Inauguration Day 2021: Joe Biden dismisses Donald Trump’s travel ban move; Melania calls for peace
In a bid to show he’s still in power, Donald Trump made a major COVID announcement, but Joe Biden’s team quickly dismissed it.
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US President-elect Joe Biden’s spokeswoman quickly dismissed Donald Trump’s announcement Monday that a COVID-19 ban on travellers arriving from much of Europe and Brazil would be lifted, underlining the fractious transition of power.
“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26,” tweeted Jen Psaki, Mr Biden’s press secretary.
“In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
“With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” she added.
Just minutes prior to Psaki’s tweet, President Trump said in a statement he would lift the travel ban on Europe and Brazil. Travel bans for China and Iran would remain in place, he said.
Both statements come days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that all air passengers bound for the US are required to test negative for COVID-19 within three days of their departure.
MELANIA CALLS FOR PEACE IN FAREWELL SPEECH
Outgoing US First Lady Melania Trump has decried violence in a farewell message ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration day.
Two weeks after President Donald Trump supporters rioted on the US Capitol Building in Washington D.C. and just two days before Mr Biden’s swearing-in ceremony where security will be ramped-up, Ms Trump called for peace.
“Be passionate in everything you do,” Ms Trump said. “But always remember that violence is never the answer and will never be justified.”
She also said serving as the First Lady had been “the greatest honour of my life”.
“I have been inspired by incredible Americans across our country who lift up our communities through their kindness and courage, goodness and grace,” she said.
“As Donald and I conclude our time in the White House, I think of all of the people I have taken home in my heart, and their incredible stories of love, patriotism and determination.”
She thanked frontline workers and pleaded for compassion as the world “continues to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We grieve for the families that have lost a loved one due to the pandemic,” she said.
“Every life is precious, and I asked all Americans to use caution and common sense to protect the vulnerable as millions of vaccines are now being delivered.”
It comes amid reports that Ms Trump will not give her successor, Jill Biden, a tour of the White House’s family wing — a tradition that dates back to the 1950s.
It also understood she has not reached out to the Bidens once since the election.
Mr Trump has also not congratulated Mr Biden nor invited him to the traditional tea visit in the Oval Office.
He will also not attend the incoming president’s inauguration.
BIDEN PUSHES UNITY BEFORE TAKING OVER CRISIS-LADEN WHITE HOUSE
On the cusp of becoming president, Joe Biden pressed for unity on Monday (local time), while President Donald Trump remained secluded in the White House at the centre of a capital inundated with troops and security barriers.
Mr Biden marked the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday with a trip from his home in Delaware to pack food bags for charity in Philadelphia — a gesture symbolising his call for Americans to come together after four divisive years.
“Service is a fitting way to start to heal, unite, and rebuild this country we love,” Mr Biden said in a video marking the occasion.
But the 78-year-old Democrat’s fervent appeals for optimism and healing — which are also set to dominate his inauguration ceremony at noon on Wednesday — are running up against the hard reality of multiple crises.
COVID-19 is out of control, vaccine distribution is stumbling, and economic recovery remains in the balance.
And after Mr Trump refused for more than two months to accept the results of November’s presidential election, the country is seething with division and anger. When Mr Biden takes the oath of office at noon on Wednesday, he will face a city under the protection of more than 20,000 National Guard soldiers.
Checkpoints and large zones closed to ordinary citizens mean there will be only a smattering of guests. Similar lockdowns have been imposed at state capitol buildings around the country where local authorities fear provocations from right-wing groups ahead of the inauguration.
A brief security scare on Monday near Congress sparked an evacuation of the site where Mr Biden will take the oath.
The acting defense secretary said, meanwhile, that the military and FBI was vetting the National Guard troopers, who carry automatic weapons, in case any of them posed a threat.
INAUGURATION REHEARSAL EVACUATED
The US Capitol in Washington DC was partially evacuated on Monday morning (local time) when smoke from a nearby fire at a homeless encampment was spotted, according to reports, underscoring the tension in Washington, DC, ahead of Inauguration Day.
Some areas of the Capitol were evacuated, while others were placed in lockdown, with staffers ordered to “stay away from exterior windows,” according to local ABC News affiliate WJLA and multiple other sources.
