplace behind him, and spoke to the camera not to deliver warm Christmas wishes, but to threaten to detonate Congress’s $ 900 billion Covid-19. relief package and end of the year.
The video was released without warning Tuesday night, its recording was orchestrated by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and kept safe from a handful of attendees.
Few Republicans or even members of the White House staff knew Wednesday what Trump was planning next, a return to the permanent chaos of his first months in office and a flashback to his political career launch in 2015 when he launched direct attacks on him. Republican leadership and intended to blow up the party establishment.
The message served as a volley fired at his fellow Republicans, a warning that Trump was ready to burn it all down before leaving office, potentially sabotaging his party’s chances of controlling the Senate while lashing out angrily at those he believes have not. supported. your efforts to reverse the election.
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And the threat reignited fears of a federal government shutdown and potentially denying benefits to Americans grappling with a raging pandemic and deep economic uncertainty.
Almost abandoning his responsibilities as CEO, save for using his presidential powers to grant pardons to political allies and those he believes have been wronged by his enemies, Trump has hidden in the White House with a shrinking circle of attendees. . It has ignored the growing pandemic that is killing 3,000 Americans a day and has done almost nothing to promote the use of the vaccines that are counted on to end it.
Evan Vucci / AP
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has only a few weeks left in office.
Instead, Trump’s approach has been solely to try to reverse his defeat to President-elect Joe Biden, embracing unfounded conspiracy theories, pushing forward pointless legal challenges, and undermining trust in the principles of American democracy and the peaceful transfer of power.
“There are mixed signals from the White House that leave more confusion than calm,” Biden said on Wednesday (local time) as he pushed for the bipartisan Covid aid bill to pass.
Trump’s latest effort to subvert the election came on Tuesday night (local time), when he released two videos, one falsely stating that he won the election “landslide” and the other asking lawmakers to increase direct payments. for most Americans from $ 600. to $ 2,000 for individuals and $ 4,000 for couples, measures that most Republicans strongly oppose.
Frank Augstein / AP
The U.S. government relies on vaccines to help it reverse the coronavirus pandemic.
“I also ask Congress to immediately get rid of the unnecessary and wasteful articles of this legislation and send me a proper bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a Covid aid package, and maybe that administration is me, ”Trump said.
The president, who hasn’t held a public event in 10 days, was scheduled to leave Wednesday afternoon for more than a week at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida coastal estate. But attendees weren’t sure whether Trump would comply or cancel just hours before Air Force One took off.
The video on the relief bill was released after the White House sent signals that the president would sign it and after Trump’s chief negotiator, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, gave a victory lap over his alleged adoption.
Trump’s threat put Republicans, many of whom risked voting for the measure, in a difficult position and threatened to upset the party.
The president had been furious all week because he felt more Republicans were leaving him and refusing to fight, turning to his shrinking inner circle to criticize Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Senator John Thune, who recently recognized Biden’s victory.
Susan Walsh / AP
Joe Biden will take office on January 20.
He also complained to allies in recent days that Vice President Mike Pence, who by any measure has spent four years demonstrating loyalty to Trump, was not doing enough to defend him. And he said he was pleased with the departure of Attorney General William Barr, who had not supported his requests for a special counsel to investigate voter fraud.
This was far from the first time Trump made a sudden turnaround on a major deal; He previously allowed the government to shut down in a fight over funding for its border wall. But the timing made it particularly damaging for Republicans and added another complication to the political paths of the two Republican senators struggling to keep their seats in next month’s runoff elections in Georgia, races that will determine control of the chamber.
Trump never used the word “veto” in the video, but the threat was implicit. But while the Senate might have the votes to override a veto, such a move would risk alienating Trump voters that will be needed by Republicans in future elections.
Attendees believed that fighting to put more money in the hands of average Americans could increase their popularity and populist credentials for their electoral fight and, more importantly, for whatever their potential next move, including a possible candidacy in 2024. .
The Democrats took advantage of the difficult situation of the Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Trump in a tweet on Wednesday to “sign the bill to keep government open.” Congress was still preparing the final text of the 5,000-plus-page bill and it was not expected to be sent to the White House for Trump’s signature before Thursday or Friday.
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi found herself in the rare position of agreeing with Donald Trump on the stimulus controls.
In the wake of Trump’s threat, Pelosi nearly challenged her Republican allies in Congress to meet the demand for much higher direct payments. He said he would put the proposal to a vote on Thursday.
Trump had previously played a small role in the stimulus negotiations, instead shutting himself up in near isolation in the White House.
He has lobbied congressional allies to grunt Biden’s certification of victory in early January and has paid attention to attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, both promoting election conspiracy theories.
But while he has also listened to his former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s push to declare martial law, he rebuked his aides who urged him to denounce Russia for likely perpetrating a major violation of US government agencies.
And while he has disassociated himself from any response to the widespread pandemic, he used the powers of the office when, just an hour before his video was released, he pardoned 15 people, including a pair of congressional Republicans who were strong and early supporters. , a 2016 campaign official caught up in the Russia investigation and former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad.
