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Donald Trump in the Oval Office last week. He hardly ever leaves the White House. Image: keystone
Bunker mentality in the White House: this is how Trump makes life difficult for his successor
Donald Trump vacillates between resignation and defiance. On the inside, he must have accepted the loss to Joe Biden. That is why he wants to create as much fait accompli as possible before the change of power.
Donald Trump hid in the White House. There are hardly any public appointments on his schedule. According to CNN, the president of the United States even canceled the Thanksgiving trip to his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida next week. One official described the mood towards the television station as a “bunker mentality.”
Ever since major US media, including Fox News, declared Joe Biden the winner of the presidential election, Trump has been wavering between resignation and defiance. From time to time let it be known that you have accepted defeat. “He knows it’s over,” one of his advisers told the New York Times. However, he doesn’t officially want to admit it.
Christopher Krebs was fired by Trump on Tuesday. Image: keystone
Instead, he continues to rage on Twitter against the “bogus” election and spreads conspiracy theories about allegedly rigged voting software. There is no evidence, rather the election was incredibly trouble-free compared to Corona’s precarious circumstances, even if the recount had dragged on for days.
“The safest option ever”
Christopher Krebs, a senior National Security official, denied the tampering allegations Tuesday, calling it “the safest option in American history.” The receipt followed immediately: Donald Trump described Krebs’s depiction on Twitter as “highly inaccurate” and promptly fired him.
This does not change the reality: all the claims of Trump’s lawyers against the election result have so far been rejected by the courts. A brazen attempt by Republicans to prevent the results from being authenticated in Michigan’s largest constituency with the Democratic stronghold of Detroit failed after massive protests.
Election results must be certified in the states by December 8 for the Electoral College to elect the president on December 14. Biden should win there with 306-232 votes. Until then, Donald Trump will continue to refuse to admit defeat. Maybe I never will.
Fox News anchor accuses US presidents of perjury
Video: Watson
According to Politico, it is not even clear whether the outgoing president will attend Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021. There has been no such affront for more than 150 years. In any event, Trump is doing everything he can to make an orderly handover to his successor difficult or even impossible.
No access to information
The president-elect’s team remains without access to offices and important information. Even Republican senators criticize this blockade. They demand that Biden receive at least the daily intelligence reports.
The stagnation of the “transition” contrasts with the activism that Trump has developed in various fields in recent days. Apparently, he’s trying to leave his successor with a fait accompli while polishing his balance sheet:
- Oil and gas companies can apply for drilling rights to a wildlife preserve in Alaska starting Monday. These could be sold before the power shift, likely to complicate the Biden administration’s climate plans. One of the new president’s priorities is to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, from which Trump has withdrawn.
- On Wednesday, according to Politico, Trump wants to present a plan with which he wants to take action against high drug prices in the United States. In addition to the benefit to patients, it would have a welcome side effect: Trump could get “revenge” on the pharmaceutical industry for the fact that the advancement in corona vaccines was only announced after the election.
Trump wants to bring home numerous American soldiers. Image: EPA
- The president is particularly active in foreign policy. On Tuesday he announced the reduction of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 troops each by January 15. The decision was the subject of criticism at home and abroad. It is feared that instability will increase in both countries and that the terrorist militia “Islamic State” will gain strength.
- On Monday, a report in the New York Times caused the feeling that Trump was considering an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities last week. His advisers dissuaded him, but the president apparently wants to impose more sanctions on Iran to make it difficult for Biden to return to the nuclear deal, which he had renounced.
Furthermore, Mike Pompeo apparently wants to be the first US secretary of state to visit an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank this week. Israel is also pushing for the construction of more than 1,200 homes in annexed East Jerusalem. Joe Biden had harshly criticized such plans in 2010 as then vice president.
Trump calls himself a “realist”
Donald Trump, on the other hand, is largely dormant in the crown crisis, although the number of cases in the US has reached new record highs. He also refuses to let Biden’s team work together in this area. This must be done “as soon as possible,” the president-elect demanded on Monday: “If we don’t vote, more people could die.”
The United States celebrates the electoral victory of Joe Biden
Joe Biden cannot do much, although there is a law since 1963 that regulates the transition phase from an old government to a new one. He wants to return the favor by reversing several decisions made by his predecessor on the first day in the White House, his chief of staff, Ron Klain, announced Sunday.
Until then, there are still two months left in which Trump can throw a stick between his legs. In the end, he will probably submit to his fate. In an interview with Fox News host Geraldo Rivera, he is said to have described himself as a “realist” last week. Perhaps Donald Trump will just disappear out the back door at the end.