Staff were evacuated at 10.20am local time (2.20am AEDT) after being sent a text from the US Capitol Police (USCP) saying: “All buildings within the Capitol Complex: External security threat, no entry or exit is permitted, stay away from exterior windows, doors. If outside, seem cover.”
The Washington DC Fire Department tried to turn down the tension when they said in a tweet that the smoke seen over the Capitol was likely due to a nearby fire, which multiple outlets said was at a homeless encampment.
The New York Post said the scare came in the wake of the deadly January 6 riot at the Capitol, and ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration of Mr Biden, which has seen some stretches of Washington DC heavily fortified and tens of thousands of National Guard troops deployed.
RIOTER PLANNED TO SELL PELOSI LAPTOP TO RUSSIA: FBI
A young woman identified as having taken part in the storming of the US Capitol reportedly stole a laptop belonging to top Democrat Nancy Pelosi and hoped to sell it to a Russian spy agency, according to an FBI criminal complaint.
The complaint, filed late Sunday in US District Court in Washington, seeks the arrest of Riley June Williams of Pennsylvania on grounds including “violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.” Her whereabouts are unknown.
Relying on several photos and videos of the chaotic January 6 intrusion, an FBI agent said Williams was seen near the office of House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
A witness, identified in the court document only as W1 but who claimed to be “the former romantic partner of Riley June Williams,” alleged that Williams planned to send the laptop to a friend in Russia to sell it to the SVR foreign intelligence agency.
That sale “fell through for unknown reasons, and Williams still has the computer device or destroyed it,” the affidavit says.
It was unclear whether a laptop belonging to Pelosi was actually stolen. The FBI said it was continuing to investigate.
FAVOURITE GROUP OF BIDEN’S LATE SON REUNITE FOR INAUGURATION
Rock group The New Radicals will reunite for a single day on Wednesday US time to perform after the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a tribute to Mr Biden’s late son and in a nod to Harris’s husband.
The short-lived Los Angeles group was together only from 1997 to 1999, but its single You Get What You Give reached top-40 status in the US, hit the top-5 in Britain and topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand.
During the bout with brain cancer that in 2015 claimed the life of Beau Biden, the family embraced the song as an uplifting anthem, Joe Biden wrote later in his autobiography Promise Me, Dad.
The song seems to address all those passing through hard times, offering a message of hope. It ends with a call for resisting oppression by the uncaring and powerful.
Its timeless words and music assured You Get What You Give a lasting influence.
Harris’s husband, lawyer Doug Emhoff, chose it as his “walk-on” song for every public appearance during his wife’s 2020 campaign.
The New Radicals agreed to reunite for the first time in more than 20 years at the request of the Biden-Harris team.
They will perform during Wednesday’s “Parade Across America,” a virtual celebration replacing the traditional inaugural parade because of the coronavirus pandemic and heightened security concerns, according to the organising committee.
“If there’s one thing on Earth that would possibly make us get the band together, if only for a day, it is the hope that our song could be even the tiniest beacon of light in such a dark time,” frontman and group founder Gregg Alexander told Rolling Stone magazine.
“America knows in its heart that things will get bright again with a new administration and a real plan for vaccines on the way. That’s the message of the so … This world is gonna pull through.”
Lady Gaga will sing the Star-Spangled Banner, the US national anthem, after the formal swearing-in of Biden and Harris.
Another event in the evening will feature Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato and Bon Jovi.
TRUMP AIDE THANKS SCOMO FOR ‘UNBREAKABLE BOND’
Outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the “unbreakable bond” that exists between the United States and Australia and committed to continue working together to deepen and broaden the US-Australia Alliance.
Mr Pompeo thanked Mr Morrison for his steadfast support in promoting the two countries’ shared values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and our common strategic interests, even in the face of economic threats from China.
They noted the increasing importance of the Quad’s collective efforts to advance a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
TRUMP CONSIDERS PARDONS
Donald Trump is believed to be preparing to issue around 100 pardons to white-collar criminals and high-profile rappers before departing from Washington DC on the morning of Mr Biden’s inauguration.
Mr Trump is due to hold a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 8am on the morning of the swearing-in of Mr Biden at the US Capitol.
The outgoing US President will then depart Washington DC on Air Force One and head to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
So far, Mr Trump has reportedly made no plans to pardon himself or his children, CNN reports.
