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In a move that will cost American taxpayers millions of dollars, Donald Trump has granted additional protection to his adult children.
The Washington Post spoke with three people briefed on the plan, who said the former president instructed the United States Secret Service to extend protection to his four adult children and two of their spouses, who were not automatically entitled to receive it.
The expensive and unusual benefit is expected to cost US taxpayers millions of dollars and will further stress the elite federal security force.
Under normal rules, only Trump, his wife and their 14-year-old son are entitled to protection after they leave office. The couple will receive him for his entire life, and Barron is entitled to protection until he turns 16.
The Post reports that Trump has called for an extension of protection for three of his key officials.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden, recently sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, has moved quickly to erase Donald Trump’s legacy by signing a series of executive orders that reverse his predecessor’s policies on immigration, climate change, and Covid- 19.
It comes after Biden used his inaugural address to call for unity and an “end to this uncivil war,” promising that “all his soul” was in uniting the country.
“Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, a cause of democracy,” Biden said after taking the oath. “The people, the will of the people, has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.”
The outgoing president left the White House for the last time three hours before Biden’s inauguration today.
Trump said it had been “the honor of a lifetime” and expressed “thank you” to the press before boarding Marine One with his wife Melania.
It landed at Joint Base Andrews, where Trump was greeted with a gun salute and a group of supporters in an unprecedented farewell event. He thanked his key aides and praised his hardworking family, as well as wishing the incoming administration good luck.
But there was a notable absence. Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence skipped the event and attended Biden’s inauguration instead.
Hint of what Trump’s letter said
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has remained silent about the content of the letter that Donald Trump left him.
Aside from describing it as “very generous,” the president has not revealed anything else about its contents, saying he won’t talk about it until he speaks with Trump.
It has become customary for the outgoing president to leave a message for the incoming leader.
Many of the past letters between former presidents have been published and could provide insight into what Trump may have written.
In the letter Trump received from Barack Obama in 2017, the former president congratulated him on his triumph before giving him some thoughts on his eight years in office.
Obama urged his successor to remember that there were many Americans who had not been blessed with the same “good fortune” as them and reminded him to “build more ladders of success” for these citizens.
He also reminded Trump that they were only “temporary occupants of this office.”
“That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions, such as the rule of law, the separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties, for which our ancestors fought and bled,” Obama wrote.
“Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it is up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.”
When Obama took office in 2009, George W. Bush urged him to turn to his family and his faith during the difficult times of his presidency.
“There will be difficult times. Critics will rage. Your ‘friends’ will disappoint you. But you will have an Almighty God who will comfort you, a family that loves you, and a country that will support you, including me.’ He wrote.
One of the most notable letters was the one Ronald Reagan wrote to George HW Bush in 1989.
It was titled ‘Don’t Let Turkeys Get You Down’ and it had an illustration of turkeys and an elephant at the bottom.
“You will have moments when you want to use this particular stationery. Well, do it,” Reagan wrote.
“George, I treasure the memories we share and wish you all the best. You will be in my prayers. God bless you and Barbara. I will be missing our Thursday lunches.”
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