One White House official told CNN paperwork had not yet been drawn up for a self-pardon.
Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, CNN reports, is not believed to be among the people receiving pardons, but the list is still fluid and that could change.
It’s also not certain whether Mr Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon will receive a pardon.
It comes as the Pentagon has denied Donald Trump’s request for a military send-off, according to reports.
According to CNN, the outgoing president wants a grand send-off before Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
A person familiar with Mr Trump’s departure told CNN he wanted a “military-style send-off and a crowd of supporters”.
But two senior defence officials confirmed to Defense One late last week that no military farewell is being planned for the commander in chief.
FEARS OF ‘INSIDE ATTACK’
US defence officials have warned of a threat to security allegedly from the people tasked with securing Mr Biden’s inauguration ceremony, and said they are in the process of vetting the troops deployed for the event.
The FBI is bracing for multiple armed protests in Washington DC, amid continuing calls by Trump supporters of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Former FBI boss James Comey said there continued to be a “very serious” risk of violence at Mr Biden’s inauguration from “armed, disturbed people” who police would need to take seriously ahead of Wednesday’s event at the Capitol.
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that officials have been warned and directed to keep a watch for any problems within their ranks.
However, he said no evidence of such threats have been found yet.
It comes as Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked to explain why security around the Capitol was so lax that hundreds of pro-Trump rioters were able to stroll past guards with ease and enter the lawmaking chambers.
As the Republican Party ponders what it will look like after Mr Trump leaves the White House this week, Mrs Pelosi was under fire for leaving the Capitol so exposed to the rioters.
“To see people come and take over the Capitol – the House and the Senate – beat officers, defile the seat of government – how in the hell could that happen?” pro-Trump Senator Lindsey Graham asked.
“Where was Nancy Pelosi? It’s her job to provide Capitol security. We’ll get to the bottom of that.”
It was the first time questions have been asked of Mrs Pelosi’s role in allowing the Capitol to be so loosely guarded on the day of the riots.
She has laid all of the blame at the feet of Mr Trump and led the charge to impeach him for a second time.
PLANS FOR ‘TRUMP KINGDOM’ IN FLORIDA
Some within the so-called Grand Old Party want to sever all links with Mr Trump in the wake of the Capitol riots, there are strong indications he will continue to be the party’s dominant figure.
His aides are at work to establish a Trump kingdom in Florida aimed at ensuring his influence over Republican politics, the Washington Post reports.
On Wednesday, Inauguration Day, Mr Trump will fly early in the morning to West Palm Beach, Florida, landing an hour before his presidential term is set to end.
In the lead-in to the November election, the Wall Street Journal and NBC pollsters asked Republican voters if their allegiance was more to their party or more to Mr Trump himself.
By the end of the campaign, a decisive majority of Republicans said they were more loyal to the president than to his party.
Another poll in the Washington Post found 56 per cent said Mr Trump bore zero blame for the Capitol riots. And 66 per cent say he has acted responsibly since the election.
A poll by PBS NewsHour/Marist College found that Republicans were evenly divided, 47 per cent to 47 per cent, between thinking that the rioters had broken the law and thinking that their actions were mostly legitimate.
A YouGov poll about the riots appears to back up the line of thought that Mr Trump still holds sway in his party.
Only 27 per cent of Republicans saw the riots as a threat to democracy and 45 per cent of Mr Trump’s supporters supported events at the Capitol.
A survey by USA Today/Suffolk University found that more than seven in 10 Republicans would vote for Mr Trump if he were nominated as the party’s presidential candidate in 2024.
The Republican Party doesn’t yet have another obvious national leader who can simply walk in the door and pick up where Mr Trump left off.
Some of the names being tossed around as future leaders include Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and Nikki Haley, who was previously Mr Trump’s United Nations ambassador.
And of course, his children Donald Trump Jr And Ivanka Trump still have aspirations, although they seem more far-fetched in the wake of the presidential and Georgia losses and the Capitol riots disaster.
Erica Trump’s wife, Lara, is also believed to be considering a Senate run in North Carolina.
- with AFP
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Originally published as Inauguration Day 2021: Joe Biden dismisses Donald Trump’s travel ban move; Melania calls for peace
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